Demoing Demo

from the so-that's-what's-new dept

Since a few folks have brought it up, I should mention that I'm at DEMOfall for the next couple of days checking out what's new (and being amazed that it actually does rain in Southern California). So far, there isn't much going on, though I'd like to state for the record that I can't fathom the thought process a company goes through in deciding that a good promotional give away for a bunch of techies is a digital calculator. A big ugly one too. That's just what we need. At the same time, I'm not sure if it's a good or bad sign that I have absolutely no clue what the promotional giveaway from Lenovo actually is. It's plastic and it folds up, but (maybe it's just my brain malfunctioning after a flight), I can't figure out what the contraption does. If anyone else is at DEMO and can fill me in, I'd appreciate it. I'll be reporting on some of the more interesting demos spotted during the show. So far, the few folks who spotted the press badge and grabbed me to talk to me have had a mix of useless to interesting products. I fear, once again, too many "features" in search of products and too many features where the need will be wiped out the next time some big company upgrades their offerings. However, a few of the folks I spoke to seem to be working on something interesting. Will have to wait until the actual Demos to write more, however. SCO surprised lots of folks by actually announcing a product and they'll be demoing it later this week, so I'll hold off any commentary for now. I did have the pleasure of sitting next to SCO's new VP of marketing (who came, from of all places, IBM) at dinner, where he tried to convince me the company is about more than legal actions, but couldn't resist falling back on calling those who though SCO went off the deep end with their legal strategy "religious zealots." He continued to do this even after I repeatedly pointed out that it went well beyond the zealots to plenty of people with very legitimate concerns about their strategy. Fun way to kick off the event.