Ad: Manage updates with the Download App

CES - Behind the scenes

CES: CEOs tackle U.S. innovation--the good news and bad

At CES, a show that's about nothing if not rapid innovation, three high-profile CEOs sat down today to dissect the complex web of factors that they say hinders the U.S. from keeping pace with the rest of the world.

Speaking on an "Innovation Power Panel" this morning moderated by CES President Gary Shapiro, Cisco CEO John Chambers, GE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt, and Xerox Chairman and CEO Ursula Burns agreed that a faulty education system, plus policies around exports and the highly emotional issue of immigration, all hold sway over the pace of U.S. advancement.

"We have D minus in education; we need to work on bettering this," Burns said.

Government and business should work together to raise educational standards, Immelt asserted, focusing specifically on K-12. "Our interests are clearly aligned."

But while President Obama is trying to force partnerships with businesses, government, and education through foundations, Burns said, many people won't invest unless they see "outputs," adding that education is failing, in large part, because those outputs are not there.

But education isn't the only obstacle, the Xerox CEO said, turning to tax policies and high employee costs in the U.S. Chambers says he has a preference for hiring in America, but current condition are working against it. … Read more

Where gadgets (and words) come to die

LAS VEGAS--Words are bullets.

They get through to people in ways that pictures, or even deeds, don't. Pictures often fade. Words stay with you and delight or rankle till your last breath. You know, words like "I do." Or "I love you." Or "I'm seeing someone else."

So I wandered into the South Hall of the convention center during the Consumer Electronics Show today to see how the makers of tomorrow's world would be telling their stories.

What words would they use? Could they offer change I could believe in? Would … Read more

Fitness TechZone to help keep resolutions alive

LAS VEGAS--On the heels of a study by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) reminding us that only a small percentage of resolutions are kept each year, this year's Consumers Electronics Show will, for the first time, include a Fitness TechZone, where the latest sports and fitness tools and innovations will be on display.

Sponsored by Living in Digital Times, the Fitness TechZone is described as a "focused lifestyle exhibition and conference embedded within the International CES." In simpler terms, it's gadgets gone wild for sports enthusiasts and digital couch potatoes alike.

The more than 25,000-square-foot … Read more

How Apple is present at the finest Vegas hotels

LAS VEGAS--At the crack of dawn (my dawn, not the world's), I was confronted by huge numbers of exhibitors rolling boxes, tubes, and what might have been weapon parts, towards the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Each, no doubt, feels they have the killer gadget. The one that will put, you know, that other killer gadget into the crematorium.

And yet, as the tablets, phones and, so I am told, mice you can wear like a ring, are put in place, so many of the attendees still wonder "What will Apple do?"

The shadow of the black mock … Read more

Tech media gadgets swamp Net at CES

LAS VEGAS--What's the easiest way to tell you're at a trade show full of thousands of people who make a living writing on the Internet? The Internet doesn't work.

CES doesn't really start until tomorrow, but today's traditional slate of press conferences posed quite the challenge for anyone trying to document the goings-on. Press Wi-Fi, 3G cards, MiFi devices, tethered smartphones, pick a device or a carrier: finding a steady wireless connection at the Venetian Hotel was a difficult prospect.

Not impossible, as our steady stream of live coverage shows, but extremely frustrating and slow … Read more

Why CNET is your best source for everything CES 2011

As you read this, the last of literally dozens of CNET editors and writers are parachuting into Las Vegas to cover the bejeezus out of the most insidiously timed trade show on earth. Occurring mere days after millions of lithium ion-powered devices were gifted and perhaps regifted, the consumer electronics industry is about to tell us why all those gizmos are already obsolete. Welcome to the 2011 International CES, Vegas style.

Whether you didn't get an invite or are here in Vegas jostling with 100,000+ other attendees, you can count on CNET to find the best of the … Read more

A look back at CES 2010

CES 2011 is right around the corner and we're all getting excited about the gadget possibilities in store for us. From 3D cameras and televisions to my personal favorite Android tablets, there will be no shortage of tech to sink our teeth into. There are only 32 days until the official start of the show, but if you can't wait, take a look back at the products we picked as our Best of CES 2010.

Apple looms over CES from afar

LAS VEGAS--The most buzzed-about device at CES 2010 wasn't even on display here.

A tablet or slate computer from Apple was basically all anyone wanted to talk about, and it's not even a confirmed product yet. As a result, Lady Gaga might be the only thing that was actually at CES 2010 that could even be described as generating large-scale buzz.

We can partly blame both Apple and Google for this. Google sucked all the air out of the Las Vegas Convention Center Tuesday, two days before this whole show even got started, thanks to its introduction of … Read more