That's it. Same old picture from Building 44 in Mountain View. No cool picture of yours truly on the Las Vegas strip. No shot from the CES floor, or with a stack full of chips. Just the same ol' picture we're all tired of seeing. Being sick at CES sucks, more so than the inevitable plague that follows you home.
I don't have much more to say about CES that we haven't already said. I'm real curious to see how NVIDIA's Project Shield handheld gaming console thingy turns out. I'm not what I'd consider a gamer -- I generally pick up a new CoD every couple years, but my kids are now grown enough (yet still so very young) so that I feel I need to not play in front of them -- but there's a familiar feeling when you hold those controls. For good reason -- it's basically an slightly oversized Xbox controller. I got to spend a half-hour or so with it in Las Vegas -- read my initial thoughts here -- but can't help but wonder if it'll be priced to sell in any real numbers while lacking the pocketability of other handheld gaming systems.
Otherwise? It was kind of refreshing to not be buried under waves of phones that won't see release for months. (Though we did have about the same number of phones that likely will never see the light of day in the U.S.) Enough has been said about the relevance (or lack thereof) of CES, but I'll point you to John Biggs' TechCrunch piece about how maybe, just maybe, it's for all those start-ups who bought booth space in hopes of showing off their product or service. I agree completely. CES should be about the companies presenting at the show -- not placating the press, who's there on the company dime.
I've said it before, and I'm saying it here again now: Our team in Vegas did a bad-ass job. From Alex and Andrew and Anndrew, to Simon and all the other Mobile Nations folks on the ground, there's not much I would have done different this week. And that's about all this (usually not-so-humble) editor can ask for. Let's do it all again next year. Or next month, in Barcelona.
A few other thoughts to close out the week ...
Android 4.2.2 on the Nexus 4
So a couple sites this week published pictures that supposedly show Android 4.2.2 on the Nexus 4. I've got no reason to not believe them -- we've seen Android 4.2.2 pinging the site for weeks, and I've no doubt that it's on a few phones, and has been for a little while. That's how you test things. These pictures, as reported by Brasil's Adrenaline and Malaysia's Lowyat don't put us any closer to an actual update than changing the date on the calendar (nor do they tell us what's new, but considering it's point release, I wouldn't expect a lot), but it is still cool that apparently they're probably starting to be seen in the wild. On the other hand, we've also got our build.prop Hall of Shame full of fake about screens. So there's that.
ZOMG Nexus 4 production halted stories
And this is all I have to say about that.
Bullets ...
- Must do more reader meet-ups. It was so cool to meet a few fans in Vegas. Helps keep us humble, and it really is fun.
- I'm finally starting to get a feel for my Nikon D700. It's too much camera for me, and apparently someone put that big ISO button there for a reason.
- Ditto for the new video camera I'm using (though it's more my speed). Props to The Wirecutter for that recommendation.
- One more CES thought: We need a Media Day where folks in the media just get to hang out. So many awesome people in this business, we don't get to see each other enough.
- It amazes me how seamlessly my kids switch between an iPad or Nexus 7 and their little LeapPad tablets. Wonder if they notice the tech at all, or if it's all about application.
- I was only casually aware of Aaron Swartz and all he'd done at such a young age, but Cory Doctorow's remembrance is a must-read. Very moving.
