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Comdex Canceled For 2004
Stephen Shankland writes "Comdex is canceled -- at least for 2004. The once-imposing tech event lost out to trade shows for specialized niches and consumer electronics, but the Comdex organizers want to bring it back in 2005, according to an executive quoted in our story at CNET News.com."
The 90's are truly dead....
Narrowcasting does in another hallmark of the industry. What's the bet that when it does return, it's a shadow of itsformer self?
--- "When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it's a wonder I can think at all..."
I for one think this is a good move. Regroup and try to make it better than ever for 2005. I've attended the last 3 or 4 and have see it slowly losing the spark it once had.
I always save my last mod point to mod up a good troll. You people are too serious.
This is an outrage, where am I supposed to get my stress balls, beeping rubber balls, and caffeinated mints from this year!!!
Is there a way to bypass the conference go right for the swag?
Cloud City Digital: DVD Production at its cheapest/finest
but not surprising. Attendance for Comdex has been decling for years. Just wonder how long before it disappears entirely.
It's all fun and games until someone loses the key to the handcuffs.
Comdex will return next year, but named as Microsoft Comdex . I'm not kidding either.
That is interesting, it was cancelled 2 years ago, but was brought back almost a month after its cancellation. I have always looked forward to Comdex and are personally downtrodden that it is gone(for now anyway). Budget issues are always a problem when it comes to huge conventions such as Comdex, Networld Interop, and Brainshare. Renting out a convention center and providing programs and conferences for the attendees can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Especially with times being as they are, I can understand why this event might have been cancelled even though the press release did not cover the reason...
Comdex is dying. Or, rather, Comdex is dead.
sulli
RTFJ.
Comdex cancelled , yet geeks dressed up like mr spock live on at star trek conventions. God really is cruel.
Easy guys, I put my pants on one leg at a time. The difference is after I put on my pants I make gold records!
Too bad, but this is just evolution of the market. Does there really need to be a "replacement"?
Since we now have a Comdex story topic and now Comdex, maybe this is a good opportunity to revamp? Adding a Gentoo topic, for example, or a casemod topic?
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
Games(Warhammer Online), Festivals(Lollapalooza), and now Comdex? What's next, 3DRealms announcing that nothing ever got done on DNF? Oh, wait...
The role of the writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say. -Anais Nin
The article claims that "security jitters" are keeping corporate types from travelling, thus hurting attendance. Is it possible that the TSA's reign of terror against airline passengers is more responsible?
Have you read my blog lately?
for the /. nerds to leave the basement.
...booth babes. They gotta eat.
I went to Itec not long ago and will never attend again. it was 1/5th the size from 2 years ago and everyone had this desperate "please talk to us" look on their faces at all booths.
shows in general are pretty much useless.. overpriced tickets to see a talk by someone who is going to rehash what they said for free online and you already read, and the schwag has turned into crud.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I guess times are changing.
Comdex was more than a place for tea and crumpets, it was a place where average Joe IT could come, check out the babeage, get the toys, drool at the pundification, and check out all the cool techtoys to recommend to their bosses. It was the engine of the soul of IT.
.dotcom kabloom, Comdex bosses thought they were finally in the uppity ranks, and closed it all off except to 'vips' and other fortune50-exclusive folks. No more parties, just drivle from the big guys. They took out all the reason to go.
About the time of the
Then again, they were innovators in showing the rest of the industry how to commit suicide by banning their customers and throwing away their products. Too bad there's nothing left to part out.
I don't care what happens as long as I can get my webcast fix of keynotes at Macworld and the WWDC. Anyway, doesn't admission to these kinds of things cost ~$1500? I can see why, at this price, no one would want to go...
n/t
Are they going to cancel the Adult Entertainment show they always run in Vegas at the same time as Comdex too?
Comdex lost track sometime in the 90's but the real end was in 1995 when it was sold to Softbank.
It went from being a twice yearly Mecca to being a monthly, or bimonthly travelling international 'Disneyland' for marketing.
Prior to the infiltration by 'Windows World' it had been the hard core contact point for developers, implementors, and users, all feeding and grooming the craft (with the spice of some good natured marketing).
There is a real need for what Comdex was just as there is still a need for the every other year show of photographics at Photokina in Koln Germany.
Let Comdex lay in it's grave, quiet in silent repose, and start something unique and alive in the spitit of the original Comdex.
Does the declining attendance reflect the fact that employers are less willing to waste/invest money sending people to "Gee Whiz" conventions?
-PM
500GB of disk, 5TB of transfer, $5.95/mo
The first step towards fixing Comdex is to get a good keynote speaker.
Ideally, someone with a clue.
The previous guy was almost always wrong.
--Phillip
Can you say BIRTH TAX
In other news, check out the interview with Boucher linked on that page. At least he seems to actually be thinking about these things, instead of just following orders.
Free Mac Mini Yeah, it's
Blame it on [choose]MS/Apple/Linux!
Todays headlines are starting to read like its April 1...but its not....scary!!
The passing of Comdex kinda reminds me of when the Playboy Clubs in North America closed down back in the early 1980s (I think). It's the passing of an era, which in itself is not a bad thing. Things change and evolve and there's always the next big thing on the horizon.
;-) Buh-dump dump!
Comdex was killed by a number of things. The internet makes physically attending shows less necessary. Not only that with so many thousands of IT jobs sent overseas, many of those who might have attended in the past are no longer in IT at all. And the current generation of technology (I know, not well defined) has matured somewhat. There just isn't much in the way of mind blowing, paradigm shifting technologies that demand a Comdex. And heck, the consumer tech oriented shows like CES or E3 are more fun!
Will Comdex really be back? Who knows? I won't cry if it isn't because when the time is right, something new and exciting will arrive on the scene. Afterall, the Playboy Club is still gone, but now we have Hooters!
To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
You sly dog: you got me monologuing! - Syndrome
Ten years ago, computer shows used to be a lot of fun. Vendors had interesting displays, they had non computer related activities, they handed out lotsa cool wampum (swag). Last five years have been BORING at best. I just stopped going. I can get all the product information I need off the web. If vendors can't provide the carnival enviroment I need to make me want to go, well, fine. Comdex has left the building.
I seem to remember we each thought we had a better time than the other. Although, now that I think of it, he had pictures to prove he had a good time...
End the FUD
This is a major shock to see that they've actually cancelled it. We knew that attendance was declining, but, BAM, cancellation.
It's as if Doom 3 had just come out.
(Well okay, we have a release date. It's like Half-life 2 had just come out.)
What is the best or biggest Linux trade show?
(AVN Awards not linked because I'm at work... Sorry porn fans.)
For those that would die defending it, Freedom
has a sweet taste that the protected will never know.
I used to exhibit at Comdex in the late 80s and early 90s and it was fun back then, with the exception of the facist Interface Group organization that used to run the thing and would take advantage of everyone they could. Exhibitors would pay years in advance to get a good space and then other people would show up at the last minute with cash and IG would give them premium exhibit space. It was a huge sham. I stopped attending years ago when it got so big that you needed a passport to get from one side of the convention to the other.
I'm sure locals in Vegas are probably thrilled. Most of them hated Comdex anyway.
They can hold it in my garage, no charge !!
This may be one of those stupid juggler tricks.. Hey! Watch me juggle 9 chainsaws.. and they drop some chainsaws a few times... Then.. a sudden miracle happens and they can do it!! Everyone feels like they've witnessed/ took part in an amazing feat!
Comdex... Cancel once.. resurrected a month later! Yay glad I could take part in what could be "the last one"!
Just once, I'd like to see the chainsaw land on an important part....
People might give security as an excuse, but it's a big fat lie. It's all about the bucks. Trade shows are simply a waste of money in this day and age.
sulli
RTFJ.
No COMDEX means a thousands of people will be getting a bit less pay and/or smaller year end bonuses.
I wonder if the 'net played some role in this. I mean some booths had nothing but one or two marketing drones and the rest were temps. I could get better information from a pdf on a web site.
"And a voice was screaming: 'Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?'" - HST
Just hold it in India. What better representation of the Tech/IT industry could there be.
... it just doesn't accept it yet.
I went to Comdex in Vancouver in 2001. Utter garbage. They could have (should have) set up some kiosks in a mall.
technology stocks rise due to increased productivity during quarter 2 as all Geeks have remained onsite and working during the normal 'Comdex Exodus'.
Once, the only semblance of a vacation these Techno-Junkies attained during their captivity in cube-farm America.
"Just Smile and Nod." --Huck
Now high tech start-ups can spend investment dollars on worthwhile things like "making products people want" and "hiring salespeople to sell them" and god forbid "quality support and documentation"...goodbye to bad garbage. The only thing you get from comdex is a bill and the knowledge of how many strippers will fit on your lap at once. A lot of people squander it and don't learn that second thing.
Well.. the biggest are the LinuxWorld Expos on the East and West coasts... but the best, IMHO were the early ALS shows.
My problem with Comdex was that it wasn't a particularly attractive show. Because most tech on display was heavily influenced, in my opinion, by Microsoft work, the show got the nickname of Windex. As a result over the years, the less creative Microsoft became, the less interesting the shows became. Fewer people and exhibitors attended, and you see the result.
Sorry, as a Mac tech, I don't do Windows, primarily. Today, in this world where viable alternatives to MS tech are plentiful, other companies are considering Linux, Mac OS X and other UNIX-derived tech and not looking back.
Vos teneo officium eram periculosus ut vos recipero is.
ha!
I heard it's in Bangladesh.
Southeastern Virginia REPRESENT!
Last year I worked tech at some of the press shows around Comdex and since I hadn't been to Comdex in years I just HAD to make it to the show.
Nothing went right... Time was not in my favor but I managed on my last day to make it to the main show.
With only 6 hours left to my trip I went into the show and saw it all in 2 hours.
At least I had Vegas to check out for the rest of the time.
More cocktail parties!!!!
I've wanted to go to Comdex for years, but never could swing it time-wise or money-wise. There used to be a local "computer fair" at the University of Washington that I enjoyed going to, but that came to an end some years ago. {sigh} Oddly enough, I had a dream just last night about being at a trade show with my parents and showing them how to find and collect the various freebies...??
No Laughing Allowed!
Not only are the people cheap, but the companies they work for are too. Let's face it, if your company is considering outsourcing and/or offshoring jobs, how likely are they to send you to Vegas for a trade show? Given you can see many of the products on the web, as you indicate, you can download them and possibly demo them in less time than it would have taken to send you to Comdex. Hard to argue that physically being there makes sense given that.
Downtrodden means "oppressed or tyrannized." I think the word you're looking for is "crestfallen" :-)
"I've dropped the toothpaste!", Tom said, crestfallen.
(That one always cracks me up...)
Seriously, you can make money as a Mac tech ?
I mean, the stuff is so easy to use, where is the need for a tech ?
Am I wrong ? If so, please tell us more about your tech work on Macs.
NB : this is NOT a troll - I am seriously interested.
We must still be in hard times.
Back in the 80's, Comdex was cool. Exhibits were about new technology... innovation and stuff. Then in the 90's, it went all glitz and hollywood. Why bother going?
That's why it's dead. It's just not INTERESTING anymore. It's kinda like Windows... pretty on the outside (to some people), but absolutely nothing interesting underneath.
anyone still think the economy's on an upswing?
[checking calendar] ...it's not April 1.
[pause]
!!!!
Oh my god!!! What will the booth babes do now?!!
Un-news
First Lollapalooza, then Comdex. What will be next?!
Maybe it is Americans reluctance at shrinking a business (unless it just means firing low level employees) which makes it unsuited to running a tradeshow.
They need a catastrophic failure before they can adjust.
I predict that Apple will be dead by the end of 2005!
Hear me now! Marvel at me later!
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat
Heard this about a decade ago at Comdex from people working in Las Vegas...
"The typical Comdex attendee brings a white shirt and a twenty dollar bill with them, and during the week, neither gets changed!"
I predict that Microsoft will be dead by the end of 2005!
Hear me now! Marvel at me later!
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat
Last time I went was in 1996 i believe--the last year in Atlanta. It had already become a showcase for Windows and pretty much nothing else. Might as well have called it MS-Comdex.
I hate to see it go, but if it's time to go let it go.
...about a show that was cancelled due to lack of interest????
Maybe they'll combine venues and return together next year. Imagine Steve Jobs singing along with Morrisey!
Read any good sonnets lately?
I predict that Sun will be dead by the end of 2005!
Hear me now! Marvel at me later!
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat
It's not that they hate you. They just needed the money.
Breakfast served all day!
Now you've gone and done it! You've soilded Morrissey with Steve Jobs!
Viva Morrissey!
I'd probably cache a virus from one of the local "service ports". Besides, I hear they're only letting 640 people attend.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
You have GOT to be kidding right?
Enough!
What about the poor hard working strippers at strip clubs? They love geeks.
Public trade shows in general are dying, IMO. Before, they served as a big marketplace of new stuff, but with the internet at the level it's at now, there's nothing new once you hit the tradeshow floor as you've heard about it already.
Also, since tradeshows are traditionally targetted at business-to-business type transactions and networking, I doubt that shows like Comdex actually netted exhibitors signficant sales. When you get a bunch of geeks wandering around, chatting up exhibitors, but not spending any money, it chases away both exhibitors and attendees who prefer to go to more exclusive gatherings.
Now, industry-insider tradeshows (The ones you have to know someone to get into), now THOSE are still the places to be at, if you're fortunate enough to get into one. Try IAAPA or the Bar and Nightclub show on for size (those are simply fantastic).
Comdex will be back 'cause thats where the big announcement will be made. So we should expect Comdex to return as soon as Duke Nukem Forever is ready!
They just arent in the US.
M$ has nothing new to release this year, therefore M$ will not permit there to be a show??? Is this a realistic scenario or is there a hole in my tin-foil hat?
Engineering is the art of compromise.
Comdex was at its best in the early '90s -- that's when all the big,bad earth shattering kabooms were announced. DesqView... Windows... Gupta SQL... WordPerfect versions... etc... New Intel Chips.
Everything was timed around comdex. And a lot of companies unloaded the marketing budget, too.
By 1994 the show was ruined by Microsoft the WindowsWorld sideshow became almost as big as the actual comdex show. Now the industry is so fragmented. By the way - Whatever happened to NBI - makers of Legacy - the best ever word processor?
-- $G
[nt]
They took a formally outstanding show and turned it into a place for deep pockets only.
m putex/fact_s heet.htm
AND made it pretty well a "Retail" show.
Are big trade shows dead?
Heck no.
Computex (May31 - June 4 in Taipei, Taiwan) this year had over 1,000 vendors showing, took over 4 big conference spaces in downtown Taipei surrounding the new 101 centre ( tallest building in the world) and over 100,000 registered attendees.
http://www.taipeitradeshows.com.tw/co
There are four good reasons COMDEX is dead:
1) Ziff Davis made it too expensive, too difficult for smaller vendors/manufacturers.
You do not go to a show like this to see what HP, Seagate, IBM and Microsoft are doing. They spend vast sums to tell you that in other media.
2) People from outside N. America do not want to travel to the USA.
3) US unions. To be a vendor at COMDEX cost about $5,000 for a booth space. And over $10,000 to get your goods in and out by the "show services" monopoly.
4) It became a "retail" show. You do not spend good money to display at a trade show to meet 10,000 end user "tire kickers".
You are looking for quality commercial leads. Qualified buyers.
Maurice W. Hilarius Voice: (778) 347-9907
It's all we have left!
I attended Comdex for the first time in 1995, back when the convergence was taking place between multimedia and computer systems. 3D graphics cards were the newest, hottest things, the Pentium 166 was the fastest processor on the market, DVD's were known as Super Density Roms or SD-ROM (and the burners cost $30,000) and USB was unheard of.
The internet was tiny, compared to what it is now and wasn't even talked about much at the show.
In 1996, I started a computer consulting company in Utah and every November I would close up shop and take all my technicians down to Comdex. It was great! We could take them all to one place and they would get up to speed on every hot new technology in the marketplace. It was invaluable.
We would take that information back to the office and use it in our consulting business - it essentially provided us with the exposure to the technologies we needed to then go out and sell it to our customers.
We did this for every year until I sold the business in 1999, which also happened to mark the downturn in the quality of the show as well as attendance.
It was great to watch it over those years when astounding changes were taking place in the industry from year to year.
I guess in time, all good things must come to an end...
Good security is based upon reality and common sense. Common sense is a function of having common knowledge.
I predict that Hoggoth will be dead by the end of 2005!
Hear me now! Marvel at me later!
Surprisingly effective.
Hey, this is a attention grabbing, snappy headline ...
...
Rumours, of course. But Comdex single biggest booth was rented by Microsoft. Microsoft was p***ed off by the Open-Source pavillions, that comdex offered for free at the last Comdex.
It's not totally implausibel, that Microsoft said: Us or them. Point.
Feel free to include your favourite conspiricy theeory here
Bye egghat.
-- "As a human being I claim the right to be widely inconsistent", John Peel