REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK

Bill Gates’ Comdex keynote speech Sunday night, in which he--surprise!--touted the benefits of the personal computer, had all the drama of a late-night infomercial. But it did have certain military officers on the edge of their seats.

U.S. Marine Corps Maj. James Cummiskey joined Gates on stage to show how even the military relies on Microsoft Corp.’s operating software: He demonstrated a test version of how Windows CE software is used with hand-held devices to give unit commands and track enemy movements.

Cummiskey, 38, who is stationed at Camp Pendleton with the Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity team, said he’s tested beta versions of Windows CE and its upgrades for the last couple of years.

But military lawyers were less than enthusiastic about the appearance when approached by Microsoft last week. They feared the Marine Corps could be perceived as endorsing the software company.

Officials finally gave Cummiskey the go-ahead, he said, along with some very specific orders: Don’t say the word Microsoft, don’t name the software products and emphasize that this military application is still a prototype.

“I wanted to open my presentation with a joke, but the Microsoft lawyers nixed that,” Cummiskey added. “Bill was the only one who was supposed to crack jokes that night.”