Beyond Binary

LAS VEGAS--Every year, I schedule too many meetings at the Consumer Electronics Show and don't get enough time to just roam the show floor in search of gadgets that are either ultra-cool, absurd, or preferably both.

This year, I made a commitment to wander the show floor and absorb as much as possible. It should be said, in three hours on the show floor, I covered a very small portion of the south hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

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So the seventh wonder of the tech world could have been in the north hall, central hall, or the far-flung Sands expo hall, but I couldn't tell you.

What did I learn? First of all, there was not one product that everyone was talking about. If there was a universal hit, it was the huge flat-screen displays that many companies were showing off. I spent a few minutes watching video on a 100-inch screen. It's by no means the biggest on display here at CES, but it was three times the diameter of anything in my house.

From there, I decided I needed a rest, stopping at what might be the best massage chair I've sat in--a $4,000 model from Anaheim, Calif.-based Omega Massage. I make it a point to always try these out, whether at trade shows or the airport Sharper Image. It's all part of my sacrifice for you, my loyal blog readers (or you, the random clicker on this post).

From there I made my way to the folks who needed the massage chair far more than I did--the HD DVD booth. There, association members and technology partners put on a brave face, despite the major blow delivered by Warner Bros. last week, announcing that they would exclusively support rival Blu-ray.

I'd heard about some wireless earbuds from Sennheiser, so I went by the booth to check them out. They were behind glass, but I could see enough to know they weren't for me. They look kind of like a pair of those Bluetooth earpieces I already find annoying, plus they require your iPod or other device to wear a somewhat bulky transmitter. I think there's probably a market for these. It's just probably not for the average iPod owner.

Continuing on the headphone theme, I went to the booth of Skullcandy, a company whose hipness factor is hurt only by the fact that I own a pair of its earbuds. There were DJs and hip-hop musicians performing and an artist doing a skull drawing as the company showed off a variety of products, including a set of iPhone earbuds and a DJ-style headset that also includes a built-in SD card slot for playing music without a separate MP3 player. Both products sell will sell for $89, with the wireless SD headphones due out around March. I also stopped by Shure, which was showing off an attachment that turns its line of in-ear headphones into an iPhone headset by adding an in-line microphone.

Having heard enough, I moved on to other areas of the hall. Among the places I stopped was a Dell environmental booth that consisted of some eco-furniture and two glass whiteboards where people could scribble their ideas on how to improve our ecological impact. The booth rep told me the ideas would be taken to an executive meeting back at Dell headquarters. Not sure what they will do with the posts, which included "Take public transit," "No more products, no more people," and "Killjoy."

My favorite moment was when a woman from Baton Rouge asked if she could get a brochure.

The booth rep tried to handle it politely. Well, no, see, the whole point is...

I decided to let Dell save the planet without me and continued on in search of more tech fare. I stopped by several random booths that caught my eye, including a company peddling a mini-photo studio perfect for snapping shots of your eBay trinkets without casting a shadow. I stopped by HP and Kodak to check out the latest in photo-printing kiosks. I'd been pretty impressed with the HP model I tried out at a drugstore this holiday season, and found Kodak's models even more versatile. Both make choosing prints easy, but I liked the quick photo books that it was capable of cranking out, as well as a new Photo DVD maker that lets you set your photos to one of about 20 songs, ranging from a Hootie and the Blowfish track to the theme from St. Elmo's Fire.

I found myself drawn to the Brother booth, where it was showing software, apparently not new, that turns your digital photos into something stitch-able with one of its embroidery machines. The software sells for around $1,000 and the machines range from a $600 model to one that sells for $13,000.

I was also drawn to a small booth in the corner, with a sign "We buy closeouts" and showing a smattering of non-tech and low-tech items such as whiteboards and fax machines. Carolina Wholesale owner Larry Huneycutt said the Charlotte-based company has been coming to CES for 20 years and finding customers and sources for his far-from-state-of-the-art gear.

His catalog includes label makers, digital projectors, and calculators. "We even sell typewriters," Huneycutt said.

But some of the latest gadgets were also low-tech, including the oft-maligned Quik Pod, a camera attachment that holds a camera at a distance allowing for better pictures of oneself. It's a gadget that I reckon plenty of people would like, but few would want to admit to needing, much less buying.

The latest model is an even tougher challenge. It's an SLR model for larger cameras. My colleague points out that this only increases its dorkiness factor.

I don't disagree, but also think that there is a market, even for pros who want to snap their own picture as well as the legions of wannabes. I just think that the pros (and wannabes, myself included) are less likely to want to admit it. That's why it's nice that the SLR model can also be used as a monopod.

LAS VEGAS--It's not just inside the CES hotels and convention center that you find technology and tech enthusiasts here in Sin City.

Vegas cabbie Daniel Habtewold has quite the collection of gadgets. Here he shows off a Casio watch that also acts as a TV remote control.

(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET News.com)

One of the most passionate techies I met all week was Daniel Habtewold, the cab driver who took AJ and me back to our hotel after visiting with the Pleo robot dinosaur on Monday night.

Habtewold was playing an eclectic mix of reggae and other music, and AJ asked whether it was a CD or the radio. He said the tunes were streaming from his iPod, noting that it was Apple's beefiest model, the 160GB iPod Classic introduced last fall.

"I have 20,000 songs on my iPod," he said. That makes it the largest collection I've ever encountered.

Habtewold said he's had a regular iPod, a photo iPod, and an earlier video iPod as well. At the end of each summer he sells his current model for $50 or $75 less than he paid, knowing a new model will come out in September.

"This is the last one," he said. I told him he owes me a free ride when I see him at the next CES and he has some new Apple creation.

Habtewold's tech lust isn't limited to iPods. He also has a $3,000 camera setup including a Canon D30 and L-series lens, a Windows Mobile phone, and a Casio watch that also acts as a television remote control.

"I'm high tech," he said. "I don't care about clothes. I don't care about shoes that are brand name."

LAS VEGAS--A tiny green dinosaur moves across the table, gurgling and turning its head to the left slightly, striking an instantly endearing pose.

Then he knocks over a goblet, smashing the glass, and sending red wine spilling over the table.

Not the greatest first impression for the Pleo, a $349 robotic pet. I had been intrigued by my colleague's coverage of the robot and wanted to check it out for myself. Luckily, his makers hosted a reception with him at the Consumer Electronics Show here.

After cleaning up after their creation, Pleo's progenitors assured me that he's not usually like this. Lisa Abbott, director of marketing for Ugobe, the company that makes Pleo, said she can't remember the dinosaur ever causing property damage. Perhaps even a robot acts a little wild in Sin City.

"I guess if he's going to get in trouble it would be here," Abbott said. "Luckily, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."

Pleo broke a glass, but definitely didn't get thrown out of the Vegas steakhouse where he was being shown off to press and analysts.

(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET News.com)

Sorry.

But, the initial faux pas aside, Pleo was a hit, as several of the dinosaurs ambled around the lounge of the Wynn's Country Club steakhouse. The staff of the upscale restaurant were more than willing to forgive the one clumsy Pleo's indiscretion.

"I want to hold him," squealed Liz Koladish, while co-worker Edwina Swangler was concerned about the proper way to handle Pleo. "I don't want to hurt it," Swangler said.

The pair even took him back to meet the restaurant's executive chef, who jokingly attempted to pepper the green machine.

I, too, was a quick convert once I got the little guy in my hands. I held it. I let it chew gently on my finger. I flipped the pet over, tickled his feet and enjoyed his gurgles. And I wanted one.

Can he come for a visit? I asked the company's executive.

After getting the nod for a Pleo to make a very brief stay at the Beyond Binary homestead, I began wondering how our two cats will take to a dino-visitor. In general, cats don't really dig Pleo, Abbott said. "It doesn't smell organic."

That's OK, the cats don't always like me either. Maybe that's why Pleo is so appealing. That, or the fact that he doesn't have a litter box.

While there's no doubt Warner Bros.' decision to support Blu-ray exclusively is a major setback to the HD DVD camp, retailers say it's too soon to declare "game over."

Circuit City CEO Philip J. Schoonover, who has had precious little to be happy about of late, said the move is a sign that the battle is starting to shake out.

"We're very excited to see progress of any type," Schoonover said. "We see this as progress."

The head of consumer electronics merchandising at Target said the move "probably moves things a little bit," but said consumers are still largely sitting on the sidelines until there is a single choice. "By no means do we think we are ready to declare a winner."

Best Buy CEO Brad Anderson said the decision will help the company decide where to put its energy. "It makes it easier for us as a retailer to push it to one format." But he said, it's still a tough sell as long as retailers can't promise a customer that the next hit release will play on their pricey new player.

Maybe Brian Williams just needed a better GPS system. Or maybe, after appearing in Bill Gates' keynote video, he was busy hanging out with the Microsoft chairman.

In any case, NBC Nightly News has postponed its live broadcast from the Consumer Electronics Show, originally scheduled for Monday, until Wednesday, a show representative said in an e-mail.

The actual reason for the switch was not immediately available.

Aiming to boost the appeal of its Windows Home Server software, Microsoft is offering an update to the operating system that will add both fixes to the existing product as well as add-ons and new features.

Dubbed Power Pack 1, the software makes it easier to choose which files can be accessed remotely, and by whom, and also makes it possible to watch recorded TV programming remotely, essentially letting the Home Server act like a Slingbox of sorts. It also allows the Home Server's contents to be backed up to an external drive.

It's the first significant update to the operating system, which was at last year's Consumer Electronics Show and started showing up on systems last fall.

Until now, the product has been hard to find on retail shelves, but Microsoft product manager Joel Sider said that HP's MediaSmart will be at Circuit City stores this week and is expected to be on Best Buy shelves later in the month.

Forrester Research analyst J.P. Gownder said that the product has exceeded expectations, but noted that those expectations were extremely modest. Microsoft did not release exact sales, but the company's Steven VanRoekel said that it was in the tens of thousands.

Gownder said that Microsoft faces a continued challenge in marketing its home server, although he predicts significant growth in the market over time.

Power Pack 1, which eventually will be added to new systems and be a free download in the spring for existing Windows Home Server owners, also allows those running the 64-bit versions of Vista and Windows XP to connect to a home server. While use of the 64-bit operating systems are not all that widespread, they are more common among the hardcore enthusiasts that have made up many of the early buyers of Windows Home Server-based products.

The update also brings support for Chinese and Japanese languages.

Microsoft has been investing in interactive TV for more than a decade, but as of this month, the company can finally say it has a million customers.

Right now, there about 1 million set-top boxes running Microsoft's Mediaroom IPTV software. In the coming weeks, Microsoft said it expects to also have more than 1 million homes using its software. (The difference between homes and set-top boxes stems from the fact that some customers have more than one set-top box).

There are a lot of reasons why unit CTO Peter Barrett expects the IPTV effort to start paying off even more in the coming years. One is the move to on-demend television as opposed to just recording over-the-air content. While cable and satellite TV will struggle as content moves to HD, Barrett said that IPTV is equipped to handle lots of demand for on-demand content.

Barrett said the popularity of file-sharing services shows that consumers want to get their content anywhere and everywhere. "People are voting for the utility of watching TV on their PC by doing it the hard way," he said. "Setting aside that BitTorrent is largely illegal, it's a chore to use."

There is a strong market, he said, for combining the wide selection and quality available via file-sharing, with the ease of use of traditional TV.

"You can't operate BitTorrent with a beer in one hand and a remote in the other."

Eventually, content could not only be sent throughout the home, but also available remotely on a PC or mobile device.

"These things are not part of the imminent service release, but are inevitable," Barrett said. "It's the sort of thing that's really, really hard to do if you have a broadcast infrastructure."

Microsoft also expects the merging of its IPTV and Media Center PC efforts to ultimately mean that developers can write interactive applications that can run on either set-top boxes or PCs.

"The roadmaps will converge and you will be able to develop for both," Barrett said. "That's not part of the current release but it is part of a subsequent release."

In particular, Barrett said he can imagine the kind of bonus interactive features included on high-definition DVDs to eventually be available on video sent to Media Center PCs or Mediaroom set-top boxes. Already, a number of developers are writing programs that can sit on top of Microsoft's interface.

At CES, Microsoft is showing several, including a social networking program from eMuse called MyMap and a NASCAR application that could be used by TNT to show in-car cameras atop live race footage as well as an interactive boxing program from Showtime that would allow viewers to choose from different live audio feeds, such as the referee, each boxer's trainer, and the commentator.

While it has some advantages, Microsoft still faces challenges in the IPTV arena. To date, it's feature set has not been to different from that of satellite and cable, making it a tough sell. There have also been some outages and other growing pains to contend with.

To help show how its service is unique, AT&T has been having Tupperware-like parties in San Antonio, one of the cities where it is conducting trials of the Mediaroom service.

Microsoft hopes that the pending addition of new features, like whole-home DVR, will help further its appeal.

Barrett concedes that the effort has taken somewhat longer than Microsoft had hoped to reach this point. "This is a big complicated application," Barrett said. "We're happy with where we are after four years. We would have loved to do it in three. Nobody ever lost money betting software would take longer than expected."

While Microsoft's interactive TV effort stretches back longer, its modern approach of sending TV over Internet Protocol is only a few years old.

The entire technology world is preparing to descend on Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show, but many of those in the San Francisco Bay Area are finding it slow going.

The entire Beyond Binary staff (yes, that is just me), is among those who have been hanging out at San Francisco International Airport amid weather-related flight delays. My flight is now running three hours late, but, like all good CES-goers. I have plenty of gadgets to keep me occupied.

My laptop and Sprint EV-DO card are letting me blog, while a video iPod has a season of Weeds and The Office, along with a handful of audiobooks and plenty of music. And, of course, I rarely go anywhere without my Treo, so e-mail is ubiquitous even when the laptop is shut.

My partner is with me too, but he's on his laptop watching the first season of Dexter.

If I get really bored, I'll pull out a digital camera and take a picture of all this stuff.

Hopefully, the plane will board before it comes to that. In any case, look forward to plenty of CES coverage starting tomorrow as Bill Gates delivers what will likely be his last CES keynote speech for some time. There will be plenty of Microsoft stuff Sunday and Monday, with lots of show-floor strolling planned for Tuesday. For all things CES, feel free to check out CNET's CES page.

Microsoft has largely succeeded in getting a PC into the home, but its effort to put a server there will be an uphill battle.

Bill Gates announced the product to much fanfare at last year's Consumer Electronics Show. However, even folks who are bullish on the concept, such as Forrester Research analyst J.P. Gownder, say it's destined to be a niche product for years to come.

In a soon-to-be-published research report, Gownder figures that home servers (not just those running Microsoft's home server product) will reach 4.5 million households by 2012. That's up from just 190,000 such servers last year.

"That's a pretty good growth rate," Gownder said, though he added that "it's still a niche product, at that point," with his forecast representing home servers in only about 3 percent of American homes five years from now.

Gownder said the rise in multiple-PC homes, the increase of broadband, and the fact that people now store their music and photos on computers creates the necessary conditions for a home server to be practical. "We really are at a point in history where a home server might actually make sense," Gownder said.

But, he said, it's still a tough sell. Most people don't know what a server is. And even those who do have an understanding of servers from work may not have such a favorable impression. "They know that it goes down sometimes," Gownder said. "They know that it causes problems for them."

The one thing that could speed up the slow path to the mainstream, Gownder said, is if a cable company or other TV provider chose to deploy home servers as part of their service.

That concept is not so far-fetched, he said, given the fact that providers are having a tough time keeping up with on-demand TV requirements as content shifts to high definition. Such an approach could lead to growth 10 times what Gownder has forecast.

Microsoft has its own challenges with its Windows Home Server software. The company has struggled to get it into products and onto retail shelves. Hewlett-Packard delayed its shipment until late last year, and few other big-name computer makers have followed with products of their own.

The biggest recent news was negative, with the company announcing a bad bug that could lead to file corruption and data loss. Not exactly the kind of news that makes Middle America want to rush out and buy one.

Microsoft's Steven VanRoekel said the product's sales have exceeded the company's expectations, though he declined to give specific numbers.

"It's definitely tens of thousands," VanRoekel said, "which in a month and a half is good."

One area that Microsoft may look at to boost the popularity of the Home Server is having the software work better in households that have both Macs and Windows PCs.

"That's something we are taking a close look at," VanRoekel said, though he added that Microsoft has "nothing to announce."