Days Three and Four at CES were both exciting and exhausting.
Day Three
Day Three was a flurry of frenzied activity as Huneyuctt and I rushed from interview to interview. There’s always going to be far more at the show than any one or two people can see, and the locations of kiosks are often rather counterintuitive. Even the largest company sections were often so swamped by people that it was almost pointless to try and talk to a representative. I can only feel enormous sympathy for the PR and marketing types who have to keep things moving.
The technical highlight of the day was undoubtedly iBuyPower’s Erebus computer, a terrifying monolith of computational power stealing the souls of those who beheld its magnificence to feed its own dread processes. Without any benchmark programs to test the mighty machine, I can’t say that I’m yet claimed by its allure, but from a purely engineering and aesthetic perspective I have to confess I was intrigued.
After Huneycutt pulled himself away from the computational Gorgon, we hit a few other booths whose products are detailed elsewhere. Then the time arrived to head over to the Adult Entertainment Expo to meet with FyreTV.
Readers probably expect the AEE to titillate, and they were certainly trying their best. But the funny thing is that despite the parade of scantily-clad women and screens broadcasting snippets, it felt far less sexy than a good nightclub. Exploitative as hell? Absolutely. But it was anything but erotic; fantasies need the veil of the imagination or emotions to retain their appeal, and there was little enough of either at the AEE. I was glad to get out of there.
Day Four
The last day of CES was an open affair for us, and I enjoyed the chance to just ogle the technology on display. Huneycutt and I wandered the floor without much direction for a change. The convention was beginning to wind down — the booths were less populated, the avenues and lanes less choked by humanity. But there were still neat things to see.
We passed by absolutely gorgeous high-end and conceptual cars. (I particularly liked a sporty, angular Tron-inspired sedan with a mostly unpainted-looking, gleaming chromed exterior.) We wandered by three-dimensional televisions and equipment, checking out Toshiba’s glasses-free 3D technology. We swung by Cellulaire’s booth and admired their cellphone accessories. And we stopped by Razer for a look — I’ve gushed over their products elsewhere, so I don’t intend to bore you with it again.
I’ve always been a little ambivalent about the proliferation of 3D technology. There aren’t that many programs that seem to know what to do with the technology, and the bulky glasses tend to give me problems because they don’t cover my peripheral vision. Toshiba’s glasses-free televisions are a step in an interesting direction, but I can’t say I’m sold on it just yet- it still gives me a headache, and sweet-spot technology is just a different way to make 3D still require a rigidly controlled viewing environment. We’ll see if it goes anywhere.
Cellulaire’s selection of cellphone accessories was rather nice. I liked the various designs on display — the rhinestone-crusted fad that seems to have swept popular culture did not appeal, but there were some very clean, industrial-inspired cases there that I admired.
About 2 30 P.M, we decided we’d had enough, and Huneycutt and I bid CES goodbye for the year. The prospect of not walking about anymore made my feet and shoulders practically sing with relief.