Not So Neat, When It's Obsolete

Article first published as Not So Neat, When It's Obsolete on Technorati.

In the stampede to make tech devices smaller, flatter, and thinner, are we sacrificing common sense for vanity?

The 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) just wrapped up in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was the largest show in the event’s history, with more than 3,100 exhibitors across the largest show floor  – 1.861 million net square feet of exhibit space – and drawing more than 153,000 attendees from all corners of the world to see the newest, latest, and greatest in the world of tech offerings: Cell phones, TVs, computers, video games, cameras, appliances, and more. If it's tech, it's here.

The driving force of this annual show, is the insatiable demand by consumers for more and more tech. We blew past 2G, then 3G was better, now 4G is pushing data transfer speeds to your mobile phone as fast or faster than your home internet connection! Look at the offerings of any wireless carrier, it is a veritable arms race who can cram the most tech into their mobile devices. People demand larger and flatter screens, higher image density, LCD, Plasma, LED, more pixels, more more more more more.

The show also attracts all the press and independent tech reviewers. These privileged individuals get to see products in person 3-6 months before the product shows up on store shelves, while the general public gets to see glimpses of the new tech through the eyes of the reviewers.

This year, several in the press came back from the show, grumbling and  commenting that it was "boring" this year.
How on earth can a show with over 3,100 exhibitors taking up the better half of 2 million square feet produce a show that can be written off as boring by certain tech reports and reviews? Out of the thousands of exhibits on show, was there nothing there that captured their interest? Obviously not.

What can we expect from manufacturers year after year that are forced to produce innovative gadgets that warrant space age headlines and mind boggling concepts?

Are we, as consumers, inspired by these techno geeks putting unreal pressure on manufacturers to invest millions of dollars into research and development in this current financial climate, to outshine their current and  existing products, some of which haven't been released yet? When the iPad 2 is released, the iPad 3 is already in the works.

Does vanity, or a need to be first with the latest trend, cause an imbalance over necessity? It's now reaching epidemic proportions to have, say, the iPad 3, when you just bought the iPad 2 a few weeks ago, and it is already pushed to one side.

The financial cost to a business of research and development to come up with new tech at breakneck speeds is alarming on many levels. Consumers say they want to be clean and environmentally conscious, yet at the same time, they want the ultimate new tech, replacing it sometimes several times a year, and at what cost to the environment? Besides the obvious physical problem, the invisible issues of cadmium, lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium leeching into ground water can devastate water sources and earth for eons to come. This is not an environmental rant, however valid that point of view may be.

We are all guilty of it. We all like the next big thing, but if we like what we have and it does the job well, do we really have to have that shiny new gizmo just because promotional advertising tells us we do? Are you sure you want to spend $600 for the Samsung Galaxy Tablet when it's life expectancy with you is around 3 months; and for 2 of those months, you are drooling, salivating, and coveting the next model about to be released? As a tech professional, I get to handle and examine, operate and compare, many new products as they are launched by major manufacturers. There are some stellar devices among them; but most are superceded in a matter of months by their own brothers and sisters on the production line. So why the rush - why the race? Are consumers confused with regard to need over greed?

We aren't talking about inhibiting progress and invention here; it's a matter of injecting a little logic into the equation, and establishing if we really need to obsess about owning every new piece of gadgetry on show.  Is it imperative to be able to switch on your Samsung washing machine from your mobile device from 30 miles away? I don't think so. When it happens to me, I just ring the lady next door to do it for me.  :P

 Everybody loves an upgrade: something better and smarter than what we already have ~ but do we have to do it at this pace, and spend as much as we do? Perhaps it's time for reflection to allow the technomania to cool down a little.

Apple Pi

Article first published as Apple Pi on Technorati.

As the 2012 International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is about to kick off in Las Vegas, Nevada, there is always an 800 pound gorilla in the room that no one will admit is there. Apple. The company that hasn't exhibited at CES since 1994, yet they draw all the attention. It seems everyone feels the effect of their shadow.

For example, every company that proudly releases a tablet, it is compared to the Apple iPad.

That new ultra thin laptop, shot down in flames as it gets compared to the Apple Macbook Air.

Microsoft focuses all their efforts with ZUNE to compete with the iPod, yet Apple leaves them all in the dust.

What makes this year different than any other? Well, this year, the gorilla has grown to a mighty 1600 pounds. The iLounge area of the CES show, where companies display their accessories compatible with Apple products, has grown from 4,000 square feet in 2010, to an unbelievable 88,000 square feet this year. You do the math!

CES could take over all of Las Vegas Boulevard, and the square footage of devices that are Apple compatible and interface with Apple keeps growing exponentially every year.

The lineup of companies trying to compete and release products and devices that will equal or surpass Apple is.. amazing.

This year, the key buzzword is "ULTRABOOKS", and in fact, LG even has what they are calling a "SUPER ULTRABOOK".

All this leads to the obvious question, "Where is this all going to end?"

The truth of the matter, is that each successive year, CES is in fact progressively more and more about Apple than anything else, as everyone tries to compete, and is overshadowed by Apple.

The only success a company has, is NOT by making a competing product, but by making an accessory that is compatible with Apple gear.

It's becoming increasingly like the Oscars: the award for best performance goes to the A-List Superstar that doesn't bother to show up.

So have fun in Las Vegas, enjoy the sights and sounds, you are in "Sin City" after all, but the only real show to go to is the Mac World Exposition in San Francisco.