Tech Watch | InfoWorld Staff » Comdex looks to shed T-Rex image

November 17, 2003 | Comments: (0)

Comdex looks to shed T-Rex image

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A quick stroll of the show floor revealed what most already know: Comdex is in rebuilding mode. Like a struggling professional sports franchise with a string of losing seasons, Comdex is starting over. The show has new management, is shedding cost, and is moving away from the one thing that once brought them success, but is now a burden- a consumer focus.

The span of this years' show floor is equal to about a football field - 120 yards, with end zones. Of course the most recognizable names have the biggest booths. Microsoft has built a fortress, populated by partners, in one corner of the show floor. That booth is flanked by other large properties from Dell, the United States Postal Service (USPS), AT&T Wireless, Siebel, QLogic and Nexsan Technologies (All pale in comparison to MSFT's). About the only other recognizable names outside of those housed in the Microsoft complex are Sprint and Symbol Technologies (I'm not exaggerating).

Comdex is expecting 50,000 attendees and the biggest crowds this morning have been at the Microsoft booth, the registration area, and the area right outside of registration. Another area of interest is the show's new Innovation Centers. I plan on sitting in on one tomorrow, but right now they seem to be popular with attendees with sore legs and no desire to take a seat on the floor. The innovation centers include the Wireless and Mobility Innovation Center, the Open Source and Linux Innovation Center, the Web Services Innovation Center, the Security Innovation Center, and the Digital Enterprise Innovation Center.

Getting around the show floor is manageable and I've only seen two cars. One is a giant white Hummer in the booth of SAFLINK, a biometrics company, where people are lining up to take a spin on a slot machine for a chance to win the car, I'm guessing. The other car is in the USPS booth. I still have no idea why they are here. I will ask though.

Oh, I almost forgot - show news. Ummmm, I'm still looking for that. I'm starting to think maybe Comdex forbade it from this year's show. Actually, I have a number of meetings with smaller storage companies, including one with the aforementioned Nexsan. Last year, if I recall, Diamond Lauffin, senior executive vice president of Nexsan, said Comdex has been a huge success for the company; which would make sense considering the size of its booth. Nexsan makes the InfiniSAN ATAboy2 storage system, a product we reviewed earlier this year.

From Scott Tyler Shafer at Comdex.

Posted by Paul Krill on November 17, 2003 03:34 PM

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