The Toronto Globe and Mail has a summary of CES with a mention of Life|ware and the NextGen home. Read it here.

Our PR firm tells me that through Wednesday, Life|ware appeared on TV 105 times.

They try not to put me on TV to speak for the company. Apparently, I’m too pretty, and the viewers would be distracted by this and unable to process my message about the connected home. What can you do, you know?

Also, here is how Business Analyst Doug H. interpreted the “wear all black” memo from Marketing.

I gave this guy the nickname of “Death Star,” which he was really grateful for, since his old nickname was Puddin’head.

Above: Puddin’head no more.

Sticking TV screens wherever you can seems to be the new trend in the big-ass truck and car hall.

The show’s over in a few hours, folks, and the lines at our homes remain strong. I prolly won’t get to post again until I’m back in Columbus, so hang tight until then.

Peace.

Walking the CES show floor on a busy day is kind of like trying to get out of the stadium parking lot after a big game. Slow moving, lots of noise. You get bumped around a lot. Here are a few shots from the hour I spent on the show floor today.

The Microsoft booth has some sweet-looking Zunes and accessories…

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Two words, friends:

The…

Clapper…

…is now Life|ware-enabled!!

It took some real hackalicious ingenuity to make this happen. A little cut here and a few runs to Radio Shack, but we are now bringing an entire room to life with a clap-clap. And, for the record, clapper integration is the first trade show idea I have ever had that’s actually been accepted by the boss-types who make these decisions since the unfortunate web-enabled coffee maker we built was shot down because the “Fire Marshall” said it was a “fire hazard.”

I am hoping this is a sign that they will reconsider my Mr. T vs. the Robot from Lost in Space wrestling match idea. This has to happen in my lifetime.

Also, there is this – The Clapper is way more sensitive than I remember. A couple of heavy footsteps and suddenly the lights are going down, the shades are going up and the music is blaring loud. I love it. And, in a beautiful convergence of culture As-Seen-on-TV, the clapper turns on a disco ball.

Can it get any better than this? Short of hiring Mr. T to actually be the guy who claps, I don’t think it can.

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Vegas.

I’m on the ground at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show where EI has three fully automated homes ready to reveal the wonders of digital living to all attendees come later this morning. We are working on a surprise at this show that I am bursting to tell, but I have to hold back. We’ve had people on the ground here for weeks, and I’m just the chachi who shows up before game time with his little camera. I can’t give away much about the houses just yet, but there’re a few previews below. Mostly, I have been roaming around seeing what kind of trouble I can get in to.

I’ve shot a lot of trade shows since I started with EI, and honestly feel like I have maxed out creatively in the “Photos of People setting up a trade show” ouevre. I’ve been trying to break out of it by seeking out interesting photos. A brief selection from today:

For this trip, I took advantage of a clearance sale to buy a Citizen fold-up bicycle, which I will use on the copious errands between the work site and hotel that I am sent on. Here’s my review of the Citizen to date:

• I bought a travel bag for mine, which has two small wheels so it can be towed like a regular suitcase. The only problem I had was that it tipped over every twenty feet or so, making for a less than graceful airport experience. On the plus side, it checks like regular bag with no extra fees.
• Assembling this on site was as easy as advertised. Easier even.
• I’m a tall guy, so the small wheels are an adjustment. It’s just not a machine built for speed and distance. But for a little trade show commuter, it can’t be beat.

We took a work break Friday evening to race the bike around the parking lot. Nick Hermann from IT holds the record at 0:33 seconds.

Update! OK, the crank fell off my Citizen. I’m not sure if I was pedaling too hard or what, but it came right off, and efforts to reattach it have not been successful to date. It came off while I was riding to a Radio Shack about two miles from here in a neighborhood I would venture to guess has not see many people walking crank-less Citizen fold-up bicycles in it. They welcome such people by offering to sell them narcotics or perform other services.

Vegas.

Also, the flush handles on the upright urinals in the Venetian are gold plated.

Here are some of my personal goals for CES:

• Check out the ASUS stuff. I am writing now on an Eee PC that I received about 10 days ago, and I really like it. For a word processing/email writing/web surfing guy like me, it does what I need it to do and is light as can be. I have adjusted to the smaller keyboard pretty well, but I’m pretty much a three finger typist. My wife, who knows how to actually type, is still adjusting to it. Still, word is they’ll be announcing a model with an 8.9″ touchscreen and WiMax this year. I’m pretty reluctant to bring technology in to my life casually, but so far, the Eee PC has made an immediate positive impact.



• A few months back, Gizmodo showed this small MP3 player from an outfit that featured a Goat-bird icon for volume up, and a peeing dog icon for volume down. I ordered it immediately. I hailed the art director who approved these icons as a genius, a bold visionary unafraid to break with tradition.
  
  It’s apparently called the USB Chocolate MP3 player, but around the office, we call it the Goat Bird. It’s been a great little player, and has disco-floor like lights on the face when it plays. I’ve found out it’s made by iriver, but Brando brings it to the states. iriver is a brand of the ReignCom, Ltd. company, who is here at CES.
  My plan is to track them down and get the inside scoop on these brilliant icons.

Stay tuned for more photographs of complete strangers at CES, more on my fold-up bike experiences (assuming I get the crank back on), and follow my quest for the creators of the Goat Bird mp3player.

Um, and also the latest from Life|ware and the NextGen home. Good times, all.