(About 898 words)
Lou Torraca, President of The Tug, Hawaii
It was rainy, it snowed and boy was it cold…no, I wasn’t in Illinois or Michigan, I was in Las Vegas! All the locals assured me it was never like this in January but it seemed to have no effect on the 2005 International Consumer Electronics Show that I attended.
The show set several major records including number of attendees (142,585), exhibitors (2,550) and exhibit space (1.531 million net square feet). International attendance also grew to more than 23,028, up from 18,000 at the 2004 CES. And I gotta tell you, it seemed that most of the time, they were all going in the opposite direction, I was headed in!
The show featured a bunch of exciting product and technology announcements, many of which provide consumers with control over when, where and how they watch movies, listen to music, view their digital photos and access other information, education and entertainment content. The show floor not only featured the latest developments in display technologies but a variety of products and innovations that build upon HDTV, such as wired and wireless connections to stream HD video throughout the home and new HD recording devices. Everywhere you looked there was a huge LCD or Plasma display. The latest in digital imaging, digital audio, satellite and HD radio, plasma and LCD displays, home video production, in-vehicle entertainment, VoIP, Ultra-Wideband and more was all there. Almost everywhere you turned there was a digital something to catch your attention.
I was specially taken with the house that was setup in the big lot across from the convention center entrance. The futuristic house also was loaded with big-screen TVs and electronic wall-menus for controlling heating, lighting and security alarms. Of special interest was a new wrinkle: Several home-networking vendors have integrated their wares with the software running Microsoft's media center computers. That means if you buy a fancy new security or lighting system from, say, Home Automation Inc., then the controls for dimming your chandelier or opening the kitchen blinds can show up on the main menu of a Microsoft media center computer, right beside controls for playing music and recording TV. The setup suggests Microsoft's media center operating system is looking at bigger things than just zapping music and movies around the house.
One of the more interesting exhibits, even to Bill Gates, who stopped by for a look-see, was the Roomba booth. A useful and futuristic way to vacuum your house, this little gem does a really great job, all by itself. The latest version is even more efficient than its original model, which my wife gave me almost two years ago. (A hint no doubt, as to the state of my office area.) It falls into the category of personal robots!! Do yourself a favor and visit www.irobot.com Perhaps not surprisingly, this is one reason why many analysts believe personal robots today sit where personal computers did in the early 1980s -- on the mass-market launching pad. No wonder Bill Gates went out of his way to meet the latest Roomba.
It would be impossible to tell you about all the many, many fascinating products on display, but here are just a couple I saw and liked: The best new cell phone feature I saw came from the Samsung booth. There were cell phones with speech-to-text conversion that actually works. You could actually dictate a letter and the text could be emailed or text messaged off to someone. Pretty impressive and more useful than trying to do it with a teeny-tiny keyboard. In the world of entertainment, it seemed every manufacturer is aiming to integrate with the iPod. Pretty much every audio company is hoping to capture more dollars from the iPod generation, which seems to include most of us! For example, Apple recently announced partnerships with several automakers. Of course, Streaming Internet radio in your car might not be too far off with at least three companies at the show, offering car-mounted Satellite systems for in-transit surfing. (We probably will have to wait awhile here in Hawaii to get that service.) If you’re a TV junky and want to TiVo all the shows you can’t watch live, two bright spots exist, although they only indirectly tie into the time-shift process. TiVo partnered with Microsoft to make recorded content portable from TiVo boxes to various Windows devices which is a much needed step. Orb, at http://www.orb.com goes further giving you access to any media content on your home PC anywhere on the planet using cell phones, PDAs, or laptops. You can even send images and audio back to your home PC. Lots of amazing stuff, I must admit.
Here’s a quote that sums it up pretty well: "The consumer technology industry is in the midst of a rapid shift to digital," …The International CES reflects this digital revolution." said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, the producer of the International CES.
After that, all I can say is may all your digital wishes be answered.
Jim Fromm, The TUG, Hawaii -- Ed. Note:
The show is over but you can still see a lot of the good stuff that was on display by going to the link below.
No crowds to contend with, no sloshing through the snow and freezing your okole off. Check it out to see some of the innovative devices heading our way (if only we can afford them).
There is no restriction against any non-profit group using this article as long as it is kept in context with proper credit given the author. The Editorial Committee of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG), an international organization of which this group is a member, brings this article to you.