CES 2012

Well, it's that time of year again -- the time when the entire tech industry descends on Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show.  As part of the tech industry (and a lover of Las Vegas), I will naturally be in attendance.  This year I'm working almost exclusively for my main mag, PCWorld, and I'll be covering a couple of beats.

My main beat is Car Tech -- Ford is expected to have a huge presence this year, and Mercedes is giving a keynote speech, so PCWorld decided to try and get on that bandwagon (we don't normally cover Car Tech, so there's no dedicated editor).  As for my extensive knowledge of cars, well, I do...drive them.  Actually, I know a little about cars -- my uncle worked for Ford for over 30 years, and most of my family is from Motor City.  But that's all the "non-tech" stuff -- I drive a 2004 Ford Mustang convertible, so I know very little about fancy in-dash systems with touch-screen-voice-control and cloud connectivity.  For what it's worth, my Mustang has a power inverter (just installed it today) and pink street glow.  Check it out:

I know it looks purple here, but it's actually pink.  And it changes colors!

Here's a view of the inside:

Looks a little more pink here.

I know -- hardly techie, but still AWESOME.  Anyway, that's the extent of my car tech in my actual car, so this should be fun.  I did recently attend the Silicon Valley International Auto Show and check out some of the more high-tech cars -- Ford included -- to get a feel for the beat.  Because I'm such a champion that I go the extra mile by attending cool tradeshows that are happening five minutes from my home.  I did learn something fun from the California Highway Patrol booth: Street glow, ala my Mustang, is totally legal, as long as it's not red or blue facing to the front (because those are cop colors).

My second "beat" is "Geek Tech."  In other words, I'm expected to traverse the show floor and find fun, geeky items that will fit PCWorld's Geek Tech blog, which is run by the totally awesome and astonishingly patient Nick.  Geek Tech covers all things nerdy and awesome, so I'll likely be looking at robotics, mind- and eye-controlled devices, and any booth that has people blowing things up.  Also: PC case mods, funky chargers, floor-cleaning robots that double as synchronized dancers.

My last beat is, of course, being really awesome.

Anyway, be on the lookout for my CES coverage -- like a champion, I will be posting here, PCWorld, Geek Tech, maybe Cosmo, and I'll be on Twitter/Facebook/Google+ (? maybe ?).  I do have a new phone, after all, so I have to learn how to use it!

Wish me luck and let me know what you'd like to see at CES!