Twilight at Circuit City
 "We'll be here until March 1 or until all the inventory is gone," said the Verizon-in-a-box rep at the Circuit City store on Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles. Circuit City announced that it would be closing its 567 U.S. branches by March 1 and would lay off approximately 34,000 employees.
A line stretched around the corner on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and by Wednesday the parking lot was at 50 percent capacity. Several people exited the store emptyhanded.
Inside "The Dark Knight" played at full volume on plasma screens, the speakers crackling - not an enticement to buy. Already-overpriced DVDs were marked down 10 percent, HDTVs were marked 30 percent off their markup.
Quick comparison shopping revealed that the Sony 350 Blu-Ray player, one of three remaining Blu-Ray players in the store, was, at $269.99, about the same price as could be obtained online, and more expensive than the same model at Costco.
"Where will you go after March 1st?" the Verizon booth employee was asked.
"If I can't get transferred to another store, unemployment," she said.
"How hopeful does it look?"
"Not hopeful," she said.
A Firedog.com Scion XL was parked outside, ready to spring into action. Firedog is/was Circuit City's answer to the Geek Squad, an in-house team of computer professionals. The difference between Firedog and the Geek Squad, however (in addition to Scions vs. VW Beetles), is that Firedog is owned by Circuit City, whereas the Geek Squad is the contracted service provider to CC rival Best Buy. This means that the Firedog guys are losing their jobs, too.
"I've got my application in to the Geek Squad already," one employee said. "But so does everyone else here. I like the Volkswagens better."
"So is the management waiting around until everything goes? Those boxes of Mentos?"
"We'll probably just throw those out," he said.
"If I come back on Valentine's Day, how much will that Blu-Ray player cost?" he was asked.
"If it's even there? Maybe 10 bucks less," he said.
See also: Circuit CityLabels: bankruptcy, circuit city, economy, retail
Vote for Last Gadget Standing
 Ten finalists for the consumer-chosen Last Gadget Standing have been announced at CES. They are:
- Eye-Fi: The winner of last year's coveted Last Gadget Standing unveils its most ground-breaking product yet – the Eye-Fi Video Card. It allows users to wirelessly upload videos and even allows you to share your videos in real time, over the Internet.
- Bug Labs: Consumers can create their own gadget out of these modular and programmable electronic units.
- ClickFree: A company with easy-to-use digital storage solutions reveals its latest gadget – the Transformer USB cable. The backup smarts are in the cable.
- emWave PSR: This portable biofeedback tool from HeartMath helps users reduce stress, balance emotions and increase performance.
- FlipMino HD: The world's smallest HD-quality video camcorder, the Mino HD, features 4GB of memory and up to 60 minutes of recording time and all-new built-in FlipShare software for easy saving, organizing and sharing of video.
- LiveScribe Smart Pulse Pen: You'll never miss a word with this pen-sized computer that records and syncs audio with what you write.
- MSI Wind: Wi-Fi Network Device is the first 10" notebook to feature the speedy new Intel Atom™ 1.6GHz processor. Weighing in at just 2.6 lbs, it's designed to be lightweight and ultra-mobile, without sacrificing convenience or performance.
- Motorola ZN5: According to the judges, it's the first mobile phone that lets them feel comfortable leaving their digital camera behind. The MOTOZINE™ ZN5 is the only product that combines Motorola's mobile device design, call quality and technology with Kodak's powerful imaging innovation and leadership.
- T-Mobile Android: A complete portable Web solution right in your pocket. The T-Mobile Android is the first mobile phone to feature Google's Android operating system, offering free email access to Gmail users.
- WowWee: The leading innovator of hi-tech consumer robotic and entertainment products unwraps its newest product – Joebot – a walking, talking, interactive buddy, and with more personality than robots before him
See also: Last Gadget Standing votingLabels: CES, last gadget standing
Understanding shresidue
 There is something magical, like the first time you flushed a foreign object down an airplane toilet, about feeding a compact disc through a titanium-toothed shredder and running your hands through the residue.
But what is that residue called?
I spoke with Staples representatives at the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and I got passed off from one employee to the other.
"Isn't there some trade association term for this residue that you use as shorthand at your shredder conventions?" I asked.
Staples is debuting a new line of weapons-grade shredders that will be available in stores and online in February with price points ranging from $99 to $299.
• MailMate M5 Shredder ($89.99)
• 10-Sheet Crosscut Shredder ($99.99)
• 10-Sheet Microcut Shredder ($199.99)
• 12-Sheet Crosscut Shredder ($149.99)
• 15-Sheet Crosscut Shredder ($159.99)
• 16-Sheet Microcut Shredder ($299.99)
• 22-Sheet Crosscut Shredder ($249.99)
I am informed that the shredders are also able to destroy Blu-ray DVDs and are backward-compatible to shred HD-DVDs (naturally, I did not say "HD-DVD" very loudly in the demonstration area, lest there be some bruised Toshiba execs nearby).
Staples, the official shredder supplier for the CES Press/Analyst Room (January 6-11, 2009), is debuting the new line to allow media attendees to experience the new shredders and their exclusive features and technology first hand. And that was a good idea, too. The first in-house sponsor for the press room, Staples had a captive audience.
"What is the weirdest thing a member of the media has tried to shred today?" I said.
"A coaster," the Staples rep said.
"How did that go?" I said.
"We shredded it."
 We shredded it. You'd think that with all this credit-taking - after all, the Staples rep did not have titanium teeth - that somebody would know what the residue was called.
"Well we don't actually make the shredders," the rep said.
Someone was brought over. He seemed to be confused about why I wanted to know. I was confused about why I wanted to know.
"We call the residue 'shred,'" he said.
Singular and plural?
"Yes," he said. "One piece is shred, two pieces is shred."
More exciting than shredding that promotional DVD of Hitch was knowing that, in the end, Hitch was shred.
See also: Staples, CESLabels: CES, jargon, office, staples
Soft open for CES, befitting small jumps, stagflation
 2009's Consumer Electronics Association show, the organization's 41st, has opened in Las Vegas with less fanfare and fewer events than in the past, with an emphasis on innovation rather than eye-popping great leaps forward.
Improvements to existing technology, such as the SDXC card, which increases the capacity of the mobile storage device up to 2 terabytes, are the norm in a show featuring HDTVs, projection devices, touchscreens, and navigation systems that are appreciably snazzier than their predecessors but not paradigm shifters.
 Other products, like the Powermat, which wirelessly charges devices like iPods, cellphones, and Blackberrys "by principles of magnetic induction," address consumers' need to scale down and spend less.
Why? It's the economy.
"For every dollar decline in wealth, consumption decreases four to eight cents," said economist Shawn DuBravac, the CEA's chief financial analyst.
Still - and according to Consumer Electronics Association representatives - the economic downturn has not affected the public's willingness to buy big ticket items, only its drive to buy immediately.
"They know the price will go down, so they wait," said Steve Koenig, CEA director of industry analysis.
Analysts say that four trends in consumer technology will be at the forefront this year:
 Green as a purchase factor - Polls show that women are more likely to consider a product's "greenness" when making purchasing decisions than men, but that men are learning that language, too. In a CEA study of 1,000 people, 22 percent said they would even pay up to 15 percent more for a product that was biodegradable, had a smaller carbon footprint, etc. "But consumers have a healthy skepticism about companies who hype their green credentials," said Koenig.
Evolving command, control, and display - Input devices like touchscreens, voice, and even eye movement are competing with traditional methods to interact with our machines, Koenig said, and within five years some of those inputs will be on the level with the mouse and keyboard.
(No) Strings Attached - as wires come off, companies are thinking of the best ways to add services to converge and monetize relationships, such as downlaodable Netflix, Blockbuster, and Amazon movies. Products might literally have no wires or figuratively add connectivity through strategic partnerships.
The Embedded Internet - Internet-enabled devices, from personal GPS to toys to portable chat stations, will creep up on notebooks, which themselves have outpaced desktop computer sales.
CFA DuBravac estimates that the U.S. recesssion will end in June of this year, but an audience member pointed out that stagflation - the inability for the economy to get back on its feet because of factors such as consumer doubt leading to conservative spending, might chill innovation.
So the saying goes, when a fisherman is not at sea he is mending his nets. Net-mending behavior, such as the modest show floor advances at this year's CES, might make for more than one year of tech products reflecting lower expectations and greater need for economy.
See also: CESLabels: CES, press, tech hysteria
Tequila replaces insulin in hotel refrigerators
 Just as in the airline industry, hotels are seeking new ways to generate income from captive audiences. But whereas airlines are now charging for things that were once free, like carry-on baggage and meals, many hotels are removing non-essential services and filling the void with profit-generating items.
It took some sleuthing to find out that the minibar in our suite at the Mirage was made by a company called Bartech, which also provides minibars for the Bellagio and The Palms. There was no Bartech logo visible on the device, but there were six translations of "anything you remove will be automatically charged to your account."
This included a nip bottle of Patron for $23 and a can of Red Bull for $5.95. Not known for our wild living, we drove around the corner to a CVS and found the same items for $4 and $1.99, respectively.
Those prone to guilty introspection (we are, at least, prone to that) might say that the wages of laziness is 23 bucks for two margaritas' worth - tops - of tequila. So the very presence of an untouched minibar can be a testament to one's own restraint in the country's most decadent town.
But here's the rub: the only refrigeration available in our room was via the minibar, and we couldn't store our own water and snacks there. I called Hotel Services.
"Can I store my insulin in the minibar?" I said. This year I plan to learn bass guitar and to develop diabetes.
"No," the operator said. "Not even in the empty slots. But we can send up a refrigerator for you."
"Yes," I said. "Please do that." (I needed a place for my Red Bull and Patron.)
The lack of a refrigerator not only drives the guest out of the room to eat at hotel restaurants (or order room service) but it also chills the need for extra trash, thus fewer and smaller wastebaskets that fill faster and perpetuate the desire for housekeeping.
It's all a conspiracy.
Housekeeping brought up a dented refrigerator with a loud compressor, like the one I had in my dorm room. I tipped the housekeeping guy and asked if there would be a charge.
"Not yet," he said.
See also: Bartech, Form vs. function: Making minibars fit the decor of a guestroom is the goal of designers and manufacturersLabels: commerce, las vegas, lifestyle, travel
Knowing your place in the tech economy
Andrew Barrett
 We are looking for independent confirmation of the following quote from Erica Eden, co-founder of the Femme Den, a consortium advocating greater attention from the established Consumer Electronics industry:
"Women represent the world's third largest economy, and buy or influence 80 percent of all purchases of goods and services. The women's market is a huge business opportunity, but CE companies aren't connecting with their real needs. We hope to change that."
If we can infer from this statement that men are the world's biggest economy, who is the second? And where did the data come from for how many purchases are influenced by women?
(We don't doubt this, having purchased a Mercedes for this very reason when a pickup would have done just fine, but we'd never admit this to a pollster.)
See also: 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, The Femme DenLabels: CES, tech hysteria
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