CES 2018 Standout products... For whatever reason

[Gyro]

I think we should have a thread for the products introduced at CES2018 that stand out as true innovations/good/bad/plain ugly/disasters.

Here's one I spotted for the latter category:

The iKeyp smart safe...     

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/technology-42634501/ces-2018-ikeyp-smart-safe-proves-easy-to-crack-open

[Gyro]

... and one that probably qualifies for the first category... The LG large rollable OLED screen...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/technology-42600884/ces-2018-lg-display-shows-off-large-rollable-tv-screen

[tooki]

... and one that probably qualifies for the first category... The LG large rollable OLED screen...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/technology-42600884/ces-2018-lg-display-shows-off-large-rollable-tv-screen

They've been promising and demoing rollable OLED for what, 20 years now?

[Gyro]

I suspect that it's the first time they've done it with something as big as a 65" 4k one though. That's pretty impressive - maybe move it to the 'good' category then.

[Gyro]

Maybe a 'Questionable' category too...

The Kodak Cryptocurrency KodakCoin / Bitcoin miner:

...- will use about the same amount of electricity as running a hairdryer around the clock. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-42630136

[bd139]

Kodak really know how to fuck up a brand at this point.

[BrianHG]

Maybe a 'Questionable' category too...

The Kodak Cryptocurrency KodakCoin / Bitcoin miner:

...- will use about the same amount of electricity as running a hairdryer around the clock. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-42630136

[station240]

Just watched the video on the iKeyp safe, so much fail there.
Clearly the 'p' at the end stands for Piece of ....

I expected better from a major consumer electronics show, this is Indigogo quality.

[james_s]

The rollable OLED screen is cool, but I can't imagine actually needing one. Just give me a nice big reliable OLED monitor with a sturdy frame and a bunch of HDMI inputs. I don't need gimmicks, I don't want it curved, I don't care about 3D, it doesn't have to be any thinner than the thickest part, I don't want "smart" features built in, I just want a monitor with a great picture.

Having it rollable is just going to make it more expensive and complex, add many additional potential failure points and you need a bulky box for it to roll up into along with the mechanical bits. It could be handy in a few niche custom installs but it's mostly a status symbol.

[Gyro]

I agree completely about potential failure points etc., however the way screen sizes are exploding at the moment, it might be a solution to the huge light sucking black rectangle. That's assuming that we don't start leaving them on with a scenic screensaver the whole time! Other potential solutions will doubtless appear.

For now, I'll stick with my old projector for the big screen experience.

[GreggD]

Flashlight(torch) candle or some sort of light.

[Gyro]

It looks as if the Technology has started revolting now - too many light suckers, it must be really dark in there! 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42639780

[Mr. Scram]

I think we should have a thread for the products introduced at CES2018 that stand out as true innovations/good/bad/plain ugly/disasters.

Here's one I spotted for the latter category:

The iKeyp smart safe...     

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/technology-42634501/ces-2018-ikeyp-smart-safe-proves-easy-to-crack-open

A plastic box that tells you your stuff is gone sounds like a great idea. It's almost as if they were trying to build a poster child for IoT failures.

As a side note, ever noticed how many permissions and scripts the BBC site requires to run? As long as you just read articles it's not so bad, but don't try to actually play a video.

[bd139]

We get a different BBC site here in the U.K. without all the crap on it so I’m happy 

[Mr. Scram]

We get a different BBC site here in the U.K. without all the crap on it so I’m happy 

I'm talking about the UK site, though the international one is just as bad.

[bd139]

Ah I’ve got ublock running. Seems to kill all that.

Apparently there was a massive power failure at CES 

https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/10/the-day-the-lights-went-out-at-ces/

[Mr. Scram]

Ah I’ve got ublock running. Seems to kill all that.

Apparently there was a massive power failure at CES 

https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/10/the-day-the-lights-went-out-at-ces/

That's the problem, you need to allow all sorts of things before a simple video can play. It's not about the crap thrown at you, it's the crap you need to allow to get anywhere.  Some sites are much worse than others and the BCC site seems to be consistently terrible. It has been for years.

[james_s]

I agree completely about potential failure points etc., however the way screen sizes are exploding at the moment, it might be a solution to the huge light sucking black rectangle. That's assuming that we don't start leaving them on with a scenic screensaver the whole time! Other potential solutions will doubtless appear.

For now, I'll stick with my old projector for the big screen experience.

Set the TV into the wall and have doors, curtains, a painting, etc close over it when not in use. If one really wanted a fancy disappearing setup it wouldn't be hard in many situations to mount a big TV like a pocket door that vanishes into a slot down into a piece of furniture or into the wall. I think the rollup screen will fill the same niche market, rich people who are willing to pay high prices for cute gimmicks they can show off in their media room.

It will probably only have 2 or 3 HDMI inputs too, and a horrid integrated "smart" system that is hopelessly obsolete after 2 or 3 years, and a user interface that makes it as difficult as possible to switch inputs.

[station240]

update on the cause of the blackout from the link above.

Today at approximately 11:15 AM, the Central Hall and South Hall bridge meeting rooms at the Las Vegas Convention Center lost power. Power in the South Hall was restored within minutes, and power has now been fully restored to all areas. A preliminary assessment indicates that condensation from heavy rainfall caused a flashover on one of the facility’s transformers. We are grateful to NV Energy for their swift assistance, to our customers and their clients for their patience and to the staff for ensuring the safety and security of all attendees and exhibitors.

[Cyberdragon]

update on the cause of the blackout from the link above.

Today at approximately 11:15 AM, the Central Hall and South Hall bridge meeting rooms at the Las Vegas Convention Center lost power. Power in the South Hall was restored within minutes, and power has now been fully restored to all areas. A preliminary assessment indicates that condensation from heavy rainfall caused a flashover on one of the facility’s transformers. We are grateful to NV Energy for their swift assistance, to our customers and their clients for their patience and to the staff for ensuring the safety and security of all attendees and exhibitors.

Aww...I was hoping it was a bunch of IOT wank appliances that went kerplooy and knocked out the power.

EDIT: Maybe their "smart transformer" got a virus and they just said it was rain. I just hope that doesn't ever actually happen.

[Avacee]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/technology-42658211/ces-2018-hushme-mask-lets-users-make-private-calls

 

Edit: Actually ... these should be compulsory if you want to use your phone on a plane or train ....

[Gyro]

Oh I don't know, I can think of the odd prominent figure who would benefit from one of those! 

[rrinker]

 Certainly an improvement from that giant Cone of Silence. Now if they can just build it into a shoe...

[NiHaoMike]

Maybe a 'Questionable' category too...

The Kodak Cryptocurrency KodakCoin / Bitcoin miner:

...- will use about the same amount of electricity as running a hairdryer around the clock. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-42630136

Looks just like a rebadged Antminer, complete with the exposed top part of the PCBs that make it harder to stack them.
8 months to breaking even isn't good at all for an ASIC box. Such a payback period would be acceptable for GPUs that have other uses. (I personally broke even on my Avalon 4.1 in about 3 months not counting the substantial increase in Bitcoin price. I miss the days when cheap smartphones would pay for themselves in a week, but smartphone coins tend to be quite short lived.)

[Cyberdragon]

https://gizmodo.com/this-aa-battery-sucks-power-right-out-of-the-air-1821966213

EDIT: obviously this goes in the POS catagory.