Highlights Of My First CES In 2009

I'd been in Vegas before, and what a crazy place it is. It was about 5 years ago, for a nationwide manager's conference. I was stuffed into the Flamingo like a sardine in a can with almost 300 other employees, with 4 days of nonstop meeting days and 4 nights of nonstop... studying... for the next meeting.

But let me tell you, I have never been so exhausted from a work related journey than I was after CES 2009. Had I followed some sage advice, I probably would have been better off... but no, I lugged around that heavy bag and wore dress shoes. My feet still hurt and my shoulders were sore for days. I actually wore holes through brand new socks.

That being said, I had a blast and met lots of great people - and got a chance to fulfill a childhood dream (as a lifelong video game and gadget lover, I've always wanted to go to CES.)

As such, I'm excited to share with you my "short list" of innovative, interesting tech that I had the fortune to witness firsthand at the show.

Boxee: The Connected Social Media Center

I've been a huge fan of Boxee for a long time now, ever since it was in closed alpha - and it's come a long way since then. It's really a revolutionary way to watch your internet media and share it with others, too. They recently brought the product into open alpha and have announced a Windows version as well.

At the show, they were touting some of the latest and greatest features of Boxee, including streaming from the BBC, Netflix, and even the new MTVMusic.com! I was able to meet Avner Ronen, the founder of Boxee, who was gracious enough to give me a tour of the newest features.

If you haven't checked it out yet, head over to boxee.tv and sign up... you won't regret it.

PogoPlug: Access Your Hard Drive... Anywhere

I'm pretty used to keeping everything in sync these days. Given that I work from a desktop at home and a laptop remotely, I need to have my work (and personal) files accessible from any device at any time. Not only that, I'm a little obsessive about keeping my files organized.

A lot of online data storage solutions have popped up to help folks do this, but they cost money and don't always work reliably (in my experience.) This is where PogoPlug comes in to save the day. Just connect it to your home network, plug in an external drive, and you're done. You can access those files from anywhere... saving space on your remote computer and keeping everything nice and orderly - awesome!

You can snag the PogoPlug on a pre-order special for $79 at www.pogoplug.com.

Husqvarna Automower

I've got a special place in my heart for robots, so the Automower won me over instantly. It's deceptively simple, really - this sweet little electronic groundskeeper will neatly and efficiently mow your lawn, rain or shine, while you kick back inside with a beer. Is there anything better?

They've got a number of different models available and even provide a solar powered version - so you can be mean and green! Check 'em out at www.automower.us.

Sony Vaio P

It's a "lifestyle PC," not a netbook, right Sony? I'm still going to call it a netbook because to me, it falls under that classification.

However, this is the Porsche Boxster S of netbooks... sleek, classy, small, and powerful. The unit feels extremely solid and high quality... like a little jewel. The very Mac like keyboard was music to my fingertips, and the best part of all... the vibrant, dense, super-sharp 1600 X 768 8" screen. That's crazy pixel count for such a small screen, and it was beautiful.

I want one, but I'll settle for my Dell Mini 9 for now... given that this little puppy will run you back a minimum of $899 when it's released. See more info at Sony Style.

Swans 2.2 Speaker System

The picture says it all. Note the lack of price information on the website. If I could afford these, I'd be typing this on the deck of my private yacht while sipping on the finest cognac.

They're simply imposing... and loud. Definitely cool to witness in person, and Swans had a pretty sweet booth. More info at their website.

SlingPlayer for iPhone

Yeah!!! Another thing I have been waiting to see for quite some time... the ability to use Sling on my iPhone. And I'm not the only one who's been waiting either... this is huge!