RobbieTheGeek.Com

I was lucky enough to go to Digital Life at the Javits in New York City for 2 of the 3 days. On the first day of the convention I ran into Robert Heron. He was nice enough to stand around while a friend and I got a few photos and talked a little bit about all the projects he has in the cooker Digital Life TV, This Week In Tech, and PC Mag's HDTV specialist. Over the next 2 days we stopped by the PC Magazine / Ziff Davis Village and chat with Robert about High Definition TV's and all kinds of technology. We also ran into a few other notable ZD folks Patrick Norton grabbing some lunch so we left him alone :) and Jim Louderback while he was shooting a snippet / commercial at the Cosmopolitan & PMS Clan area.

There was so much to see; a buddy of mine is a drummer and was playing around with Ejamming a online, real- time music collaboration software suite. I saw many cool things, and spoke to a dizzying number of well informed folks but by and large the Shure Headphones representatives never fail to impress this geek. These folks love their products, can explain it and make you want to try it out. There are 3 main levels of headphones (2,3, & 4s)and there is always a PSP, IPod or portable DVD player waiting to show off how great these headphones sound. One of folks that was trolling the booths with me purchased some of the new E2g:Gaming Edition Headphones. He loves them and now has a great set of black headphones whether he is listening to podcasts on his Nano or playing Burnout Legends on his PSP.

For years all of us have seen the little award claims that get slapped all over the boxes for products, you know the Kick-Ass, 9.5 out of 10, Greatest Product EVER!, blah blah blah. Well I was there at the awards ceremony that allows these companies to slap a little DL logo on their products packaging. Here are the results:

Best of Show Overall:

Microsoft's Xbox 360

Portable Gear:

Creative's Zen Vision

Home Theater Gear:

HP's Pavilion MD6580 Microdisplay TV

Digital Lifestyle Service:

Streamload's Media Max

Game Hardware:

RedOctane's Guitar Hero

Game Software:

LucasArts' Star Wars Battlefront II

Gift for Kids:

WowWee's Roboraptor

Gift for Grown-ups:

XM Satellite Radio's Roady XT

Hippest Booth:

Napster

Best Future Technology:

Toshiba's HD DVD player

Best Show Experience:

Nokia's booth

I saw most of these products or booths in person, but they hit it right on the head with the Xbox360 for best in show. I am not a Microsoft fanboy, but BIGVIP may have convinced me to drink the Kool-Aid. Seeing Cameo & Project Gotham Racing playable on the development kit during the presentation, the Media Center extender functionality, and the pure cool factor of true next-gen console graphics was stunning and satisfying.Well that is it for now folks...Robbie The Geek out...