Thursday, January 10, 2008

CES 2008: Another batch of gadgets

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CES 2008: Another batch of gadgets
Just when you've figured out the settings on your latest smart phone, digital camera or GPS device from last holiday, along comes this week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas with a whole new batch of electronic goodies to get you ready for 2008. Here's a bunch of new items I can't wait to see at the show... Plus: check out our continually updated slideshow of hot new gadgets from CES.

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LATEST COOL TOOL BLOGS:

The coolest cooler
My birthday is about a month away and now I know what I want: A Cruzin' Cooler. Keith and I found these guys over at the Sands Convention center here at CES. The high-end cooler can tow 600 pounds total and get up to 13mph. And, it's electric so it's good for the environment. If you tailgate or stay near the beach in the summer, this is the perfect accessory. Heck, I want one for the office.

World's best tchotchke at CES
Forget about squeezy balls, T-shirts, pens or candy. The best thing I got at CES so far was a tiny bottle of hand sanitizer, courtesy of N.E.W. Customer Service Companies.

Air Guitar afficianados rejoice!
I can already predict one of the hottest toys for the year -- the Guitar Hero Air Guitar Rocker is simply awesome. The device includes a mini-amplifier that attaches to a belt, and then a belt buckle-like sensor attaches to the front of your body. Using a plastic "pick", you wave that in front of the sensor and you begin to play a guitar riff. The device comes with 10 guitar riffs, including five famous songs (Black Sabbath's "Iron Man", Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water", Motorhead's "Ace of Spades", Van Halen's "You Really Got Me" and Boston's "More Than a Feeling") and five freestyle riffs.

Solar-powered Bluetooth headset on its way
On the way over to the convention center I had a good meeting with officials from Iqua (pronounced "ee-qwah"), a Finnish company that's in the Bluetooth accessories business. Formed from a bunch of former Nokia executives in 2004, the company is now entering the U.S. market with a bunch of Bluetooth headsets, stereo headsets and hands-free speakerphone systems.

An invention that would really work at CES
Forget about high-def TVs, the latest digital cameras or MP3 players. The device you need to make in order to make lots of money, especially at conventions like CES, is the personal transporter.

My brush with celebrity
Usually, I hear about celebrities and other famous types wandering the floor at CES, but never see them myself. Well, today while trolling the Nokia booth for potential slideshow pictures, I ran into David Caruso, star of CSI: Miami. He was nice enough to pose for my photo and to let me know that the CSI: Miami show (it's a guilty pleasure) is on hiatus until the writer's strike ends.

Annoying plastic packaging here to stay
Everyone's had to battle that tough plastic packaging that encases our consumer electronics devices. It usually takes a very sharp object and numerous stitches to get the darn things open. While wandering through the South Hall here at CES, I came across Innovative Plastech's booth, a Batavia, Ill.-based maker of those annoying packages. So I had to ask: "Are they going to get friendlier?"

Get Slingbox on your Blackberry
Good news for Blackberry owners that have a Slingbox connected to their TVs: Sling Media will unveil its SlingPlayer Mobile for Blackberry at next week's CES show in Las Vegas. For $29.95, you'll be able to watch TV from wherever you can get a strong enough signal on your Blackberry. The mobile player for Blackberry will be available later this year. Sling already makes players for Windows Mobile, Palm OS, and Symbian clients.


IT DEPARTMENT DEAD?
Nicholas Carr Nicholas Carr says utility computing will replace internal IT shops.

WHAT'S HOT AT CES?
CES International 2008 Take a look at the coolest technology straight from the showroom floor.

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Best Practices for WAN Optimization with Data Replication
Learn the keys for successful data protection across the WAN in this informative whitepaper, Best Practices for Deploying WAN Optimization with Data Replication. Get tips on how to configure these platforms and how to optimize your deployment.

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01/10/08

TODAY'S MOST-READ STORIES:

  1. The IT department is dead, author argues
  2. Is gaming Google a gateway to crime?
  3. Top stories from the International CES
  4. Student antics with cell phones, iPods
  5. Sprint gets WiMAX soft launch underway
  6. The 15 best downloads of the year
  7. Nugache worm kicking up a Storm
  8. Mergers, acquisitions on the mgmt. front
  9. Cisco's virtual switch smashes records
  10. Can femtocells live up to the hype?

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