Rummaging through 21st century inventions at CES

Kirk Baird

Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2000 | 10:39 a.m.

OK, it's the 21st century. So what?

I mean, I've watched "The Jetsons," I've seen many of those 1940s and '50s movies set in the future. So where's the one-piece metallic space suit we're supposed to wear? Where's the rocketship in every garage? Glass-tube transportation? The ray gun? The robot in every home?

At this stage in our development, they all seem as likely as Madonna in a nunnery. It's enough to leave someone feeling a bit disillusioned at the turn of the millennium.

Thank goodness for the 2000 Winter Consumer Electronics Show, a showcase of all things high-tech for the world around you. The four-day event just concluded its annual run at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Sands Expo Center, the Las Vegas Hilton and Alexis Park Hotel.

And although we seem to be missing out on the George Jetson world, here's a list of some things that are helping us get there:

The Boob Tube gets a reduction

In the future, it seemed like holographic images were the norm -- at least in the movies I've watched. Although I didn't see anything of the sort at the CES, except maybe a 3-D TV from Sanyo, Plasma TVs seemed to be all the rage.

Using "flat-panel technology," something I don't even begin to understand, an image is broadcast on a vertical monitor (think movie screen) roughly four inches thick, making the entire set considerably thinner than today's TV sets.

And although the TVs don't pop out of ceilings or the floor (yet) their image is quite sharp, which is to be expected since they were in high definition. "To me, it's like looking at something with your glasses off and your glasses on," said Jane Birk in comparing standard TV pictures with the Plasma version.

A representative with Plasmaco, which works with Panasonic in developing the TVs, Birk said that the smaller-size sets (42 inches) are available now, with the larger sizes (up to 60 inches) expected to roll out by mid-2001.

The price has yet to be determined, but expect it to be several years before it reaches consumer level.

Also on display were TV sets in the car. While this is nothing revolutionary, JVC displayed a custom-installation job on Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine's SUV that had LCD-screen TVs mounted on the backs of the headrests of the front seats, as well as a small center screen in the front of the vehicle.

As part of its "Road Theater in a Box" package, a VCR is also installed, allowing kids to watch their favorite movies during long road trips. This, according to Chad Vogelsong, JVC national product manager-mobile electronics division, is aimed at the "soccer mom" demographic and is priced around $1,000.

Look for a DVD player to be included in a package soon.

Kitchen of tomorrow ... today

What would a look into the future be without someone's view of the home of tomorrow? In this case, there were several booths, including a large one from everyone's favorite monopoly, Microsoft.

The company, based in Redmond, Wash., peeks into the future with -- surprise -- a world fully integrated with computers.

According to Bill Gates and Co., the future home kitchen features a video-style phone that provides e-mail access, as well as smart appliances that keep track of the food you're using, providing a grocery list when you run out, and will dial up a website on the Internet to access cooking directions.

In addition, the entire house, including lights, appliances, speakers, cameras and computers, is connected to a computer -- sort of like a household network system. This would allow you access to light, sound, temperature, etc. in any room from most any place in your home.

There was no word if this future house will need to be upgraded every two years.

Have you seen my vacation photos?

What future family would be complete without digital photos to annoy family, friends and co-workers? But in today's world, as digital cameras seem to be getting more and more popular, it's not exactly convenient to carry photos of your significant other and family around in a camera.

Enter a group called VideoChip Technologies Inc. It has created a small portable device (appropriately titled The Wallet) that allows you to display digital images recorded to a CompactFlash media card, which plugs into most digital cameras and computers.

The device is self-contained, featuring a 2.36-by-3.16-inch vertical LCD screen so you don't need a computer to see your pictures, and only weighs 10.5 ounces. It also has three buttons to scan through the photos in regular or thumbnail size, and to change the photo settings from portrait to landscape.

The Wallet will retail for about $400, and is available now at the company's website: www.videochip.com.

Move over, Rover

OK, I can handle the no ray guns thing, and even live without the metallic suits. But where are the robots? Where's the promise of robotic slave labor while an increasingly complacent human race becomes lazier and lazier?

At least one company I saw at the CES is trying to remedy that: Sony, in the form of its robotic dog, AIBO.

And although AIBO (short for Artificial Intelligence with "BO" standing for robot (it also means "Pal" in Japanese) isn't new, it was quite the attention-grabber. The cute (can a metallic-like object be cute?), battery-operated device resembles a puppy or small dog, with droopy ears and a long, thin tail. It sits on four legs, and will sit up, scratch, twitch its head, play with a ball and do most anything you'd expect a puppy to do (at least anything that is not destructive or gives back to the environment).

AIBO also features software that allows it to learn as well as express emotions -- such as joy, sadness and anger -- by movement, sound and lighting up its eyes. In fact, according to the Sony AIBO website (www.world.sony.com/aibo), if AIBO is in a bad mood, it will not respond to commands; however, if it's in a good mood, then it will perform a favorite trick.

According to one Sony rep, through a PC-based software package that can be purchased separately, you can "create original motions and edit existing behaviors."

If only it could be the same for people.

AIBO is $2,500 ($2,900 with the software package) and should be available sometime in February.