Word: comdex
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Bill Gates has been waxing lyrical about a device called the Tablet PC for so many years that it's become a running joke in the tech press. Finally last week, at the computer industry's big annual Comdex trade show in Las Vegas, the famous Tablet became more than just talk. Nine major manufacturers--including Toshiba, NEC and Compaq--unveiled Tablet PCs that they're about to bring to market. Each will sell for roughly the price of a laptop, and all will run Windows XP Tablet PC edition and a handwriting program called Journal. Microsoft promises both programs...
Along with all the serious hardware on display, there were plenty of fun gadgets to enjoy at last week's Comdex. A few of my favorites...
...Sure, there are choice tidbits here and there. Bill Gates' "state of the union" keynote speech on Sunday unveiled some interesting new Tablet PCs and the software that will make them work (Tablet PCs, vaporware at every previous Comdex, are finally starting to come into their own). But to get to the scraps of good stuff, even in Gates' speech, you had to wade through a lot of promotional crap. It's just like watching Prime Time...
...would be fine if that were all it was. I have no problem hanging out with geeks getting in touch with their inner desires, like the Microsofties who got body shots from silicone-enhanced exotic dancers at The Beach on Monday night. My problem is that Comdex has spread itself too wide and become too shallow to be of any real use. The products on display have usually either been seen a hundred times before or are showy prototypes - "vaporware" - that will never reach the market and are intended to drum up hype for their company...
...they themselves have produced the means to eliminate such gatherings altogether is one of the greatest ironies of our times. You can watch the keynotes, order products and subject yourself to a barrage of ads online. "The whole point is to get the f___ out of the office," one Comdex veteran told me. That may be true, but even the week's most decadent moments seemed sadly sordid...