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<\/a>Buckets Full<\/strong> \u2013 Filling every nook and cranny to overflowing, companies large and small helped draw more than 150,000 people to Vegas for the annual \u201chope to gawd you like me\u201d CES event. Despite blizzards elsewhere and poor internet connections, folks came to see and be seen.<\/em><\/p>\nSamsung got more buzz from their keynote at this year\u2019s CES than they should have because Michael Day walked off the stage.<\/p>\n
Sure, Marissa Mayer, Katie Couric, John Chambers and Ford\u2019s Mulally (ex-MS boss contender) make it look easy. But standing in front of a huge crowd wanting to make a great impression isn\u2019t easy.<\/p>\n
They rehearse a lot and still they have sweaty palms and upset stomachs when they step on stage \u2026 that stuff ain\u2019t easy!<\/p>\n And people love to talk about the crashes.<\/p>\n Everything, Things<\/strong> Chambers sees Internet-enabled objects everywhere he turns and CES was no exception – cars, home appliances, streetlights, garbage cans, you name it.<\/p>\n All of CES – 1.8 million square feet, 3,200 exhibitors, 152,000 attendees \u2013 was his to connect.<\/p>\n Chambers sees a $19 trillion business in the private and public sector over the next few years and all of the exhibitors at CES were ready to carve out a chunk of that business for themselves.<\/p>\n Of course, Intel\u2019s Brian Krzanich wasn\u2019t going to be left out, even though his vision was only The Internet of Things. Driven Technology<\/strong> Both Cisco and Intel (and everyone else in the CE industry) are working closely with the automakers to put their technology on four wheels.<\/p>\n Cars aren\u2019t the first consumer product that comes to mind when you think about technology, but today 40-60 percent of their cost is mobile technology.<\/p>\n Heck, every automotive manufacturer has a design center in Silicon Valley and just down the street from them is Nvidia, AT&T, Google, Yahoo, Qualcomm, MS and everyone else.<\/p>\n They\u2019re all moving rapidly \u2013 for car manufacturers \u2013 and none is moving faster than Audi.<\/p>\n In addition to infotainment, driver assistance and battery\/solar\/hydrogen technology they all showed off their autonomous driving solutions like they were ready for sale today.<\/p>\n Cutting through the show noise (sorry for the pun) was Audi\u2019s laserlight technology which they say will illuminate the road for 1640 feet (3x LEDs).<\/p>\n The auto folks also have added their black box (event data recorder) technology so they can follow just about anything\/everything you do and where you go \u2026 cool! Google, Facebook, Yahoo already see ways they can use the technology to help you find out where the best deals for the stuff you want as you drive by.<\/p>\n The technology is in almost every car sold today; and in September, it will be mandatory so that\u2019s keeping a lot of privacy groups and bureaucrats busy.<\/p>\n Swearable Wearables<\/strong> I have a number of friends who love to show off their smartwatches \u2013 wearables \u2013 for keeping track of their meeting schedules and text messages. What I can\u2019t figure out is since the CE industry has so embraced fashion, why these things are freakin\u2019 ugly!<\/p>\n Gartner, IDC, Forrester and others are all projecting wearables are going to be a multi-multibillion dollar business, but jeezz!<\/p>\n Sure, I get it for people with health problems. There\u2019s a real need and they could literally be lifesavers. But most of the ones \u201cintroduced\u201d at the show were simply pitched as the exciting, fun thing for retailers\/etailers to carry \u2026 and sell.<\/p>\n Yes, I have a FuelBand for my workouts; but I also saw wearables on a lot of folks at the Las Vegas McCarren Airport who really needed to pay attention to what the sucker was telling them.<\/p>\n As for being constantly connected, no one goes anywhere today without their smartphone that does it all \u2026 including telling time anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n And you can wrap them in any fashion statement you want to make.<\/p>\n Of course, for the folks who really want to be noticed, there\u2019s Google Glass or some of the new more obvious headsets that were introduced.<\/p>\n Yes, there were hundreds of Glass wearers walking the show floor–undoubtedly with information that was sorta\u2019, kinda\u2019 useful to the wearer.<\/p>\n I was never a Bluetooth earbud fan because I never wanted people to know that I really was just talking to myself and the device simply gave me another excuse to do it.<\/p>\n The Google Glass (and wannabes) is even worse because you\u2019re never really sure if the wearer is paying attention to you or reading your LinkedIn, Facebook info. Wear it driving down the road? Folks have already received tickets for wearing them; and when I\u2019m driving, I need to focus on the idiots around me.<\/p>\n Frankly, I\u2019ll opt for a brain chip implant like the dude in the new TV series, Intelligence. Then, I\u2019d have my own personal black box that no one would see (stare at), everyone could tap into and my kids could hack.<\/p>\n The only thing I\u2019d have to add is an \u201cIntel Inside\u201d tattoo.<\/p>\n The biggest challenge I see for wearables is their long-term success.<\/p>\n Gen X, Gen Y folks wear \u2018em \u2026 preteens, teens, 24ers don\u2019t wear gadgets.<\/p>\n Focus folks \u2026 focus on the generation that will be the customers tomorrow!<\/p>\n Big Screens, Bigger Beauty<\/strong> Cable folks (who have been steadily losing customers) were quick to say 4K content wouldn\u2019t be delivered in volume for years. But broadcast folks said it was a whole different picture from the 3D fervor that went nowhere except in the theater.<\/p>\n Already Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Ultraflix, YouTube and others have said they have a strong and rapidly growing offering of native and repurposed (not merely upscaled) content for the consumer and the screen folks were happy to show you the dramatic difference at CES<\/p>\n<\/a>Onstage, Online<\/strong> \u2013 Katie Couric (l) and her new boss, Yahoo\u2019s Marissa Mayer, introduced the new content-driven online firm with confidence, flair and style. The journalist and host on all three of the country\u2019s major networks recently moved to Yahoo to lead a new chapter in online journalism and entertainment.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nDespite the glitter and glamour of the show, Cisco\u2019s Chambers set the stage for all of us with his vision of The Internet of Everything.<\/p>\n<\/a>Everything, Everywhere<\/strong> \u2013 For the past few years, Cisco\u2019s John Chambers has been warning everyone that content will overflow on the Internet. Based on some of the firm\u2019s newest research, they have developed a new mantra \u2013 the Internet of Everything \u2013 that will include more than 50 billion connected things. Chambers says it will be a $19 trillion business in the near future.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nEverything vs. Things \u2026 tomato, tomato.<\/p>\n
\nWhile Mulally\u2019s Mustang muscle car got the older crowd thinking young, it was the promise of tomorrow that made most folks think that Chambers just might be onto something.<\/p>\n<\/a>Laser Sharp<\/strong> \u2013 With cars continuing to incorporate more and more technology, automakers have begun bringing their polished presentations to CES to show folks how \u201cwith it\u201d they are when it comes to technology. Audi showed off their new LED\/laser headlights that can light the way ahead more than five football fields.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nIf you can\u2019t afford to drive your technology, there were plenty of folks at CES who tried to convince you it was time to wear it.<\/p>\n<\/a>Pebbles<\/strong> of Tech<\/strong> \u2013 Promising to do everything, including telling time, a lot of industry fortunetellers are saying that wearable technology will be the next huge thing in the consumer electronics industry. People with health issues, fitness nuts and techies are buying the devices but they have a ways to go before they become a useful fashion statement.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Connected Headdress<\/strong> \u2013 Lots of companies are working hard to advance headware technology beyond the Google Glass. It\u2019s still a work in progress.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nMy wife wouldn\u2019t let me wear the $1,500 face computer if we\u2019re out to dinner because: a) she doesn\u2019t want folks staring at us and b) she wants me to focus on what she\u2019s saying (obviously, I leave my phone in my pocket as well).<\/p>\n
\nWhile the smart home is starting to get traction, the big (really big) noise at CES was 4K UHD TVs. Not certain why I want a bendable, curved TV screen, but still the imagery was awesome.<\/p>\n