The gadget blog dvice.com has their 5 Tech Trends at CES, though I’m not sure I agree with the ordering. 3D Tv (?), Pico projectors (to put your iPhone video on the wall), ebooks (dull), tablets (not until Apple speaks) and connected everything (probably). It doesn’t mention mobile tech which will be getting a lot of play this year, nor any of the other things that geeks are talking about (social networking, location aware, etc). And this is one of the problems with CES.
CES is about consumer electronics. Sure there are a few ‘new new’ things out there, but there are also tables after tables of extension cords. There is room for TV antennas. Space for wineglass washing machines, and shoe buffers. It’s really a trade show that is about anything you plug in and can buy from Kmart, not necessarily from Frys.
And it is far removed from the geeky world of that which lives on the net.
As devices have become connected (see the cited article) there is more and more of a connection between the online world and appliances, but CES really isn’t “the show” for the Internet generation and companies. Many of the folks I’ve worked with in the pure online world have come to CES out of default, and once they get there they often feel like ‘well, I’ve seen it, and now I don’t have to see it again’.
So what trade show is the one for the online world? Unfortunately, it hasn’t really happened yet. There is no “Net 2010” show that rivals the size and scope of a CES so for now, Vegas is where you have to go.
Such is life.]]>
What will be the cool things at CES this year?
Lots of startup excitement around the house this weekend, and a bit of cussing.
Over the last few days I’ve been researching an untapped area of the ‘Green tech’ movement. Something that would make quite a bit of sense, would be quick to market, and something that would have multiple channels to revenue, let alone venture capital. I queried some of my friends, including some successful entrepreneurs in San Fran, a couple of PhD’s in Silicon Valley, an electronics company VP in NY, and two electricians wearing NASCAR hats down at my local electronics supply company (who actually had some interesting insight).
On the plus side–everyone said this is needed and must be built.
On the down side–someone else is doing it already.
So I’m not sitting here thinking ‘is there room for a second mover’ in a field that could be huge, though one in which I’m about six months behind the curve. I have an idea that could leapfrog them, but I’m not sure how technically feasible it is (the physics is there, but is the manufacturing base–I don’t know).
So I’m off to CES to talk turkey with the guys from China. Folks who are in the shop building things like that which I want. We’ll see if I come back with a new start-up company, ready to be formed and funded, or if I look for another ‘new new thing’.]]> 
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Was out looking at Christmas Lights with the kids and we passed the fire station just as an ambulance and heavy rescue squad were coming out. They drove about a mile down the main road to our house where they stopped. We had the iPhone police radio running and hear this funny exchange:
Cop: Dispatch, can you update me on the situation?
Dispatch: 59 year old male, trouble breathing.
Cop: Can you tell me why Rescue 1 was dispatched along with an ambulance. They’re blocking the road.
Dispatch: Subject is 400 lbs.
Cop: Copy that. Over.]]> 
Every year I went to CES (and this is about the seventh trip) I’ve said “oh god, why do I come!” The crowds, the chaos, and usually the weather (it actually snowed one year).
But sometimes it is fun. One year I took 
[caption id="attachment_2638" align="alignright" width="222" caption="Learn about DNA from pixie fairies."]
I might actually buy one just for the heck of it, given that I slept through most of my math classes in school.