@Spyvie: I agree. Adam, your honest is refreshing and crisp... but your short little diatribe about booth babes almost makes you sound like a Evangelical.

@suburbancowboy: I saw the same thing at Comicon this year. Dozens of dudes lining up to have their picture taken with a topless cowgirl..literally a COW GIRL!, with cow utters over her breasts, cowboy boots and hat, holtered 6 shooters, and a cows snout application over her face. I just don't get it. Are geeks just trying to pad their already exploding porn collections with just a few more risque shots?

tamoko

hmm..by the time I get to CES for the first time, the next year it will be canceled just like comdex. =(

Razta

No one forced you to cover it...

smitty1123

Useless, insipid, trashy, and relentlessly self-promoting occurences going on in Vegas?

THE HELL, YOU SAY!?!

Why weren't we informed of this earlier?

Seriously though, you can basically make this indictment against 84% of Western culture, but at least it's not the ultraconservative reactionary bullshit that some other cultures are fixated upon.

You have clearly OD'd on what should only be taken in small doses. Go hang out in nature for a few hours and you should be ok.

Atrahasis

We (my buddies and I) always loved the Imperial Palace, because we always felt that the place's real theme was "pre-war Nazi Germany", which is... well, it's a daring choice for a casino theme, if not necessarily a wise choice.

Made for a lot of humor, though. A lot.

daver4470

god damn: your, you're, there, their, and they're. those bastard words get me every time.

thechansen

#11 - Macworld 2008 ...

scotth0

...and yes, i know im a horrible speller.

emergeoriginal

Number nine is the "truthiest" statement on this list. People need to get out more, turn off there TVs, shutdown there computers and live life every once in a while. As much as I love communicating with my thumbs on a 3 inch screen and fucking around on my computer, I love being outside more, without the healthy glow of an LCD screen. If had the money to take off and hike the entire length of the Appalachian Trail or ride my bike across the US, I would with out thinking twice. But I would certainly have my iphone, gps, and solar charger with me. Even those three essentials has more to do with my love of music and not being lost. I don't think you have to shun tech, you just have to moderate it's invasiveness in your life. Use gadgets to live your life, don't live your life for gadgets. Sadly we live in a society where it's less of the former and a shit ton of the latter.

thechansen

I see your point, though your delivery comes across more like a spoiled brat then intellecutal journalism. Sorry Adam, I dont mean to be rude, though your whine outshines your substance.

emergeoriginal

Terrific post Adam. I especially applaude your concern for the environment.

Nintenboy01

@frigg: i thought "amish (and mennonittes)" dont know how to use a computer because the culture is living a "simple no-technologies-involve-thing.

amiash

I don't know much about CES but I appreciate the honesty.

dawn703

let's see - consumer exploitation festival held in the desert - in a town, built with mob money to enable gambling.

how's it going to get much better??

flyboy

WITNESS THE EFFECTS OF BURNOUT

strider_mt2k

CES: Next time you see Adam, tell him to have a Coke and a smile, and shut the fuck up!

Nah, you're right, but, you know, sometimes you have to act like a cheap whore of a poster girl and suck in the gut, put on your make-up and show us the 150" TV.

I want more on the format war. The time has come.

jiggaman

GREAT article and a fun read!

I made a similar observation at the start of CES :

CES Sucks!

I have also stopped going even though the event keeps me busy all the same.

My _ is bigger than your _ is all I get of CES anymore

Wayde

150-inch TV was a hero to most.
But it never meant shit to me.
Flat panel wastin' big motherfucker,
Motherfuck that and FUCK JOHN WAYNE!

Lorne

More interesting than the guy ogling the chick's butt is the fact that his shirt is unbuttoned to his navel.

GoatMonkey

Amen

Djoyo

it would be nice to see some of the mentality of this post applied in other gizmodo posts.

misplacedparadox

@Johnny Chimpo: soul draining like cleaning a septic system for $7 an hour, or soul draining like wanting to show off your video game skills at best buy, but some little punk won't move?? or soul draining like two-a-days? there are many soul draining tasks afterall.

drewheyman

Maybe it's time to use those PTO days that you've been saving up. Either that or stop chewing on those bitter pills like they are Pez candy.

The_Triton

@earthling:

Yeah, my wife's cousin had her wedding reception in early December there, up in the Kyoto Room

(Read: Kigh- Oto)

Sigh. Hillbillies.

Awful food, considering the $$. But we did get to see the Dealertainers there, Michael Jackson, Roy Orbison, some country fuck in a Cowboy Hat.

We were completely out of our element, it was the weekend of the National Rodeo Finals, and the Country Xmas Convention. Too much country music.

The Go-go dancers in the NASCAR casino were pretty hot, though.

hoserelder

Adam, you are great! I agree with almost everything.
You are sincere, and that is great too!

OldPunk

did the coockie lady run out of cookies or did the fat white guy gut off your caffeine?

Walter

Amazing post. This kind of thing is inevitable - anything that is useful or interesting to the consumer eventually becomes a target for opportunists and parasites, which eventually sap the product/event of all its original worth.

Gann

@coolal:
yeah man! i'd much rather spend my day working than walking around looking at new electronics and skimpily dressed women. the world needs -- no -- demands my productivity!

and there's a clusterf*** of sluts? i'm so there next year. look at gadgets for an hour or two then drink and gamble. that's a vacation.

drewheyman

@SeattleTed: Have you ever been to CES before? It's soul draining. I went back in '04 and even after one day I was suffering from vanity overload.

Consumer electronics are where technological innovation meets everyday use. I think that CES would be much more successful and enjoyable if it returned to these two core concepts.

...For the record, I think Mencia and Cook suck ass too!

Johnny Chimpo

"They then sit there, sucking up energy 24 hours a day, ruining our environment and making your living room look like the Fox News studio on the slowest news day in history."
wow. well said sir, well said.

Walter

Damn right! Great Post! I love my gadgets as much as the next guy, but there is a line...and when you start getting excited about an AC plug with sparkles on it, you've gone too far. I say, if these companies have nothing innovative or cool to show off they should stay home.

guylicious

I'm Amish (Mennonite, actually), and you pretty much summed up the reasons why "Amish Times" refuses to cover CES year after year. Which probably accounts for all the Amish (and Mennonites) who flock to Giz for the latest on gadgety goodness. As whorish and depraved as CES may be, at least we in the Amish (and Mennonite) communities appreciate your coverage. God bless Giz!!!

frigg

@earthling: Could not agree more!

cmm

The imperial palace, seriously? Wow, possibly the worst hotel on the strip.

earthling

Now I have a question: Will you be attending next year's CES?

Kaiser-Machead

Thank you for this post, it sums up most of my feelings about all Vegas trade shows.

Spyvie

Wait.
A bunch of hoopla over useless shit that reinforces some of the more shameful aspects of our culture peppered with slutty girls and idiotic banter?

That's not just CES, that sounds like Vegas in a nutshell.S wouldn't that make #10 a positive thing?

What it is

The loss of Bette Midler aside, seems like these all fall under the umbrella of #4; somebody should print out #4 and frame it.

92BuickLeSabre

I have a digital frame because I have countless digital pictures that I never see except when sitting in front of my computer. My place doesn't look like fox news. It eats no more energy than any other electronic device when turned on.
As for yourself I suggest you quit watching Mind of Mencia and Dane Cook crap cause neither are funny and if you do watch them clear your mind before posting.

SeattleTed

CES FTL...

rockntrumpet

Someone clearly checked his medication in his luggage.

homerjay

I love this post. It's about time someone said this crap.

If anything we should be admiring Adam for putting this out there. I agree with every word.

The same thing happened to E3 after 2006, same thing will happen to CES.

Maybe the top 20% of super gadget freaks will scoff at this post, the rest I think nod their heads agreeably.

coolal

Hear Hear!! I had to stop going in 04 when my shoes exploded from the friction of walking 33.6 miles on the cheesy Vegas carpeting, and now the Adult Expo isn't anywhere close.... At least you had a place somewhere on the floor to stash your schwag.

vidmeister

The most pathetic things about the "Booth Babes" are the guys who wait on line to get their autographs. Autographs? Are you kidding me? Why don't you go up to any hot girl you see on the street and ask her for her autograph.
These girls are not famous. They are desperate for work. They are getting paid to act nice to you and try to get you to be interested in the product. They find you repulsive and pathetic for staring at them in their skimpy outfits, and being desperate enough to ask them to sign their name on a poster.
And you certainly aren't going to get laid, or get a date with them by asking for their autograph.

suburbancowboy

Wow, sounds like somebody needs a cookie and a nap.

cmm

Dear Buddha, this hits the nail on the head, makes sweet love to it, then bitch-slaps it into the drywall.

I couldn't agree more about the digital picture frames. These things are pure shit. Dear old Mom has one of these things in her apartment, a gift from my sister, and she never really turns it on, because, normally, things that you have to turn on do more than simply do slow slide shows. She'd be much happier with a collection of pictures on the wall, which require no power, and will not get a bad pixel, or a dead LCD, and are just plain nicer to look at.

Kaiser-Machead

lambodrivingmodelbanger: I preordered two of those massive TVs
im gonna mount one on the ceiling above my bed and one in the living room. THANK GOD for 20' ceilings

ItsMrJP

Wow. Time to reconsider your career, Adam.

okeo

@SeattleTed: Agreed. My grandmother has one that we load new pictures to every time we see her. She doesn't have or want a computer but loves having current photos of her family. It turns itself on in the AM and off at night. It even has a remote for "flipping" through the pictures.

BMErdin

yeah this year at CES was particularly weak. Hopefully there will be some good announcements at MacWorld to make up for it.

MrBlahBlah

oh man, hilarious and true. great post. there is so much shit out there.

MrBlahBlah

After skimming through all the CES news, I found my opinion increasingly divided between the "So?" and the "Why?" The incrementally improved and the bafflingly frivolous.

What little news was worth covering did not need this circus to promote it, and most companies probably would have done as well had they just mailed off brochures and stayed home.

I love technology, and there have been exciting years of the CES before, but this wasn't one of them, and maybe that's a warning sign. If a move away from Las Vegas is what it takes for companies to take down the smoke and mirrors, rethink their marketing, and more effectively communicate their product plans, then maybe that's for the best.

bouchert

@Mondoz: As a heterosexual male, I doubt I can support Frucci's crusade to rid the world of hot girls in various stages of undress. That being said, I'd like to look at that research when you're through with it.

Empire

You go, boyfriend.

(Okay, that doesn't sound quite right, but you know what I mean.)

There is so much crap being promulgated by so many crappy people that it's all just getting ... well, crappy.

bimplebean

I tend to agree with his statements, but a bit over the top - leading me to a) believe his attempts to flirt with a booth babe were rebuffed and b) has no kids and thinks justifying printing 100's of pictures of them vs. putting in a picture frame makes sense.

Brentis

I think I'd need to see more examples of the Booth Babes before making my final decision to remove them.

I'd hate to make an uninformed decision here.

Mondoz

Let's hear it for a sense of propriety. I needed a good dose of perspective.

@FRIGG I never would guessed there would be other Menno's on here. Now it's a community. :)

Nathan Charles

Wasn't there a ST:TNG episode that featured MyVu glasses? I think it had the same effect on the Enterprise crew that Adam mentioned here - addicting totally consuming attention to The Game? We need to send Wesley (and his GF) to CES next year to free us.

CLC

Well said. Well said. I would, however, contend that there is exactly one way you can use digital photo frames in a meaningful way: give the grandparents one with WiFi and RSS and let them subscribe to their grandchildren RSS feed ;) Once I can get one that can do that under $100, then that will be my next BD present for mum.

Dearhaw

i think you're right. but no booth babes? :'(

pek

I agree with a lot that was said...

1. Booth Babes in Las Vegas is like having Drew Barrymore in a sea of Eva Longorias. No one really thinks they're hot unless they're surrounded by a bunch of nerds. (It's all oddly familiar with the Raisins South Park episode. That guy in the picture is Butters)

2. Gimmicky Booths - Is it CES or your Church's carnival? Is there a 'dunk the little firm CEO' game?

3. DP Frames - I agree that a great picture and an amazing frame would be a better buy (and cheaper) than this crap. If these digital frames were 30 bones then maybe.

4. & 8. Blog Wars (combined with knockoffs) - Someone else said it... E3 all over. I like to call it "Innovation Spam" <-- yes I have the trademark you a$$holes.

5. 150 inch TV - well said except one big thing no one thinks about. You don't have a wall/side of the room for this thing.

6. Marketing Speak - I work in marketing and all I can say is... those idiotic marketeers are the reason I want to start my own company of thugs that just go beat these people up with baseball bats for the mindless things they say.

7. & 9. Designer Tasers, MyVu - These are about as logical as the mormonism

10. Leaving the Vegas - Sadly this is the only one I disagree with. Vegas is great and I'm sure the girls, bars, and casinos are great. The problem is that everything gets too hyped and gaudy there. It's CES's only hope to leave. They should cut the contract today.

I'm spent.

reality.check

Bravo bravo bravo!! I agree wholeheartedly. Now if people wouldn't BUY that crap, then I suppose most of those companies wouldn't be around very long.

Maybe we could use all those resources to solve some IMPORTANT problems, eh?

Mekevorka

@SeattleTed: You seem to take stuff to seriously... cheif... pal... gaylord!

(a little Dane Cook) how is that not funny!

Right on Adam. I get sick of Vegas in about 24hours, once the coke and whores wear off. You are a better man than I.

desimal

Bored, Frucci? Maybe it's because you're not in the consumer electronics industry, you're in the journalism industry (I'm being generous here).

If you want to do some hard hitting reporting on what consumer electronics are going to be big this year, why don't you put on your fedora, go find someone whose badge says "WalMart", and shadow them?

WMyers

Wow. Was this ghost written by Joel Johnson?

koftun

I got one of those picture frames as a business promo this holiday season. It shows photos and plays mp3s and it has no battery and must be plugged in to work. Because obviously, what I'm looking for in a picture frame is something that plays the same 4 songs over and over and has a big ugly cord hanging down from it.

Empire

@golferal:

LOL, if you are using the Fox News slogan, every post about CES would read exactly like this.

Fox News: You watch, we decide.

thechansen

@amiash: It's kind of a mixed bag. Generally, the elders are fairly medieval when it comes to technology, but they occasionally loosen up, for example, letting us put up basic websites to sell stuff from our farms. There is also a growing Amish (and Mennonite) underground that is very future-oriented, but I'm not sure if anyone is in it other than me. :)

frigg

Regardless of who thought of it first. I thought having CES and the AVN awards in the same city back-to-back was pure premeditated strategy. Geeky hordogs saving money by only having to go to Vegas once a year instead of twice. If they move CES to another city, one or the other will lose out on attendance because they will lose thier two-for-one appeal. :-)

eclaymoore

Adam, I think you're forgetting that those of us who couldn't go to CES rely on you and the the rest of the GIZ crew to be our eyes and ears at this event.

Maybe you should adopt the Fox News slogan "We report, you decide", hmmmmm?

PS: My feet still ache from walking all 8 billion square feet of the show last year. Thanks for saving me a couple of extra trips to the chiropractor, too!

golferal

haha, i love this writeup, thank you Adam.

rainfever

hahah nice and honest !

this is the first time i follow CES and i can tell you i have clicked on 1% of the LCD/HDTV posts

yazan

great article, adam. behind you all the way

fudged71

Nice post. So true from booth babes to digital picture frames.

The Lab

(hug)

odom21

This post was a breath of fresh air. If there's one thing I respect in this world, its honesty. This was as honest as it gets and well said. I agree with everything written. Especially people relying on technology to shut themselves out from human interaction altogether.

And as much as we'd all love to have the 150in plasma...Who in the fuck are we kidding? Bigger dick analogy is spot on.

Seriously, this CES non-sense has been so yawn worthy...Glad you put the show in its place. Let's just hope people are listening.

ITsPennywise

CES used to be about the technology. It used to be about breakthroughs and new and interesting ideas in tech.

Now it's commercialism and sales.

Some of the younger crowd may think that's all it ever was or what it should be.

Once CES turned into an over commercial event it begins to drive the industry rather than the other way around.

More splashy booths, higher 'numbers' - useless specs, garbage peddlers.

Presentations for technology that isn't even coming out this year - or may never. How many release dates weren't even met from CES 2007 ?

It's because the pressure is on having something cool to show off at the 'event'.

/rant

Wayde

Three cheers for Frigg and Nathan Charles!...Bringing Giz and all sorts of technology madness to the Amish (and Mennonites).

shorty63136

I think you're all wrong about digital picture frames. I have hundreds of good photos on my harddrive, and not enough wall space for hundreds of frames. Seems simple to me.

Tony of TonyandJuan.com

Frooch, I take it all back. You're the shit.

Chatty

Anyone that believes a booth babe is remotely interested in anything anyone has to say probably also thinks the waitress they were ordering from last night really was flirting with them.

BTW, looking closely the booth babe in the picture shown above looks to have a gigantic wedding ring on her finger.

diverguy

Jesus Adam,

I just read through the posts and you're right. No one really got it; people HE WAS BEING FUNNY!

I personally thought it was hilarious. It was very funny & insightful.

Bruhaha

Yes, trade shows and fan conventions are a major drain on the psyche, having been on both sides of the booth. Sadly, can't live with or without them...! I think the worst part is that they can never keep the temperature down inside these exhibit halls, what with all the plasma monitors (and geeks hyperventilating). Plus getting smacked by everyone's backpacks and tote bags.

mr.dandy

On the celebrity look-a-like Dealertainers "the J.LO impersonater is Asian, for example"...Lol

Bruhaha

"If the folks behind this stupid device had their way, we'd all be in our own little worlds all the time, unable to see anything but the video we're watching"

I'm sold.

lucky_you

@kineticarl: It's interesting to me that my facetiousness in the part about Las Vegas was lost on everyone. I hate hate hate hate hate Las Vegas, and the first draft of this article was a lot more acidic about that fact. I guess I should have left it like that.

Adam Frucci

Adam, it's interesting to me that you're jaded by all the crap at CES and are offended by all the stupid stuff that they push on you there, but are then seduced by the casino's equally gimmicky dealertainers.

kineticarl

So what are *you* going to do about it Gizmodians? Bitch about it some more or do something?

Instead of reporting everything and letting the commenters duke it out over minutiae and bad grammar, how about having an opinion on what you're reporting. Give us a some meat to sink our teeth into and not junk food articles that rot our teeth and have evaporated from our heads 2 seconds after we've read it.

Call the shit stuff "shit" and the great stuff whatever, add some value to the manure that piles up in your inbox and front door. Compare, contrast, help us the stoopid-fuck consumer make sense of whatever the hell it is we're trying to do by buying or even being remotely interested in this shit.

I'm not saying turn Gizmodo into CNET, lord no, take the next step and do something with your reporting and make the manufacturers sit up and take notice.

Maxwells_Nylon_Hammer

love it.

BaronesRoho

11. Useless car gadgetry that will only serve to make your ride a huge target for car thieves and drunk vandals.

Scuba Steve

"How are Tasers even considered gadgets?" -- I don't know. They're no more gadgets than, say, a Hello Kitty assault rifle or a dildo attached to exercise equipment. What crappy blog would report on that crap?

sumocat

hehe - I'm loving this. Adam, substitute gizmodo for CES and you have my feelings about this blog lately. If the gizmos are so craptastic, why do these blogs write them up?? Got a TV I'm never going to be able to afford much less buy(even if money were no object)? No thanks - don't bother even telling me about it. Got speculation on something that's vaporware? No thanks - let me know when the damn thing is real and I can actually benefit from owning it. Otherwise, don't bother to waste your time writing about it or my time reading about it.

drsmith

Of all places to stay on the vegas strip u got imperial palace?? That's really sad that being one of the top online tech bloggers... you would think u guys can do better thn tht... Next time u guys need convention accomodations holla at me... I cn get you guys coporate rates no problem... As for CES and any trade show out there.. it's all bout money... they aren't there to provide you with education pn the newest and greatest... it's mostly for B2B and rich ballers that can't find thing to spend their money on...

chigga

This was my first year at CES and...not worth it. All kind of soul-sucking, pointless ginormo TVs, and pushy people everywhere. I was definitely looking forward to seeing some amazing product demos and the like, but am pretty much underwhelmed.

Did anyone see the poor Slingbox Booth Babes/Guy in tacky Austin Powers outfits? Or the Booth Babe in the silver lame jumpsuit? I felt so bad for all of them...I hope they at least made decent $$.

lauraloops

Obviously this is all dead-on, but it sounds like the disillusionment that only a one-time true believer could feel. I've never been a gadget guy (even though I write gadget marketing copy for a living), so I go into CES already extremely cynical about the whole thing. "Booth babes" are cheesy and cheap? Marketing chatter is phony and stupid? Duh. Still, it feels great to read such an elegant, forceful jeremiad as this one. I'd also be down with a move out of Vegas, though I doubt CES will relocate to Havana or Amsterdam, alas.

jasontoon

Freakin' whiner! Man up and go to a titty bar like the rest of the guys that 'say' they're going to CES.

Nongeek

where did you get that sweet post-apocalyptic International CES graphic? Nice.

iesvs

BTW, nice posting. I wonder it's hard to say something so honestly like you just done when you're totally IN the business. You're right, these big fairs are just a big marketing show and some people even pay to get in and listen hours and hours of marketing blabber. Congratulations for your braveness Adam! This is nothing but the truth.

Palestina

"This is worth 14 round-trip airline tickets and a dozen hotel rooms for a week?"
WELL, I'm sure that some of you will share a room with a single bed, see the "ring mouse" post!

Palestina

I am so sick of the trivial news of the latest and greatest from CES. You could not pay me to go there. I used to get paid to represent a company at the booth, and it is exhausting.

99.9% of the schlock at CES is good for landfill.

abmw

feel free to be the first blog to have a guest blogger next year (i.e. me!!!!) just let me know far enough in advance to get the time off, and i. am. there.

slots o' fun $1.00 1/2 pound hot dogs FTW!!!!!

godwhacker

Frucci calls it - CES has Jumped the Shark! p.s. prediction: MacWorld became the new CES last year, people will realize that this year and someone will attempt a parallel CE confab in the shadow of almighty Jobs.

mlstotts

OK....that was a simply amazing post. Post?

Anyway, I agree completely. I think like you do about just about everything in this world of ours...it's going to hell in a hand basket and people are oblivious beyond comprehension. But then again...why not be so? I mean, the world's past the point of no return, so we might as well enjoy it.

tangledweb16

I second number 3!!! wtf is up with them small screens...

D_Zarster

@thechansen:
Now, right off the bat, I'm not trying to insult or belittle you in anyway whatsoever, I just caught something in your post that jumped out at me.

Specifically, you mentioned all the electronic gizmos that you own, then you said, "If had the money to take off and hike the entire length of the Appalachian Trail or ride my bike across the US, I would with out thinking twice."

If I had the money. That's the only thing that confuses me about most Americans. They have all of these gee-golly whiz bang fancy pants cell phones, and TVs, and all sorts of other electronic (and otherwise) devices, but then complain that they are broke. Now, again, I'm not saying you specifically were complaining.

If they were to take the money they spend on all these devices, put them in a high-yield savings account (I get 5% APY, paid quarterly through netspend.com) as well as invest it, they could buy even MORE gee-whiz devices than ever AND go hiking across the mountains, or go wherever they'd want.

Truthfully though, I think if they did just that, saved money, they'd probably not even really want any of those devices in the end because the compound interest and habit of saving that would have formed would override the need for shiny things that blink.

Oh yeah, good article!

sykotik

I have a remedy for that bad attitude thing. Rent a car and drive north until you reach the road along the rim of the Grand Canyon. No, don't drive off into the canyon suddenly ending it all, drive past the public "scenic viewpoints" overcrowded with fools and cell phone talkers. Drive on a bit until you come to what you imagine is the middle between the last and next "scenic viewpoint". Pull off and park. Turn off that cell phone and leave it in the car. Grab a cold beer from the cooler. On second thought take two. You did bring a cooler of beer didn't you? Now walk towards the canyon through the woods until you reach the rim. Find a good spot and sit down. Drink one of those beers. Kick back and watch the birds play around in the thermals. Relax and watch the sun slowly settle in the west. Crack open that last beer and toast the sunset. You're probably good for a few more days now, so go back to your car before it gets dark and you get lost in the woods. Leave the fucking cell phone off on the drive back. OK, I'm done now...

allenjnl

Meh, sounds like any other trade shows I've attended in the past. Nothing new, unfortunately. By the time one of these shows are over, I also feel like the humanity is doomed.

Damage

(As you well know) you are there so we don't have to be!
Thanks for that.

lulabale

Adam, finally somebody agrees. The tech industry is too caught up in coming out with something that has no importance in my life. I see gadget after gadget and I am continuously let down. Every now and then a company comes along and makes something that I actually think about buying. 99% of the time I laugh and thought of all the money these manufactures spent trying to rip somebody else's ideas off so they can sell their stuff to uneducated consumers trying to buy their grandson a gift and see that it looks like an ipod through those coke bottle glasses. Companies like this just consume and bleed the market out. instead of making a bunch of crap that 2 people are gonig to buy, make one product that a million people will buy. If you are going to contribute to the industry, then fucking contribute, don't syphon off of others because you didn't have the gumption to create it yourself. Finally somebody posts this, i thank you Adam.

isellmanymacs

Hey!!!!!! I bought a digital picture frame. Granted, it sucks and I'm embarrassed to have gifted it - but still, it's not nice to offend your loyal readers like that.

dionion

Reminds me of E3. Not quite as bad, but still sounds familiar. At least the folks behind E3 had the sense to step back and scale it down to bring it back to what it was originally supposed to be.

russtophiles

I loved this writing style -- irritated and amusing, factual and opinionated outrage. I've never been to this show, but now I know exactly what I've been missing. I only wish there were more examples of marketingspeak, preferably bullet pointed.

everysandwich

So well said... as I've stayed both this year and last year at Imperial Palace. I would say the Charro look alike is even more disturbing. Completely agree with this list, and the press event on Sunday at Caesars was enough for me to ditch the floor all together! Good to meet you Charlie!

circadianswing

Adam one of the reasons I love to read the Giz is for your articles. Which usually ooze copious amounts of sarcasm, yet leave me with enough info to draw my own conclusions.

Arza

I've been reading this blog for years and have always admired the insightful incisive commentary beneath the deceptively casual tone but this post outshines them all.... I think it would be fair to call it *The Best Gizmodo Post Ever*.

Needless to say, I agree with every word. I hope you guys do more of these.

And Adam, the sarcasm in #10 wasn't lost on everyone. I didn't completely get it but thought that point was totally out of character with the rest of the post. Hate hate hate Las Vegas too.

Manu Sharma

Word -i never thought "wow cool" once for any off the CES posts.
C-onsume E -lectronics S-tupid..

Fatty1

This dystopian image of CES makes me want to go even more.

I love cheesy.

etherealstrife

"This is worth 14 round-trip airline tickets and a dozen hotel rooms for a week?"

So, who shacked up with who???? We want PICTURES GODDAMMIT, IN DIGITAL F$#@ING FRAMES!!!

:^0

banmojo

I thought that was well put and I'm glad you wrote it. I kinda thought you guys just got up and nerdgasmed all over everything everyday.

parjoe

I hope you got your cookie.

MirDreams

Aww, gee adam, you hate your job sometimes? Why didn't you say something before? There is a support group, it's called EVERYONE AND WE MEET AT THE BAR! Sigh, at least you guys got to make a huge stink with the TV-be-gone and then expense a butt rub. Maybe you could sponser a Gizmodo Electronics Expo and then dewny entrance to anyone who would bring shite into the show.

sicboater

Designer tasers are for women who want to protect themselves, but don't want to carry a firearm. What's so difficult to understand about that?

flatlander92

Thank you! Disillusion is the natural counterpart of amazement. Nice to see that you guys are actually human beings with feelings of ambivalence and everything ;-)

OleJ