Cutline Speaks

CES Survival Tips (You Now Have a Year to Prepare)

posted by Erin on January 15, 2008

I just returned from spending several days in Sin City, also known as
the place that geeks (including yours truly) far and wide call home
for about a week every year. I'm talking about the Consumer
Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. If you follow tech news at all,
you already know all about it. This year, for the first time, the
Consumer Electronics Association (the folks who organize CES) created
a special lounge for bloggers so there was no shortage of real-time
feeds from the show floor... or the Blogger Lounge. No need to recap,
you've already read it. But there are a couple of things I'd like to
jot down for posterity. With any luck, next year when I'm preparing
for CES, I'll remember that I wrote this post. So, without further
ado...

How to Survive Vegas During CES

1. Hire a driver. Split the cost with other folks. You'll be thanking
me when you're not standing on a two-hour taxi line. Or scrambling to
find the right shuttle stop that will get you back to your hotel from
the convention center.
2. Drink lots of water. By lots, I mean lots and lots. Way more than
you normally drink. Your skin will thank you.
3. Wear comfortable shoes. If you don't own any, invest in petals. I'm
certain there's a version for guys, and if not, who cares really?
Nobody will see the insides of your shoes when you're walking the show
floor.
4. Grab an apple at your hotel on your way to the show, or have
something in your bag to snack on if you're going to be on the show
floor for a while. Otherwise, it's hot dog heaven for you (or, maybe
you like that). Personally, I like to eat light (and healthy) during
the day so I can indulge a bit more during dinner. Strategic calorie
counting is oh-so-important in Vegas.
5. Don't talk about the parties. Everyone talks too much about the
parties. Amateurs. Go out, of course, but try to get a little
creative. Oh, and always put 20 on red.

And now you're likely wondering what I thought of the show this year?
Slightly overwhelming, as usual. It was actually less crowded compared
to last year. And the restaurants seemed to be a little slow, too. But
in terms of technology, there were a few things that caught my eye...

1. The 150 inch plasma television from Panasonic. Beautiful.
2. The 11 inch OLED television from Sony. Insane.
3. Pleo, the robotic dinosaur from Ugobe.
Totally awesome. (Side note: I was lucky enough to get not one but two
for Christmas. If you know anyone who needs one, drop me a line.
I mean, how many robotic dinosaurs does one girl
need?)

Other than that, it was not unlike other years... there's too much to
see, too much to take in, and too much of the same thing. And with
that, here's to next year... and to hoping that I'm on vacation
somewhere warm and sunny the first week of January!

Tags for this post: erin