allgeektout

So, I was trying to think of how to do a wrap-up of my opinions of CES this year, without making it a plain boring article. Sadly, the best alternative I could come up with was an awards article. So without further introduction, the Geekies:

• Most Tiring Gadget. I. Am. Sick. Of. 3D. TVs. Before CES, I thought they were a cool idea that was mostly a gimmick. After CES, I have lost any scrap of interest I may have had in them. That’s what happens when companies push a product too hard.
• Most Useful Gadget. Technically wasn’t on the show floor (though they had a suite at the Hilton) – the Livescribe Pulse Pen. I’ve had the review unit for a little while, but I haven’t had a chance to play around with it until CES. This thing is amazing - It records what you write and what you hear, and links the two together (it does more, but that’s the part I like). Useful for reporting, probably for education as well, but I’m curious if it has much potential outside of those two areas.
• Greatest Fail. My performance at the Build Your Own PC Race for Charity this year. Not only did I make a mistake that ended up in me being further back than ever before, but it’s the exact same mistake I made last year. Clearly, I do not learn from my own mistakes.
• Greatest Disappointment: Sony. They announced a new design for their products which they called “monolithic”, had it descend from the sky, and didn’t play Also Sprach Zarathustra. Complete missed opportunity there. Let me help them out a bit:

• Biggest Crowd. I don’t really recall correctly, but I’m pretty sure the biggest crowd was the line for Pauley Perrette, aka Abby Sciuto from NCIS. Allegedly, people started lining up as soon as the floor opened, a good 4 hours before she appeared. A bit of a side note, earlier in the week, Stan Lee also appeared at the same booth, the Marvell booth (they make semiconductors, not comic books).
• Biggest Surprise. Apparently I’m a Palm fanboy now? It seems pretty obvious to me now, but when I realized it it was pretty surprising to me.