Yes folks, baby New Year has wet his first diaper, so it’s time
for that yearly exercise in gadget frenzy we all know as the
Consumer Electronics Show. I’ll be jetting out to Las Vegas today
for five days, so if I’m lucky I’ll see 25% of the show. For those
of you who aren’t familiar with CES, it’s huge. 150,000
attendees, 2,500 exhibitors, and more Nokia faceplates than anyone
should have to see in their life.
I’ll be covering the show for Linux Today, so expect an
inside track on how our favorite penguin is sneaking inside the
latest consumer gear. At least one major cell phone vendor
(Motorola) is set of announce a Linux cell phone for real, I’ll try
to get photos. Palm is working on a Linux version of PalmOS, I’ll
try to get a test drive. There are a ton of new set top video
devices and iPod clones, do any of them have Linux beating inside
their l’il hearts? We’ll find out.
Perhaps the biggest rumor floating around the show is that Larry
Page of Google will announce something big on Friday when he
keynotes. Specifically, a Windows-killer called the Google Box that
would be distributed at a major retailer, work as both a PC and a
home theatre component, and run Google’s own operating system. We
all know that 90% of the time when a vendor says they are going to
run their own operating system, it’s really a layer on top of Linux
or BSD, so it will be interesting to see what he has to show.
On tap for tonight are Bill Gates and his annual show and tell.
I’m sure Vista is a big part of it, but with possibly the most
dangerous Windows virus ever found in the wild right now, there’s
sure to be a buzz he really doesn’t want or need. The Tech Zone
will also be hosting a party after the keynote, I expect there will
be some cool gear to stick inside your next server on display.
Photos to follow.