USB DONE RIGHT: Two magic boxes that let computer audio ...

attend press events, some with free food
and drink. The result was that, in recent
years, it was impossible to get into some
large press conferences, such as those of
Samsung.
And so this year CEA tightened up
the requirements. Hobbyists with personal
blogs were out. After some 23 years
going to CES, even I had to provide
a sample article with my byline. And
you know what the results were? Nada!
The lineups were longer than ever, and
I still didn’t make it into the Samsung
conference. Fortunately some media
were live-blogging it, and if you knew
where to get a hookup to the Internet,
you were as good as there.
The crowds did indicate, however,
that CEA’s efforts at pulling in new
participants has paid off. If the official
figures can be believed (and I admit
sometimes taking them with a grain or
two of salt), this year’s CES saw over
156,000 visitors. If true, that’s a giant
leap forward. And I must admit that
I haven’t seen the show this busy in a
decade. Some other figures, drawn from
an independent audit: there were 3319
exhibitors, an increase of 22%, 35,734
international visitors from 150 countries,
and 5000 media representatives.
That round number seems suspiciously
approximate, but I don’t doubt that there
were a lot of us.
The report on the independent audit
ends with a curious warning for us, inkstained
wretches: The official name of the
global technology event is “International
CES.” Subsequent references to the show
can be shortened to “CES.” Please do not use
“Consumer Electronics Show” to refer to the
International CES.
Why? That’s what “CES” stands for,
doesn’t it? My guess is that “consumer
electronics show” has become generic,
and that other shows are referring to
themselves that way. Coca-Cola doesn’t
want you referring to a “Coke” if you
don’t mean its product.
The CES ice sculpture at left is
from CES Unveiled, the big press event
that occurs two days before opening
day. At one time it was a showcase
for the products that had won CES
Innovation Awards. For the past few
years, though, it’s been a showcase for
companies that pay a certain amount
of money for a table, to allow them
to buttonhole hungry (and thirsty)
journalists before anyone else gets
to them. The shift occurred because
some outside organizations set up off-site
events much like that. There’s Pepcom’s
rodeo-themes Digital Roundup, and of
course Showstoppers. All of them offer
free food and drink, always a magnet.
Digital Roundup and Showstoppers are,
however, invitation-only, with no onsite
registration. That keeps the crowds
more manageable than they are at CES
Unveiled, where all you need to enter is
a CES press badge.
Did I mention there are 5000 of
those?
The reason these evening events have
become popular is that it’s easy to get
lost in the crowd at CES. The exhibitor
guide is the thickness of the phone book
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 17
The “real” object in this photo is the Treasure Island, at bottom. Looming over it is the Palazzo, reflected in an acrylic panel.
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