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Comdex unleashes high-tech hype
Computer trade show draws 100,000 visitors
June 2, 1997
Web posted at: 7:20 p.m. EDT (2320 GMT)From CNN Interactive Writer Andy Walton
ATLANTA (CNN) -- A carnival midway for the information age descended upon Atlanta as Comdex Spring '97 opened Monday.
Comdex, one of the nation's largest computer trade shows, brought about 100,000 people and truckloads of high-tech hype.
In the maze of technology and humanity on the convention floor, some companies went to extraordinary lengths to attract browsers. One PC manufacturer sported a mock small town street in its booth, and another company built its display around a jungle theme, complete with thatched roofs and mock plants. At every turn, barkers with headphone mics stand in front of massive screens hawking the Next Big Thing.
Then, of course, there are the products. Comdex is "co-located," in brochure-speak, with Windows World, The Spring Consumer Electronics Show, and Expo Comm, a trade show for the telecommunications industry. The recurring buzzword is "convergence," the coming collision of telephones, television, the Internet, and virtually every household machine but the toaster.
This means that the show has more home entertainment products than in years past, and a lot of first-generation hybrids -- televisions that allow web surfing, computers that allow home TV production, and cellular phones that receive e-mail, for example.
Everyone has a vision for the future, and most have a product to sell. Tuesday, Microsoft founder Bill Gates will offer his version in the morning keynote address; Wednesday, media mogul Ted Turner and Oracle chairman Larry Ellison will take the stage.
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