Injured tech show carries on [Archive]

Casey

11-25-2002, 05:07 PM

quote:Injured tech show carries on

By Michelle Kessler, USA TODAY

The giant Comdex computer convention hobbled along last week despite the lingering tech downturn. Executives including Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina did their best to convince attendees that innovation would soon pull the industry out of its slump.

But reassuring words and flashy displays couldn't cloak the decidedly bleak mood. Comdex, which filled three convention centers just a few years ago, didn't fill one. The lavish parties of years past were toned down — or not held. On the show floor, "I didn't see anything really new," said George Bates, a Comdex attendee for more than 10 years.

Still, there were pockets of excitement. A new line of Nokia phones drew a crowd — especially the sleek 6800 flip phone with a two-piece keyboard hidden inside. When the keyboard is closed, the phone is small and looks just like a non-keyboard phone. It will be available in the USA early next year.

Lines of people waited for an hour or more to ride the Segway, a high-tech scooter that the company says will revolutionize city travel. On Tuesday, Segway had given more than 1,000 rides, President George Muller said.

You drive the Segway by shifting your weight: Lean forward to move it forward, back for reverse. Riders, slowly drifting across the floor, discovered the tough part was standing still.

Earlier in the week, Segway announced that it would sell the scooters on Amazon.com for $4,950. Riders seemed to be having a good time — but this reporter didn't see anyone signing up to buy one.

The tech industry will recover on June 21, 2003. At least that's what Brian Halla, CEO of National Semiconductor, predicted, using several mathematical equations and historical data. When that happens, "My mother will stop being ashamed of me because I'm a CEO," he said.

Absent were chart-topping performers like Barenaked Ladies and Macy Gray, who performed in past years. This year, chipmaker AMD trotted out Slash, former guitarist for '90s hair band Guns N' Roses. His Rockin' on 64 tribute to AMD's 64-bit computer chips — sung to the tune of Knocking on Heaven's Door— was just this side of cheesy.

Security products were among the hottest at the show. Vendors attributed their sudden popularity to the rush to secure corporate networks after the terror attacks. Last year, it was, "What can I do with this?" says Helen Jansson with Fingerprint Cards, a maker of fingerprint readers. "Now it's, 'I know how I can use this.' " Traffic was heavy at Jansson's booth, which featured different ways that fingerprint scanners could be used in a business.

Hong Kong-based RiTech International was gaining attention with its BioSlimDisk, a portable data drive with a tiny fingerprint reader. The drive, which plugs into the back of almost any computer, is small enough to be worn as a necklace — and the data can be retrieved only with the wearer's fingerprint. Newcastle, Wash.-based ByteBrothers has a lower-tech solution: a collection of cables and locks that keep computers bolted down and turned off.

Also hot: flat-panel TVs and computer monitors being offered by companies such as Samsung and BenQ.

The tech bust may be making some cities leery of start-ups — but not Anchorage. "It's worth the risk to us," says Sheldon Menery, who was representing the Alaska Hi-Tech Business Council at the show and trying to convince tech companies to consider moving to Anchorage. The region is too dependent on oil, he said, and when the oil runs out, "Hunting and fishing isn't going to cut it."

The tech bust means tech buyers "don't have a lot of choices out there," Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy said in a speech. There are just a few companies, such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Sun, that most companies consider when looking for a computer vendor. Dell Computer and Gateway don't have the business services most companies need, he said. But that may matter little in the short term, since customers still aren't buying.

McNealy also defended Sun's investment in research and development during a down market — as did Microsoft's Gates.

The Las Vegas Hilton's computer system went down Sunday night as a long line of conference attendees waited to check in. As staffers frantically tried to reboot the system, the techies in the line grumbled: "You need a hand over there?"