... can be readily posted on the internet without anyone getting embarrassed. Recently a group of MBATS (MBA Tech Society) members took a trip down to Las Vegas for the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). In addition to enjoying a brief escape from pure cold into just a mild chill, the venture was a very memorable experience.
CES is hard to summarize. 140,000 participants walk around for 2-4 days to see as many as they can of the 2,700 technology exhibitors. It's really difficult to give a sense of the scope of the place if you haven't been there. Needless to say, by the end of our second day, my feet were sore and the exhibitors with massage chairs became very popular. You'll never see more large LCD displays in one place in your life. You'll likely never be able to practically afford most of the cars. You'll possibly even see a good number of products you couldn't imagine using. If it's shiny, gadgety, or over-the-top, you'll find it at CES.
1 - Nvidia's tent which featured their Tegra chip used in the new Tesla Model S. The display that the Tegra drove was nice and all, but I was personally attracted more to the car itself. I'm a huge fan of the move to electric vehicles and Tesla just makes a pretty car. It's well worth checking out when you get a chance.
2 - Glasses-free 3D. I'm pretty opinionated on the 3D fad right now. I'm all for progress in entertainment technology, but I don't like having to wear uncomfortable glasses for the minor value-add of watching something in 3D. That said, LG, among other companies, was displaying some early prototypes of working glasses-free 3D TV. The viewing range is limited, but the effect was awesome. LG expects the technology to be consumer-ready in 3-5 years and I'll seriously consider upgrading at that point.
And, of course, the greatest takeaway of the whole experience was getting to know my fellow MBAs better. I learned about Barney's adventures as a pop star on his LDS mission in Thailand and Mike's experience as a walk-on for BYU's football team. We survived smoking heaters in a cheap motel and a less-than-exciting continental breakfast. We clinked glasses with the president of HTC in Caesar's Palace on HTC's dime (and were the only ones drinking seltzer water with lime). Most importantly, though, we formed memories that will last much longer than the gadgets we went down to Vegas to see.
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