Look how old this is! I post at SearchCommander.com now, and this post was published 16 years 10 months 23 days ago. This industry changes FAST, so blindly following the advice here *may not* be a good idea! If you're at all unsure, feel free to hit me up on Twitter and ask.
Nothing from CES that I picture here will change the world, but it was stuff I found pretty cool all the same. Most of the pictures I took on the fly as I was going by, and I really have no other information about them, so I’m unable to provide a link. However, I’m sure that they’ll be show up in the search engines and in the stores soon… Well, most of them…
Ring Box Video
An engagement ring box w/ display screen lets you add your own still pictures or video to the screen which plays when she opens the box. They had handouts of an October Yahoo news story featuring Rand Fishkin, our keynote speaker for Portland’s upcoming Searchfest 2008.
Motion Simulator
This was a motion simulator designed for flight games and it won an innovation award at this years show. At a mere $2800, what kid wouldn’t want one of these hooked up to his PC? The pedals and the joystick and the three screen display are definitely a requirement for the true filght sim buff.
Tank Chair Robot
With this Tank Chair I found in the robotics area, rugged terrain is no longer going stop someone who’s disabled from going wherever they want to go. It reminded me of the old MechWarrior games, and it was actually operational. They wouldn’t let them demo it there because it would tear up the floor. When I asked the guy what they buiilt it for, he said”because we could” 🙂
Flash memory with meter
This 100 gigabyte stick of flash memory has a display screen right on the hardware itself showing how much space is left. Did you read this correctly? I said it’s 100 gigs, and has a built in display screen. The entire thing is not much bigger in surface area than a postage stamp, and even though it costs $1000, it should make you realize where things are headed, and maybe much faster than you think.
The Hand Dryer in the Bathroom
This unit was actually in use in one of the downstairs restrooms, and the line to try it was much longer than the line to grab a paper towel or use the old-fashioned air hand dryer.
I tried it, and followed directions, and it actually it worked pretty well. The air acted almost like a squeegee as I pulled my hands slowly upward. Still, the extra time it takes to dry your hands with air is something I’ve always hated, and although this is faster than the old air dryers, I still prefer paper.
Remote Cooler
This is a remote control beverage cooler that you can drive indoors or out, so you’re not bothered with the task of having to get up to get another beer. I don’t necessarily think it’s all that cool but I do think it’s amazing that someone actually conceived of this and actually brought it to market, so I threw it in here as one of the stupidest things I saw at the show.
Up to 30 users on one PC
Why? I’m not sure… New technology allows you to run up to 30 users on one PC, each with their own keyboard and screen. I know how poorly my computer runs with just one user, and I can’t imagine this could possibly be any good for applications other than instructive environments. Can you imagine multiple users running versions of Microsoft Office 2007 on the same computer?
USB Missle Launcher
Doesn’t every computer need one of these devices? Last year’s USB Missle launcher simply pales in comparison to this year’s where they’ve now included a video camera with a desktop display for targeting of your pets, or your co-workers cubicle. I plan to wait for one of these until they are heat seeking projectiles, or you can plot coordinates for guided missles.
USB Pole Dancer
What can you say about a device like this? At least it gives you something to do while you’re waiting for your beer to arrive from your friends remote control cooler… – That is, assuming you have any friends!
