ces2013I wasn’t able to attend this year’s CES kickoff in Las Vegas.  I do follow the show and am usually pretty impressed with the level of professionalism and the cool new stuff that manufacturers have come up with for this show.

After seeing the debacle that was this year’s Keynote address, I suspect that head’s will roll.  This presentation was so bad it was cringe-worthy.  In past years, Microsoft has been the headliner.  This year Qualcomm grabbed the limelight and put on a show that was so bad it was funny, almost.  Actually, it was just sad.

The target was a good idea.  “Born Mobile”.  To get that point across they grabbed a Valley Girl who is just so popular.  Some red headed Gamer wanna be and Joe young urban professional dude.  All of the characters portrayed probably do exist in one form or another.  These characterizations though were just tedious.

The concepts are good, the implementation of presentation just fell flat.  I was left praying that someone with the personal power of Steve Jobs would appear.  Again, I was disappointed.  All we got was Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO prancing across the stage in a strange parody of a good kickoff.

I won’t go into my opinion of Windows 8.  Suffice it to say that there is a discipline that looks at user experience and making interfaces to the human experience better.  Microsoft apparently doesn’t believe that this is a valid profession and thinks that everything should be changed.  There will be resistance and Microsoft is not the Borg.

Speaking of which, there were a few commercials in their keynote.  One for Snapdragon was well done.  Lots of great Dragon video and a morphing fire lizard as well, even a bit of humor, or humour if you will because following the Paramount commercial for the next Star Trek movie, we were treated to Alice Eve.  She looked a bit disappointed with the keynote and was just there for a paycheck.  The app they are promoting sounds like 4 Square and gaming trying to come together with Geocaching.  Someday it may work. Sounds like it isn’t there yet.

I was underwhelmed by the whole keynote presentation.  Maybe I’m a cynic but this just looked like a bunch of corporate types trying to hype the next thing that they have come up with.  Nothing appears to be ready, nothing appears to be complete. It feels like someone said, “hey, throw it up against the wall and see what sticks”.

While the presentation was lacking, I am excited about some of the products that are being displayed.  Enhanced reality looks like it may be coming together in many possible directions this year.  Again though, the CES show is all about teasing the audience with possibilities.  I want to strap on my Google Glasses and watch my Quadrotor scan the woods with IR and following my Search Dog  helping to find a lost camper.  I want the technology to be helpful and rugged and finished to the level that I can rely on it to help the world.

I’d love to hear what you have to say.