CES
Roundup 2004
There
is general agreement that CES has taken over from COMDEX as the
“big” Las Vegas computer show.
CES 2004 offered more than 125,000 guests from more than 100
countries and nearly 2,500 exhibiting companies.
The focus, of course, is on consumer digital technology, but
the thin line between business and consumer technologies continues
to get thinner, so there were plenty of business executives roving
the aisles, shopping for upgrades to their personal technology or
for new ways to enhance their organization’s competitive
advantage. For example,
important keynoters were CEOs Michael Dell of Dell Computer and
Carly Fiorina of HP – both companies provide models for bridging
the divide between consumer and business-focused markets.
We weren’t there, but in the age of the Internet (and with the
help of a colleague reporting from the show floor) we offer you some
highlights:
Displays were a major show item, the bigger and flatter
the better. The stars
of the show were giant (42” and up) plasma displays, but we hear
that late this year much cheaper ($2,000 vs. $4.000 and up) LCD
displays will come into the market.
Since we’ve waited this long, we suspect we’ll wait for
the next step in the spiral.
Convergence was a major theme. An important part of that convergence was the reborn notion
of Media Centers, PC-based entertainment centers for the home,
combining personal computer functions with control of music, movies,
and personal digital pictures.
Just what the focus was depended on the vendor.
For example:
Microsoft showed a
handheld, portable video device as well as media center controllers
and software. In his
keynote (as at COMDEX), Gates noted that Seamless Computing, the
ability to access all of your data and applications from every
device and platform, is what users will demand.
Microsoft
technology partners Alienware, Dell, Gateway, HP, Samsung, Tatung,
and others will include the software in set-top boxes to add
functionality to existing systems.
Gateway and HP intend to offer televisions with the new
technology built in.
Digital Media Platform From IBM And Realnetworks.
IBM and RealNetworks announced a partnership agreement that will
combine IBM’s expertise in content management and e-commerce with
RealNetworks’ digital media delivery and subscription management
infrastructure. The
solution will include open APIs to enable third-party applications,
such as customer support, subscription management, and security, to
interface easily with on demand digital media service.
The
Real 10 platform will be integrated with IBM WebSphere®
Digital Media Enabler, WebSphere Commerce and DB2®
Content Manager. This
will provide business users with a comprehensive solution to manage,
protect, distribute, and sell audio and video. Content can be
uploaded, rights assessed, and delivered to the customer at the
completion of a sale. Transaction
systems, existing billing and fulfillment services can be integrated
and the resulting solution will be cross-platform and multi-format.
Solution may be implemented on the user site or as hosted
solutions from IBM Global Services and RealNetworks.
Brad
Pransky Chimes In
Our
colleague Brad Pransky, on his way to CES, dropped a few predictions
on our desk, via his newsletter.
(See it all at http://www.int2.com/int2view/2004_Predictions.htm
.
Form
Factor: Smaller is better.
Brad notes both improvements in chip size from both Intel and
AMD, but also some of the terrific small form motherboards from
companies like VIA. Brad
and I are both fascinated by the notion of a tiny, full-function
personal portable that can be used as a handheld, laptop, or
desktop, depending on the case you drop it into, but always with the
same data base and software no further away than your hands.
In 2004, Brad expects small form factor systems to start
making a major presence in the corporate and 'appliance' spaces.
Home
Enterprise: This is Brad’s
term for the newly converged equipment that he expects to seem in
homes over the next year or so.
Notable, is the coming of enterprise style features and speed
to the SOHO market. He
includes home networks, media centers, and more.
Naturally, we expect him to spend a significant amount of his
CES time trying to convince himself he should be an early adapter
(did we doubt that?). While we were waiting to see whether PC’s or
TV’s would be the center of the home enterprise, the winner looks
like the Screen. If you
don’t believe this, Brad suggests you try surfing or word
processing on a 42-inch He’s
also hot on wireless technology for the home, including the next
generation of portable screen devices.
Next
issue, we’ll give you a full report on LinuxWorld and Lotusphere.
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