What the $&%^ Is CES?

Dan Seitz Contributing Writer, Tech

original 309x195 What the $&%^ Is CES?Since you’re probably not going to be able to escape reports of it over the next week, especially since lots of neat gadgets are coming out of it, we thought we’d take a moment to acquaint you, the man on the street, with the convention in Las Vegas you won’t be going to.

So what is the CES?

It’s the creatively named Consumer Electronics Show. They show two things, primarily: things nobody wants to buy, and things nobody can afford, all of which fit neatly into the slot “things you don’t need but kind of want to own anyway.”

Why should I care?

Honestly? You kind of shouldn’t; most gadget manufacturers ditched CES years ago. Apple, for example, never makes any major announcements at CES, since they want all the media attention.

But you’ll be talking about it incessantly for a week anyway, aren’t you?

Yeah. It’s a bit like an animal with a mating call that makes it look incredibly stupid: they have to do it even if they know it’s humilating. So it is with gadget nerds and CES. To be fair, it’s a comedy in some ways because you get to see all sorts of ridiculous and sometimes even useful (if in a narrow sense) products. See our upcoming post on waterproofing for all you toilet texters.

So what else should I know about it?

That tragically, the porn trade show that used to accompany it has rescheduled. They felt it was no longer in their interests to time them so closely together.

In other words, porn has become more mainstream than being a nerd?

OK, so there was a reason to care, after all.

What'd you think of this?

Cast My Vote

Other Stories You Might LIke

comment on this story

blog comments powered by Disqus