Cars, Dolphins, Bad Teeth--This Is a Computer Show?

Comdex Offers Outer Space Oddities

I am just about complete in my circumambulation of the convention, and I admit my concentration is waning. This explains why I walk by the "Recognized by NASA" sign twice before it registers. What computer products would NASA bother recognizing? A closer look reveals a product not only recognized by NASA, but also certified by the Space Awareness Alliance, the official awareness campaign of the U.S. space community, as a "Certified Space Technology."

Some high-tech satellite communication system? Or maybe a super-lightweight video camera? Uh, no. Mattresses and pillows. The Tempur-Pedic Swedish Sleep Systems and Neck Pillows are made of a material created by NASA to cushion astronauts during lift-offs and flight. Fagerdala Industries of Sweden has created a "viscoelastic, open-celled, temperature-sensitive material" clinically proven to give you a deeper, more restful sleep. What does this have to do with computers? Maybe Fagerdala Industries understands that the people most in need of a good night's sleep are computer users.

Bits and Bytes ... and Bites

All the talk about space-aware sleep makes me glad that my Comdex wanderings are almost over. Before I can call it a convention, however, I need to revisit a couple of the vendors I missed on my first pass. I return to the Microsoft Pavilion to check on MarchFirst, but they still aren't there. I guess I'm early. Or late. I'm impressed by the company's colorful brochure, though. It provides absolutely no indication of what MarchFirst does, which is the sign of a sure hit.

After leaving Microsoftville I run by the Electronic Frontier Foundation's minibooth, but no one is there, only a stack of the group's standard propaganda. I figure they probably locked themselves out of their hotel room again.

It wouldn't be a Comdex without at least one heartache. This year's biggest disappointment, without question, is the absence of Billy Bob Teeth of Las Vegas, purveyor of false joke teeth.

Was there ever in the history of this industry a more forlorn sight than the empty Billy Bob Teeth booth? Nothing is left but a white sign with black letters and a mystery the size of the Hoover Dam. What became of Billy Bob? Waylaid by a Texas dental emergency? Perhaps the answer will reveal itself at a future Comdex. We are left only with our hope. (See PCWorld.com Comdex Coverage.)

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