I’m at the annual Demo technology trade show in southern California.
Demo is held each year at the Renaissance Esmeralda resort in Indian Wells, Calif. Many of the attendees get here early to play golf, laze by the pool or just relax. Others, who will be presenting at the show, are working hard on their demonstrations.
This is one of the three or four dont-miss events of the year in technology, a showcase of new and prototype products. Sometimes they’re stunning successes, such as the Palm Pilot became after its introduction three years ago. Sometimes they’re complete duds — too many to count, much less name.
This year I’m sensing two themes — information appliances and Web applications. We’ve been hearing that the former was about to happen Real Soon Now for a long time, and I think this may finally be the year these devices show their mettle.
I’m especially intrigued by a handheld personal organizer from Lernout & Hauspie, the speech recognition company from Belgium. This one takes its commands by voice. It’s just a prototype, scheduled to hit the market later this year, but I’m blown away by the notion. (Another cool-sounding appliance at Demo will be a stand-alone Web radio.)
Dan Bricklin and his company, Trellix, have a new version of their Trellix Web product. This one could be a major step forward in the notion of writing on the Web, for the Web. It’s not a professional tool, as I understand it, but it does sound quite powerful.
I’ll have more on these and other Demo demos in the next couple of days.
Above are two of the attendees: Bob Frankston, co-creator of VisiCalc, the spreadsheet that pretty much validated the personal computer as a business tool, and Harry Saal, longtime Silicon Valley entrepreneur and activist.
How Long Can the Gravy Train Run?
A while longer, it seems — see this story, which takes your breath away, in today’s Mercury News.