The City Lights Reporter - Keynote Address

Last night was the opening kick off for COMDEX Fall 2002. Comdex is arguably the biggest convention in the world. It is definitely the can't-miss premier technology show anywhere in the world. All this week I will be posting reports from this major tech event with the hope of educating and encouraging more of us (people of color) to participate in industry trade shows. As always, I will be reporting with an afrocentric eye and interviewing people of color that I meet on the convention floor. To get a feel for this series, check out my original article back in 2000 at my website in the City Lights Reporter Archives

As many of my readers know, I talk a lot about participating in industry trade shows. We all know the saying about the golf course being the place corporate leaders make deals, well trade shows are the working mans equivalent of a golf course. If you want to meet and greet the leaders in your chosen industry then you must participate in trade shows. I recommend the following trade shows for Black vendors and business people; the LA Black Business Expo (www.blackbusinessexpo.com) the biggest show on the west coast, MOBE (www.mobe.com) for the entertainment business, Sidney Miller's BRE (www.bremagazine.com) for radio, and the Impact Super Summit (www.impactsupersummit.com) for the Hip-Hop industry. You can't give away gold if nobody knows about you. Trade shows are a place to market yourself or your company to people who otherwise wouldn't even return your phone calls let alone meet with you one-on-one.

All that being said, let's move on to Comdex. Fred Rosen is the CEO of Key3Media the world's leading producer of information technology events such as Comdex, Networld and its sister events. I have to give him credit for what he's done to open the doors to more minority participation. He has actively attempted to reach out to traditional and non-traditional community and professional organizations such as the BDPA, the Urban League and others. Currently Comdex is feeling the effects of the tech industry downturn. The buzz in the pressroom is, this may be the last Comdex. Key3Media has recently filled for bankruptcy protection and canceled its east coast (Chicago) spring Comdex event. The beef that Rosen has with the tech industry is that they claim they don't have the budgets to participate in Comdex but somehow they can afford to host off site events that draw directly from conventioneers on the main convention floor. For example, Sony and Intel did not purchase space in the convention hall, but they did host major events in local hotels and casinos. We need to support Comdex, if we want the tech industry to continue to grow. For more info on the history and benefits of Comdex check out their website at www.comdex.com

The keynote address held last night at the MGM Convention Center can be summed up in only four words, "The Bill Gates Show". The keynote address was the first major speech Bill Gates has made since the announcement of the Justice Departments settlement against Microsoft. It was well attended (maybe better then Comdex itself) and overshadowed all the other off-site events. I have to give Microsoft credit; they did a great job, especially in the light of last year's Comdex, when one of the main presenters had a major case of stage fright (Yes .. she still has her job). Gates, in his relaxed "can we talk" style, outlined his vision for the future. In an obvious effort to put the best spin on what we've all went through this last year, Gates' speech focused on the coming age, in which all manner of human activities will become digitized and integrated. "It's not just sitting in front of that desktop PC," said Gates, "that's very important, but that's just a piece of what we are trying to do. The magic of software is spreading out to all different devices ...and those devices are connecting in different ways." Then he presented a preview of Microsoft's new line of products and services, such as .Net (Open Source IT format), Spot (Smart Personal Object Technology), Media Center (Audio/Video Consumer products), Tablet PC (You have to have been on the Moon not to know what it is), and Smart Displays (Detachable Wireless Monitors).

I must emphasize the thing that impressed me most about the whole presentation, the new face and attitude of Microsoft . This was the first tech industry presentation I have ever seen that incorporated so many of us (people of color) into the pitch. From the 20-minute video with Puff Daddy/P-Diddy, to the two African-American presenters, Microsoft showed its cultural diversity. I especially liked the part in the second video clip where the camera focused in on a little black kid and said in

the voice over; "We see a Marine Biologist". The overriding theme of the Microsoft pitch is new partnerships, openness and trust (We'll see about the trust issue).

Being a visionary has earned him a place in history, and last night, Bill Gates demonstrated that he still has his finger on the pulse of the consumer. He opened with a wireless demonstration of what is sure

to be on the top of everyone's Christmas gift list, the formidable X-Box Online Gaming Unit and he didn't miss a beat as he showed off the video editing capability of his home entertainment convergence media software. He continued by painting a picture of a digital home increasingly crowded with integrated convenience devices (all powered by Microsoft). As always, he pointed to the natural progression of economics that makes digital gear ever more affordable, more powerful and more portable. Gates said. "At the end of the decade, a terabyte will be the typical storage on a personal computer," He went on to say, "Hundreds of gigabytes of data will be able to be stored on portable devices".

Well, its noon and I've got to get out the door and back down to the convention floor. Keep your eyes open for pictures I will be posting on my website in the City Lights Reporter. If there is a particular product or company you want me to report on, feel free to send me an email at jneusom@yahoo.com. I will be checking my email all day long.

This web site contains "Trademarks" and "Copyrighted" material licensed to other entities and cannot be reproduced, altered, or used in any form without prior written permission. Please read our Terms Of Use for compliance information.

Day - 1

Keynote Address

Copyright © 2000 - 2001 by InterServe Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.

This web site contains "Trademarks" and "Copyrighted" material licensed to other entities and cannot be reproduced, altered, or used in any form without prior written permission. Please read our Terms Of Use for compliance information.