OTHER TECH

Day 2

7:30 AM: iPod goes off and I'm up. But not at 'em. 8:00 AM: I'm out of the shower and dressed and decide to write for a bit before heading out for the day. 8:45 AM: I stroll into Starbucks and order a $5 Venti latte. I've learned from my mistakes, and am therefore destined not to repeat them (see Day 1, 7:30 AM). 8:50 AM: Jump into the day's first cab and head over to the Mirage for my first appointment. Traffic is surprisingly light, and we make good time. $13 fare. 9:00 AM: I meet up with LucasArts, the video game arm of George Lucas' empire, to check out two of their latest videogames. They had me at Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. But for the record, it looks awesome. Star Wars fans, The Force will be with you this summer. 10:00 AM: Back in a cab headed to the convention center. The cabby says it just took him 40 minutes for his last trip and he suggests a different, slightly longer ("a few extra blocks") route. I'm game. It turns out to be a few extra miles, but we make good time. Adios $18. 10:20 AM: People ask me how I prepare for CES and I say, "How do you prepare for a kick in the nether regions? You just take it, then move on. And on I move into the South Hall to "officially" begin my CES 2008. The South Hall is where all the A/V manufacturers are located. However, this year, many of the big names that you'd expect to find are absent. In their place are many companies that I've never heard of and lots of gaming companies. I did enjoy DTS' new Surround Sensation technology which does a really good job of simulating surround through just two speakers. I also got some programming tips from the guys at Universal Remote Control. Then I had my picture taken with THX's Tex. "Hi, I'm John, and I'm a nerd." 12:30 PM: I head to the Press Room to check email and grab lunch. This must be my week for steak fajitas, because that's what they're serving. The room is packed with people eating while huddling over laptops and jabbering away on cell phones. I manage to find a single chair and try not to spill food over the Mac which is sitting dangerously close to me. I decide to leave when a guy with a Tuberculosis-sounding cough joins our table. 1:15 PM: I make my way to the Central Hall, the land of the big video companies with booths that resemble mini-cities. 1:25 PM: I swing into the small country which is Microsoft's booth. I have recently purchased a new laptop and I have a Vista question. Surely, here is a place where I can get an answer. "Hi, I have a question about Vista." "Oh, I'm not on that team. I'm with mobile. You need to talk to someone over there." "Hi, I have a question about Vista." "Sorry, not my team. I'm part of Office. You need to go over there." All told, I talked to five people. Five! Apparently no one at Microsoft is actually on the Vista team. I guess I'll just have to live with that annoying pop up window . . . Other highlights of my Central Hall visit: Pioneer's new extreme contrast concept Plasma. The black levels are staggering. It is so good, you want to gouge your eyes out so you never have to look at another set again. Texas Instrument's 240 hertz technology demo. Just when you thought 120 Hz was good enough, something even better comes along. Sharp's new ultra-thin LCD TV with black levels that would have been really noteworthy had I not already gouged my eyes out at Pioneer. LG's demo of their new Mark Levinson designed audio system. Panasonic's 150-inch Plasma TV. I know . . . if you read my Day 1 report I said they didn't unveil it, so I guess the rumors were right and they were just holding it off as a booth surprise. It is huge and mighty good looking, and probably requires a small nuclear generator to power it. But who cares? You'll have the biggest Plasma in the world. 4:45 PM: My feet are begging for mercy after walking the technology Trail of Tears, so I head back over to the South Hall and stroll into Dolby's VIP lounge for a quick rest. Yes, bartender, I would love a drink. Thank you, dear man. 5:15 PM: My Sound & Vision badge gives me cuts to the front of Dolby's demo line. I smile politely at the people who have been queued up for probably over an hour. TrueHD audio sounds great, and my feet are enjoying another opportunity to sit for 10 minutes. 5:30 PM: I find out that the folks from DTS are heading over to the Venetian, my next stop, and I ask if I can hitch a ride. I pile into the back of their VW Bug and do my best to enjoy the ride. The backseat of a Bug is really not meant for passengers over 6 feet tall. 6:15 PM: I get off at the wrong floor and run into a PR friend, Sue Toscano, and we swap baby stories and pictures for a bit. She has photos, I have my iPod. 6:45 PM: I arrive at Bang & Olufsen's press event. They reveal a $3,950, 32-inch LCD TV with 1366 x 768 resolution and a $600 portable MP3 player with 4 gigs of storage. B&O is excited about these new low price points which they hope will attract many new customers. I keep my comments to myself thinking about the kind of displays $4k will get you and about my 80 gig iPod, and enjoy the decent wine they are serving. 8:00 PM: I grab a shuttle to the Palms for the unveiling of Mitsubishi's Laser TV. 9:15 PM: On the 53rd floor of the Palms with a white chocolate Godiva martini in my hand, Mitsubishi unveils the TV. I have been waiting like three years to see this set and it is pretty amazing. The colors are incredibly vivid, especially the reds (I'm guessing because of the red laser). After Pioneer, this is the second best TV I've seen today. 10:30 PM: After a 15 minute wait in the cab line, I head back to the Mandalay. Traffic is mercifully light and my driver is funny and fast. He tells me about different celebrities he's picked up, including Mike Tyson and Shaq. He says Tyson gave him a $500 tip. I told him to lower his expectations. $15 fare. 10:50 PM: I'm lying in bed, listening to my iPod radio and typing away getting ready to start all over again tomorrow . . .