Merge within a merge
Jan 1, 2012 2:36 PM, By Ned Soseman
Because this e-newsletter is being distributed on Jan. 1, 2012, let me be among the first to wish you a Happy New Year.
If you are a manager with a capital budget, you have a pretty good idea what the latest technologies to cross your receiving dock in 2012 are going to be. What you don’t know is the impact new 2012 technologies will have on the technologies you’ve already committed to buy with this year’s capital budget. Maybe the impact will make you wish you would have waited. Or, maybe it will have virtually zero impact. It all depends on how well you know your infrastructure and its needs, and on the clarity of your vision.
One fact is abundantly clear: We’re all going to be flooded with new technology and rumors of new technologies for at least the next four months, primarily due to the timing of the CES and NAB shows. Not all products shown or announced will be immediately deliverable. Some will never be delivered, but that’s okay. Simply knowing what’s on the horizon, real and vaporware, will help keep the dust off your crystal ball.
Vehicular nirvana
Much has been written about the convergence of all sorts of electronics, such as computers and video, for instance. There is no better example of the convergence of all things electronic and electro-mechanical than today’s new vehicles. Many are filled with more electronic gadgets than a modern Radio Shack store.
Vehicles have become such iconic consumer electronics devices that this year’s CES show has dedicated most of the LVCC North Hall to automotive electronics. You know, the North Hall many past NABs could barely fill. Most CES video products will be in the Central and South Hall areas. With 2700 vendors and about 150,000 visitors, CES can be difficult to navigate. If you don’t have a plan on hand before you arrive, you can be easily overwhelmed and distracted when you arrive, which is exactly what Las Vegas is famous for, isn’t it?
Here are a couple of great overview maps dedicated to the strip and LVCC: http://www.cesweb.org/docs/2012_CES_ShowLocationsMap.pdf. A more detailed exhibits map is available here: http://www.mapyourshow.com/shows/index.cfm?show_id=ces12&userid=&lang=EN&locale=EN.
Flat is good
If I were asked to identify one technology that has revolutionized the TV industry more than any other, I would have to say it was the introduction of the flat panel display. It revolutionized electronics at virtually all levels in all industries. It started with digital displays changing how people could tell the time of day.
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