Nextfest '04 Time Warp Back to Mid-Eighties



So at this point I'm forced to bring forth my geekiness into broad daylight as I squandered a perfectly sunny Saturday afternoon inside a dark sweaty convention hall at NextFest, a Wired-sponsored tech gadgets fair. I made this trek with a willing co-worker all in hopes of seeing ASIMO; I hope this wasn't my only chance to see Honda's creepy little robot live because... sniffle... I blew it. The sponsors constructed a tight black tent for limiting the robot show to a privileged few(the real geeks who stood in line for half an hour). Late comers like me had to squint in between and past some large sweaty heads at the video screen conveniently positioned at crotch level just outside the tent. Presumably the little fellow does not handle ambient crowd noises too well. The only word which came oft to mind was lame. No I'm not immediately cancelling my Wired subscription- but only because I get it for free.



The future had that mid-80's feel except HDTV did not have hold a booth. How many times can they trot out the conductor wand with the computerized orchestra. This is the last time I'm going to be insulted with either cheesy Vocaloid demos or painful synth music made by twiddling 3 perfume bottles. The future appears to be headed towards more over-engineered gadgets. Even if I'm not jumping up and down to own shoes which makes 5 million computations per second to provide the optimal amount of cushion, still I craved the wow feeling which gives lustre to the future. Currently the only thing in my "calendar of official events outside my control" to look forward to is the return of Haley's comet 2061 and the LOTR ROK extended DVD.



Inside the fiberglass grotto, I tried to touch the hanging bags and shirts woven with fiber which can emit light. Out of nowhere a stern lady materialized to restrain me: Do not touch. I could electrocute myself. I guess future humans will conduct electricity much better. Thankfully this is only Wired's vision of the sponsored future.



Outside the convention hall, I saw for the first time the Segway in action. Two aging couples, civilians unrelated to NextFest, were scootering about in their segways, his and hers.