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Keynotes: part press conference part play.  This years keynotes were dramatic and if there was a common theme running in them this year it is this: we are making stuff up.  Not faking it, but making products, services, and plans for which there is no real, solid revenue acquisition model yet.  Far from working on things that make no sense, the keynotes highlighted each companies sandbox and the possibilities our head-long leap into technology can bring us.  These possibilities are not so much about a killer product, but a killer revolution, each aimed at disrupting how we live, work or play.  It is an exciting time in technology.

So with that in mind, I bring you, with with the help of our on-site Gadgetell team who nobly risk their lives (or at least their circadian sleep cycle to bring you all the latest the ground from Vegas.

Opening bell: Bill Gates
Bill pokes fun at himself on his purported last day as head of Microsoft.  Adam Berger taped out this update on the live blog as Microsoft shared their well-positioned future vision:

“A new device (a few years out) will act as a live camera. As you point it at places or people it can tell you more information about all these places (if people owe you money, if friends are located in the location, history from the past, and more). This thing is very cool, cooler than Surface.”

Panasonic, Toshihiro Sakamoto
Panasonic makes a massive collection of products riding the cutting edge of tech.  One new idea from Panasonic is the concept of a LifeWall, a whole wall of your house that is giant display, capable of typical display uses like what you see on your computer but much more as well.  Adam Berger from his well-chosen seat give us the play by play:

“LifeWall will use Facial Recognition technology to recognize who is there and which content to bring up. It will also use MotionSensing technology so no matter where you are. It also have video calling, video messaging, interactive messaging,and much much more.”

Yahoo: James Yang
Yahoo looks to make the web simpler, collaborating all their services so you get a seamless, always-connected digital experience.  From culling relevant data from information stacks and grouping it with your basic info, say an email or IM, the experience becomes richer.  Our Adam Berger, who loves keynotes and was in charge of Gadgetells who goes where list, was in the audience live blogging this:
“If someone is watching TV a small message can pop up and tell them that they were just invited to dinner. If they are a Flickr fan, Yahoo will grab some images (if they exist) and put them onto the eVite.”

Intel: Paul Ortellini
Intel is always working to stay a few years head.  While it’s concept of UMPC’s struggles, new ideas and new ways of getting those ideas across are coming to the forefront of Intels work.  Here, Doug Berger relates what Intel sees our handhelds doing in the near future:

“Rather than us going to the internet, the internet will come to us… I’m talking about brining a whole new level of availability… Proactive, predictive, and context aware.”.."He did a demo talking to a girl speaking in Chinese.  He couldn’t understand her, so he used his device to do two way translation with audio… so it talked to her.  He said… “can you tell me the way to Worker’s stadium.” She responded with “that’ll be nine thousand kilometers away..” He responded, “very funny miss.”

GM: Rick Wagoner
We used to think Detroit was lagging behind the curve as far as technology went.  GPS, HD Radio and other in-car gadgets have awoken the sleeping giants and now they release cars at CES, not just auto shows and it is very appropriate.  Our Adam Berger was on-hand drooling at the new Cadillac Provoq:

Here is the world premium of the Cadillac Provoq. It the first auto introduction at CES. It uses no petroleum and no emission other than water. It uses 5th generation technology, drives 300 miles on a full tank of hydrogen. It can go 100 mph and 0-60 in 8.5 seconds.

Adam also witnessed GM’s commitment to making our cars smarter:

The next big development is to connect cars to other cars (currently technology is connecting cars to the outside world via telematics). In 2008 lane departure warning and blind spot alert are rolling out. The next step is V2V(vehicle to vehicle communications). Next generation systems can use transponders to talk with other vehicles 1/4 mile around.

In summary, the head honchos are there to look pretty and they know it.  Thankfully, each of these have shown they have a dedicated staff, working their hardest to fulfill the big promises they make.

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