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5 things I don't want to see at CES 2013

Publié: janvier 7, 2013, 11:18pm CET par Joe Wilcox
In just a few hours, the Consumer Electronics Show kicks off in Las Vegas with the pre-show keynote. But the event already feels days old, with all the announcements and press galas already passed. That's the insanity -- so much going on that vendors fall over themselves to get out stuff early so as not to be lost in noise. There will be plenty. Earlier today, I identified 5 things I would like to see come out of Las Vegas this week. Now it's the don't wannas.

Honestly it's tough to keep the list to five, but I do so for consistency's sake, or change much from last year. Vendors are queued up to make the same mistakes as in the past, incurring wasted marketing costs they pass onto you the buyer. With that, I present, in no particular order of importance, 5 things I really don't want to see at CES 2013.

1. Pre-show and first-day product pileups. CES 2012 was one of the worst for preannouncements. I couldn't imagine how this year's show could outdo the last one. But it has, so far. The show officially starts tomorrow, which is Day 1. The last two years, early announcements piled up on Day 0 and Day 1. But for 2013, there was a bunch of what I call Day -1 announcements. Why hold an event at all, if no one waits for the start?

The problem is no one wanting to miss press coverage and so everyone yells about their products at once -- either before the show actually starts or all done Day 1. Seriously, I expect little left come Wednesday morning. The pileup means that:
- Even more products are lost in the noise
- There is too much at once for bloggers and journalists to cover
- Smaller, deserving vendors are missed, even with something really cool
- People bug out of the show earlier, because all the news is over -- wasting attendees' time and money
I'm a huge fan of smaller events hosted by tech companies, where there is more focus and clear message. CES is too big for most. If there is any real value to such a large venue, it's for retail buyers and distributors. Even then, I wonder.

2. Products shipping in six months or holiday 2013. This is similar to one item from my want to see list. CES is too much the vaporware show. It's bad enough vendors yell over each other to get attention, to glean even a smidgen of marketing attention. But must they do so with products you can't buy this quarter -- or God forbid -- until Christmas? If you aren't shipping soon, you're pushing vaporware, dude, and wasting valuable resources that add costs passed onto consumers.

There's a misconception that because of search engine obsession -- ah, optimization -- the Internet has the memory of an elephant. Maybe it does, but people don't. Are vendor product managers so out of touch they think that hordes of buyers will wait 10 months to get that shiny new thing popular at CES? Hey, Mr. Sassafrass, you were once like the rest of us, too. Visit aunts and uncles and see how real people live.

If only the madness stopped there. Tech companies spend millions of dollars on network and other security to deter, and hopefully prevent, corporate espionage. So why would they display their trade secrets at a hugely public event, with scads of press coverage and competitors' spies lurking everywhere. That hot product shown off this week is copied and released in a couple months, long before the real thing is available.

I commend colleague Alan Buckingham for focusing on an actual -- whoa what a concept -- shipping product. LaCie has a new NAS server with release date and purchase price. Can you feel the earth shaking?

3. 2013 is the year of... From the halls of CES 2012, we were told to expect the year of the ultrabook (That didn't happen). And iPhone (That kind of happened). Smart TV (Ah, no). Or Windows 8 (Windows what?). Among many others. So I look askance at whatever predictions 2013 will be the year of. For the record, it's the year of the snake, according to the Chinese calendar. Everything else is pure poof.

4. Anything about Smart TVs. Sorry, but the Smart TV's time hasn't come. Will it ever? What makes it so brainy to begin with? Last week, Alan wrote about a new NPD report that finds lots of disinterest in and confusion about Smart TVs. How long has Samsung and Sony hawked connected sets, for example?

Consumers lose when the tech leaps ahead of what they've got integrated in the box. The first (and only) generation of Sony televisions with integrated Google TV is good example. Second-gen devices use a newer hardware platform that supports features not available for the older one. Buyers would have been better off with a box connected to the set, rather than obsolete integrated features.

I'll use myself as further example. My local Sony store has a huge remodeling sale underway right now. On Saturday, I looked at a 42-inch LED HDTV with $659 starting price available for around $600 but $407 after the big fire sale. A 40-inch model originally sold for $899 but would cost about the same after the big discount. I asked the sales rep why the smaller set originally cost more. It was a Smart TV, which doesn't appeal to me at all. If NPD is right, many others share similar disinterest.

My view of Smart TVs: Vendors are trying to create a market where none exists. My local Sony outlet store sells a 32-inch HDTV for $299. Not long ago, a television with that size screen sold for $1,000 or even $2,000 more. But prices have come down as economies of scale kicked in and consumer demand declined. Now manufacturers seek higher prices with thinner sets, bigger screens and so-called smart features. I say most people don't need or want the connected features.

5. Best of show awards. Take a close look at previous years' winners and see which turned out to be the godsend device of the year. Geek writers and judges aren't like the rest of us. The awards are great marketing for vendors but poor reflection of what products really matter at CES.

Photo Credit: Svilen Georgiev/Shutterstock
LaCie shows small business some CES love with 5big NAS Pro

Publié: janvier 7, 2013, 9:00pm CET par Alan Buckingham

While the Consumer Electronics Show is mostly about gadgets for your home, there's more to it. Unfortunately, devices that are more functional, as opposed to flashy, tend to fly beneath the radar. That means that good, useful equipment, that we will actually see on the market before CES 2014, does not get the attention it deserves.

That is the case with a new LaCie network attached storage device designed for small businesses. The company today announced its 5big NAS Pro, a device that brings some new functionality to the product line. According to LaCie, the new NAS will have what it describes as "True Hybrid Cloud". This will use the company's own cloud storage, Wuala, and display both network and cloud storage in one view. This means one interface for both users and administrators, which is especially important on mobile.

The company also promises several RAID modes to choose from as well as what it terms as "formidable security", although details on what exactly that means are left rather vague. If you did not guess, of course the "5" in the name alludes to the amount of drive bays available. The device will work with Genie Backup Manager Pro on PC or Genie Backup Manager Pro for Mac. Both include 3 licenses.

Unlike many of the products you will see plastered all over the web this week, this one actually has shipping and pricing details. LaCie will make three models available "this quarter" -- 0 TB, 10 TB and 20 TB. Prices start at $549 and go to $2,199, and customers will get a 100 GB free trial of Wuala cloud storage.
BlueStacks brings over 750,000 Android apps to Lenovo PCs

Publié: janvier 7, 2013, 8:22pm CET par Wayne Williams

BlueStacks has been very busy lately, inking a series of deals with major partners to bring its App Player software to a much wider audience. The App Player, if you’re not familiar, virtualizes the Android environment and lets users download and run green droid apps on desktop and laptop computers. The company last year formed partnerships with Asus, MSI, and AMD, and at the end of December rolled out a beta version of its software for Macs. Today’s CES announcement is, however, easily the firm’s biggest coup to date.

China’s Lenovo, which late last year usurped HP as the world’s largest PC manufacturer, will start bundling the BlueStacks App Player on all of its Idea-branded line of consumer PCs, including Ideapad laptops and IdeaCentre desktops. A total of around 40 million systems.

This will mean anyone buying a new Lenovo PC will have access to over 750,000 Android apps, and thanks to BlueStacks’ cloud technology, be able to sync their favorite apps, data and SMS text messages between Lenovo computers and smartphones.

"As the PC market leader and a growing smartphone maker in China, it's huge that Lenovo is implementing our vision of creating a blended experience across smartphones, tablets and PCs," Rosen Sharma, CEO of BlueStacks, said.

Lenovo's VP of Worldwide Marketing was equally gushing, adding, "Innovation is vital to leading in the PC+ world, and we're winning by continuing to push the limits in both software and hardware. Our alliance with BlueStacks puts us in a unique position to offer the most popular games and apps on flagship PC products like the Horizon Table PC in order to give our customers engaging user experiences".

BlueStacks’ agreements with various partners means that more than 100 million PCs will come preloaded with its App Player software in 2013.
Developers, developers, developers! Mozilla announces Firefox OS App Days

Publié: janvier 7, 2013, 8:11pm CET par Alan Buckingham

Firefox OS is coming this year and we have already seen some early previews. In order to hit the ground running these days any operating system, be it desktop or mobile, needs a healthy app ecosystem. To that end, Mozilla today announced "App Days", a series of events around the world that are designed to get developers excited and moving for this upcoming release.

In the announcement, Mozilla's Mark Coggins explains that at "each App Day event, you’ll have the opportunity to learn, hack and celebrate Firefox OS, Mozilla’s open source operating system for the mobile web. Technologists and developers from Mozilla will present tools and technology built to extend and support the Web platform, including mobile Web APIs to access device hardware features such as the accelerometer".

For many developers getting started should not be too difficult, as much of the work can be handled by HTML5, which is where the web has been moving recently anyway. In fact, Mozilla tells us that existing HTML5 apps can be "optimized" for Firefox OS.

The events will generally run from 8:30 am to 7 pm local time and take place in such diverse locations as the United States, Greece, Romania, Taiwan, Kenya and many more. A complete list of locations, along with sign-up details, can be found on the Wiki page Mozilla has created for the events. Most will take place between January 19th and February 2nd.

This is a great free opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a brand new mobile OS, which will be geared towards the lower-cost range smartphone market and is expected to be released worldwide, although gradually.

Photo Credit: nmedia/Shutterstock
5 things I want to see at CES 2013

Publié: janvier 7, 2013, 7:28pm CET par Joe Wilcox

Tomorrow, the Consumer Electronics Show officially kicks off, not that many vendors are waiting. There already are plenty of Day 0 and -1 announcements, which make me wonder if this -- the first of two posts -- isn't already late: What I would like and not want to see during this year's big event. If early press galas are any indication, many CES participants won't hit the jackpot in Las Vegas this year. Sadly that's a trend.

Like 2012, I'm sitting out the tradeshow. The real benefit is mingling, and that's for everyone -- from journalists to manufacturers to distributors. CES really isn't about gadget geeks but everyday consumers and CE manufacturers getting goods to them. Why else would LG's press gala feature 39 new driers and 72 refrigerators coming this year? But the big noise is all about the toys today, as it will be all week.

I've picked 5 things I would like to see and probably won't get much of. Sigh. They are in no order of importance, because they all are.

1. Shipping products. Every year it's the same damn thing. Vendors line up to out-yell one another about stuff they won't ship anytime soon. I can understand why LG wouldn't ship three-dozen driers immediately after the holidays. But what about real gadgets, like new cell phones or tablets or the strangest in-car thingy?

Vendors generate excitement about the next, cool toy -- but you can't have it for six to 10 months. The excitement is long passed by the time many CES products ship, if they aren't already imitated first -- or changed to imitate others. I can understand a few weeks, even a month, after the show. But six? Get a life.

2. Emphasis benefits. Vendors spend too much time checking off features when benefits matter more. So what if the smartphone screen is 0.1-inches bigger or that touchscreen tablet is 27 inches (what were you thinking, Lenovo). Vendors should emphasize what are the user benefits. How will these products improve buyers' lives.

In group chat this morning, we discussed the LG announcements. Colleague Wayne Williams smartly observed: "Can't see why my wife would want a washing machine that can be started over Wi-Fi. That's what I'm for, apparently". That's exactly right.

The first question that should be asked about any new product feature: Who needs it? The second: Who will use it? As Wayne also observed, a drier that saves 20 minutes time would be beneficial -- and that's something real buyers can care about. Sadly, analysts, bloggers, journalists and the social media set attending CES turn it into a freak show.

"There is a fundamental conflict between marketing to early adopters who are more profitable customers and evangelists, and the rest of us", Russ Crupnick, NPD's senior vice president of industry analysis, says. That conflict helps put the emphasis in the wrong place -- features that gadget geeks want instead of benefits that the rest of us need.

How funny. No tech company does better articulating benefits than Apple, and the company doesn't attend CES but instead debuts products at its own smaller events.

3. Apple showstopper. Speaking of forbidden fruit, no CES would be complete without some stinging showstopping announcement or rumor. But there isn't much noise this year, and that's highly unusual. Big deal, there are 40 billion App Store downloads. If nothing else, Apple buzz helps preserve the company's image as an out-innovator. Last week, I called 2012 a year of Apple iteration, and even investors question future innovation (this morning shares are down 26 percent from the record high set in September). Apple needs something to draw spotlight away from Las Vegas and back to Cupertino.

4. Contextual cloud computing. The so-called post-PC era is more marketing hype than reality. Apple would like you to think that way because it shifts emphasis to devices like iPad and iPhone. Instead, we live in the era of context -- and that is a major benefit vendors can promote.

During the mainframe era, people interacted with giant computers largely from dumb terminals. The PC era made information more portable for less money but still with more fixed location. Contextual cloud computing is largely location independent.

For example, many so-called knowledge workers don't keep 9-5 jobs. They aren't bound by the employer's physical building. As such, Jack Frost can switch from parent to product manager without leaving the couch, using his cloud-connected device. Computing context, not location, defines his role. Similarly, Jack Frost may start watching a movie on his tablet while flying and finish it at home on the HDTV. Context and location change but not the content. The point: The device's importance begins and ends with context, which interaction and not location defines.

Context is also about interaction. Early this afternoon, Mihaita Bamburic and I discussed benefits in group chat and whether a Wi-Fi drier makes any sense. "Wouldn't you want something that nags the kids to clean their room or take out the trash? Do their homework?" Something like "Facebook status update: Mom says take out the trash". Imagine if the parent could post that to their minor child's Facebook feed. A little embarrassment goes a long way as incentive. The point isn't the feature, whether or not it could logistically or legally be done, but that it's a clear, recognizable, contextual benefit that most consumers could understand.

5. Microsoft anything. The company that epitomizes the PC era pulled out of CES this year. There will be no CEO Steve Ballmer pre-show keynote tonight. Microsoft has a huge image problem right now. There is way too much negative buzz about weak /betanews.com/topic/windows-8/" target="_blank">Windows 8 and Surface RT sales during a time period that should have been a marketing boon. Over six months, Microsoft is releasing more new products than any other time in its history. Late 2012 and early 2013 should be a time of heralded innovation, of spectacular execution. But the buzz is more sour. Analysts, bloggers, journalists and other writers can't seem to convey enough bad about recent execution.

Microsoft really needs to hit the jackpot, even without commanding presence in Las Vegas. So far, the big news from Redmond, Wash. is negative. Tomorrow coincidentally is patch Tuesday, which highlights product security fixes rather than something positive. Time is for Microsoft to stir up the rumor mill or simply announce something big -- even if it doesn't ship for six to 10 months. There's good company along that timeline. Microsoft needs to do something.

Photo Credit: Consumer Electronics Show
No holds barred -- Windows RT can be jailbroken

Publié: janvier 7, 2013, 4:52pm CET par Mihaita Bamburic

What's the first thing that springs to mind when you encounter the term "jailbroken"? Naturally, iPad, iPhone or iOS are among the most likely answers, but what about Windows RT? Microsoft's tablet operating system also embodies a walled garden principle, however, similar to some Apple products, a developer uncovered a method to run unsigned apps, by exploiting a kernel vulnerability.

The jailbreaking method currently available for Windows RT is aimed at more advanced users that are familiar with modifying system files, as there is no installer or one-click-to-jailbreak solution ready. Daring users have to change the minimum signing level from "8" (also known as "Microsoft" level) to "0" (also known as "Unsigned"), the latter, which is the default value for the x86 counterpart, Windows 8. Sounds easy, but the process is not.

Using the Windows Debugger and Microsoft's ARM Assembler (also known as WinDbg), users have to store a "small payload", set a breakpoint right "after the legitimate NtUserSetInformationThread call in TerminalServerRequestThread", press the volume button to activate it, redirect the instruction pointer to the payload found in memory, set another breakpoint and afterwards set the instruction back to the first breakpoint only to remove both breakpoints at the end of the process. Pressing F5 after gets the wheels in motion.

It all sounds rather complicated to be honest, but at the time of writing this article users have reported running PuTTY, after compiling the open-source telnet and SSH client, and the 7-Zip benchmark, for instance.

When and if the jailbreaking solution will be made available in a more user-friendly package is unknown, but it could potentially turn Microsoft's Windows RT tablet operating system into a hacker's delight. As is the case with the Android modding community, that is an advantage not to be taken lightly.
App Store's 40 billion downloads doesn't take much away from CES

Publié: janvier 7, 2013, 4:42pm CET par Joe Wilcox

It's tradition. Consumer Electronics Show descends on Las Vegas. Apple doesn't attend but does something to steal some thunder. So it's no surprise that this morning the Cupertino, Calif.-based company announced 40 billion App Store downloads -- half in 2012 and 2 billion in December. That's surely impressive, but nowhere as near thunder stealing as some past years. C`mon, where are those strategically placed rumors that turn attention away from the big event?

In 2011: Mac App Store. Twice. A year earlier: iPad and in 2011, too. Who can forget iPhone in 2007, which literally stole the show. The trend is so assured, last year I asked (and answered): "Are this year's CES attendees afraid of Apple?" So far, in 2013, they have nothing to fear.

Sure there are rumors about new mobiles coming in fruity colors or that iPhone 6 production already has started, but they don't carry the weight of past leaks and aren't drawing nearly the same attention. That's not to demean 40 billion app downloads, which is an astounding number. I just expected something more exciting. Hell, the press release doesn't even quote Apple's CEO, but Eddy Cue, senior veep of Internet Software and Services, who says: "Developers have made over seven billion dollars on the App Store".

Other numbers do impress: 775,000 apps available, 500 active App Store accounts and those 40 billion downloads being unique. Apple doesn't count redownloads or updates. It's all impressive and shows continued momentum for the store, for which the company wants to keep developers creating apps for (and ignore Android).

I simply expected something more noteworthy. It's tradition. No CES is complete without absent-Apple being talk of the town.
Blinking marvelous. Tobii REX lets you control Windows 8 with your eyeballs

Publié: janvier 7, 2013, 2:35pm CET par Wayne Williams

Finding the app you want on Windows 8 -- by sight alone -- can at times feel like a really frustrating game of Where’s Wally. If your eyes are already flicking around the screen, it makes sense to use them as a control method, right? Well, that’s what Tobii thinks at least. The company is releasing a USB bar which attaches to the bottom of any monitor displaying Windows 8, and tracks your eye movements.

Due to be shown at CES, Tobii REX is described as the "world’s first Gaze interaction computer peripheral for the consumer market" and works in conjunction with touch, keyboard and mouse.

"We believe gaze interaction is going to be the next major advancement in mainstream computer interface," Henrik Eskilsson, CEO of Tobii Technology said. "Tobii has been driving innovations in eye tracking for more than a decade, and we are excited and honored to be able to bring this first integration of eye tracking into a product for tech-enthusiast consumers".

The way it works is pretty straightforward. You look at the app you want to launch, and then hit a button or tap your touchpad. The Gaze interaction technology can be used to select anything on screen. Hold down a button and look at an app, link, tab, or a place on a map, for example, and a circular cursor on screen shows where the tracker thinks you’re looking. Let go of the button to launch or go to the selected item.

Tobii will be producing an initial 5,000 unit run of Tobii REX, and expects to begin selling it in the fall (pre-orders start in Spring). Software houses and programmers can purchase a developer edition for $995.

Photo Credit: Linda Bucklin/Shutterstock
Dropbox comes to Windows Store, but don't get your hopes up

Publié: janvier 7, 2013, 2:27pm CET par Mihaita Bamburic

Little more than two months after Windows 8's release, popular cloud storage service Dropbox finally offers an app through the Windows Store. However, unlike Box and SkyDrive, which both deliver a fairly competent feature set, the Dropbox app for Windows 8/RT is a half-baked affair, leaving much to be desired.

Even at first glance, the Dropbox app touts a modest feature set with no advanced functionality to speak of. It allows users to browse and preview uploaded files, edit, open and save items from "other Windows 8 apps", and share and find files using the Search Charm. Users cannot edit uploaded Dropbox files using the app, only open items, making it a glorified file browser with a few extra features. Furthermore Dropbox for Windows 8 appears to be rather unstable.

When accessing a folder with a significant number of pictures, Dropbox disappears in the background right before the app finishes rendering all the previews. It's apparently still running as it remains listed in the opened apps, but when switching back a cold start is triggered.

Furthermore, when sharing Facebook photos using the Charms bar from within the Photos app, Dropbox is not listed among the available apps that can handle the process. Box, SkyDrive and even Evernote can be used to share items, but weirdly enough Dropbox cannot. No such option exists in the People app either.

Normally, when a user selects a file, a contextual menu is provided at the bottom of the screen, providing options to open, edit or perform other operations from within the app. Box has it and so does SkyDrive, but the same cannot be said about Dropbox. Right-clicking on a file simply displays a check mark, which is useless when nothing can be done with the selected files.

When sorting reviews for Dropbox in the Windows Store by using "Most helpful" as a criteria, the first results are one and two star ratings with users complaining about the lack of functionality. Dropbox should also advertise what actually works in the posted screenshots as at the moment both the description and provided photos are misleading.
Goooaalll!! BBC launches new sports app for iOS

Publié: janvier 7, 2013, 10:10am CET par Wayne Williams

Following on from the success of last year’s hugely popular Olympics app, BBC Sport has released a new sports app for iOS, with an Android version to follow in the coming weeks.

The new app displays the headlines from the BBC Sport website, and lets you view the latest scores and results for all of the major sports, including football (soccer), rugby, cricket, tennis, and horse racing. The Quick Links button lets you select any of your favorite sports. Choose football, for example, and you’ll be able to view live scores, results, fixtures, and more. The app will also provide live text coverage of England's cricket Test matches, rugby union's Six Nations, and the forthcoming Formula 1 season.

There are no video highlights available at the moment, but this feature is planned for the future.

Lucie McLean, executive product manager for sport at BBC Future Media, said: "The new BBC Sport app builds on the success of London 2012 to give users an even easier way to get the content they love, whether it's checking out how their team got on, following live text updates on the day's sporting action or catching up with the latest news".
I hate CES, and you should too

Publié: janvier 7, 2013, 2:50am CET par Joe Wilcox

Consumer Electronics Show 2013 commences in about 24 hours with the pre-show keynote. I won't be there, and wonder why you will be. Apple is right to be a perennial no show, and Microsoft demonstrated wisdom pulling out -- and this year giving up the coveted kick-off presentation. Tradeshows like this are dinosaurs. Where's the meteor -- the oh-so needed extinction-level event? To everyone inviting me to their CES booths and parties, perhaps now you understand why I didn't respond to your email.

I hate the Consumer Electronics Show and the tsunami of products crashing down in mass self-mutilation and destruction. Who needs them anyway? Will your life really be better because a new cell phone's screen is 0.1 inch larger? Or there's a new Google TV box just like the others, only from a different manufacturer? NPD says not. The analyst firm released data today that tickles my CES-loathing soul: According to surveys, 68 percent of US consumers are happy with the tech they've got. What they do care about: Tech that meets their, ah, digital lifestyle.

"There is a fundamental conflict between marketing to early adopters who are more profitable customers and evangelists, and the rest of us", Russ Crupnick, NPD's senior vice president of industry analysis, says.

The problem is you, if a gearhead. A small number of enthusiasts, tech bloggers and the like drive interest in the next new things, which is fine in moderation; when everyone can appreciate them. But the CES tidal wave is insanity, and I wonder why any rational tech marketer would want to compete with the storm surge of gear and risk being lost in the sea of new announcements. Apple is right to hold smaller events where it controls the messaging and doesn't have to compete with the pouring horde washing over Las Vegas' desert sands. The large tradeshow is madness.

More significantly, events like this puts enthusiast before consumer -- the cart before the horse -- and that's a priority out of sync. "The industry can’t rely on consumers to drive innovation; it needs to give consumers a reason to want to adopt the innovation", Crupnick says.

I look at the last couple Consumer Electronics Shows and see much the same stuff -- just a lot of it crashing down at once. "The challenge isn’t just selling better features and specifications today, but also focusing on meaningful innovation that makes the next gadget purchased more valuable than the last", Stephen Baker, NPD's vice president of industry analysis, says.

Stated differently: The average mass-market buyer has little in common with the gadget freaks flocking to Sin City this week. I adopt new stuff, because it's my job. I don't really need the newest gadget. But I do care about the glue -- content, software and cloud services -- that makes the tech fit my lifestyle. I'm not alone.

"Consumers want their technology devices to provide solutions to everyday problems, which often aren’t the most glamorous", Baker asserts. "They’d like help getting the best prices when they shop, being safe in their cars, managing their home and family and enjoying basic entertainment".

Yesterday I bought a new 42-inch television -- to replace the nearly five year-old one of similar size. I didn't buy because of 3D or Smart TV technology or even to get a larger screen (which would be too much for our small apartment). My local Sony store is having a huge remodeling sale. I got a $659 set for $407 before tax. Like most consumers, price is a major priority.

I use a Chromebook in part because my computing needs are basic, which is also reason for using Nexus 4 smartphone and Nexus 7 tablet. They're affordable products that meet the needs of my digital lifestyle.

But tech companies of all sizes will do this week what they always have: Over-emphasize features rather than sell benefits. The few that try will be hard-pressed to get above all the noise. The noise. The noise. Thousands of products crashing down on one tiny venue. Who will tell the world about them? Tech bloggers and enthusiasts who themselves obsess over features and send a seemingly positive, but really negative, feedback loop to manufacturers. The mass of consumers want to know why that 0.1-inch screen increase benefits them -- why their lives will be better because of it.

With about a day to go, and companies making announcements ahead of the kick-off keynote, we're still debating how best to cover CES 2013. I asked BetaNews writers to take a muted approach, that perhaps our readers would benefit more from stories about something other than the Las Vegas tradeshow. But the boys love their toys. So we'll see. My focus will be context -- what it all means. I'll occasionally spit in disgust, so, please, don't stand too close by.

Photo Credit: Consumer Electronics Show