Electronics, Porn Expos Bring Life to Vegas Hotels

Famed porn star's 'ignorance' upsets baffled techie gathering

(NEWSER) - If there’s anything odder than legendary porn star Ron Jeremy showing up the Consumer Electronics Show, it’s said legendary porn star pooh-poohing one of the sacred cows of the people he was talking to. CES coincided with the Adult Entertainment Expo, and Jeremy wandered over to participate in something called the “Great Porn Debate”—in which he said studies have found that violent video games have "a much bigger negative influence on kids" than porn. More»

Microsoft chief shows off gear with touch, speech interface

(NEWSER) - In his keynote speech at the technology super-convention in Las Vegas, Steve Ballmer pointed the way to a future in which we won’t be chained to keyboards. The Microsoft chief took to the stage with a number of devices that instead use touch or sound for user interface, like Hewlett-Packard’s Slate tablet. In the same vein, Ballmer says, Microsoft is adding a voice- and movement-recognition controller to its Xbox 360 gaming system. More»

Attendance down at Las Vegas electronics expo

(NEWSER) - Whether or not the gadgets make a splash, this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas is certainly a low-voltage affair, Reuters reports. The sputtering economy has slashed turnout at the expo, which in years past hosted “so many people it’s hard to walk around.” And tech makers are offering cheaper and smaller products. “It’s a very sobering and conservative reaction to the economy,” one attendee said. The show wraps up Sunday. More»

3-D TVs, wristwatch cellphone are among the excellent gadgets

(NEWSER) - The 2009 Consumer Electronics Show is full of “incredible technology,” Larry Magid writes for CNET. Problem is, it’s all “in search of a practical purpose,” making this year the “year of the gimmick.” Magid runs down a few wowee gadgets of dubious usefulness.

• Casio EX-FS10 camera: Shoots 30 frames a second and superimposes the video on another picture, doing "by itself what used to require post processing." But will anyone use the feature?

Whether in a swing state or a fave with young Hollywood, Obama and McCain can rest easy

(NEWSER) - Following the flurry of political press linked to hotel heiress and partier-in-chief Paris Hilton, campaign accommodation now requires serious vetting. Travel + Leisure plays candidate concierge, offering lodging suggestions for the presidential hopefuls:

• Red Rock Resort, Las Vegas: For John McCain, red-friendly name and removed from the sinful Strip. For Barack Obama: "blue" celeb George Clooney runs the hotel’s Cherry Nightclub.