Comdex: A Eulogy

I never knew the powerhouse convention during its height, when 200,000 people rolled into Las Vegas to see the newest gadgets and technological advancements along with industry luminaries and, of course, the tacky exhibit-floor sideshows with celebrity impersonators. I joined VARBusiness in the summer of 2000, when people began to get the hints that the industry and overall economy was cooling off, and I didn't attend my first Comdex until the following year, just weeks after the horrific Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Since then, doubts and speculation about the show's future have permeated through plummeting attendance and financial crisis.

Despite the bells and whistles, the hype, the crowds and the thousands of people with no real agenda who herded through the convention center looking for every free item they could grab at every vendor booth -- despite all that, there was something about Comdex that was wondrous to me as a newcomer. Perhaps it was the sheer concentration of IT companies, executives and products that gave me that bright-eyed feeling. I'm not sure how many stories I really extracted from the two shows I attended, but I learned more than I expected about this industry and its nuances, the things that don't make it into cover stories but dominate conversations with colleagues and industry brethren for years to come. And that's the point; good, bad or ugly, Comdex was memorable.

I won't regret losing out on long cab lines, smoke-filled hallways, aggressive vendors with useless booth babes and unruly conference-goers running over my feet with their luggage. But there will be many things I will remember with fondness or bewilderment or both. I'll miss, in no particular order:

• Simply being in Las Vegas once a year. I love that town.
• Sitting a mere six feet away from Oracle chairman Larry Ellison as he stares me down like a Great White shark during a press conference question, feeling like Quint at the end of "Jaws."
• Watching Cisco chairman and CEO John Chambers talk about his company and the technology industry with a distinct, honest passion during a teleprompter-less keynote.
• Seeing actress Kirsten Dunst, along with co-star Tobey Maguire, hock the first "Spiderman" movie on stage during a Sony presentation. Um, wow...
• Grimacing as former Gun 'N Roses guitarist Slash appeared on stage, trying painfully to remain hip and relevant, with AMD chairman and CEO Hector Ruiz. Still can't figure that one out.
• Listening to Sun Microsystems chief Scott McNealy discuss technology as if it were "Legos" and talk about his company as if absolutely nothing was amiss with the computer maker. Earth to McNealy...
• Hitting a number of the casino clubs for nightly theme parties and post-show receptions, losing myself amid expensive alcohol and music from house bands like the latest incarnation of "Kool and the Gang."
• Standing next to Bill Gates during a post-keynote reception at a trendy Mandalay Bay restaurant, with dozens of other people around him, angling to speak with the world's richest man.
• Laughing at Jay Leno's standup during a CRN Hall of Fame event. Who knew the guy was actually funny.
• Listening to Hewlett-Packard chief Carly Fiorina talk deftly about the company's technology and thinking to myself, "You know, I think HP is going to be just fine."
• Interviewing executives from EDS and Xerox about a new managed services outsourcing deal for Xerox's integration business, and getting the feeling that something was not quite right there. Didn't expect EDS to fall quite as hard, but still.
• Packing into the luxurious suites at the Hard Rock and Mandalay Bay hotels for after-hours hobnobbing with co-workers and industry colleagues, with free drinks and finger food galore.
• Laughing at the humorous, self-deprecating video skits from Gates and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer during the Sunday evening keynote at the MGM Grand. Those keynotes were excruciatingly bad -- how many times do I need to hear about the tablet PC? Why can't we hear about something important, like .Net maybe? Still, those segments were deliciously funny, especially Ballmer's "Monkeyboy."
• And most of all, having the best and brightest IT leaders inspire us and remind us that this is a truly great industry, that it is creating the future rather than waiting for it, that, in fact, technology does matter, and that it is changing the way we work, think,and live.
• I, for one, don't think Comdex is coming back in 2005. This is it. There is no next year for this show. And I don't believe that's a good thing, especially now. Sure, the show was bloated, unfocused and without value for many attendees, especially the readers of VARBusiness (although ASCII made solid progress with its efforts in last year's show). Nevertheless, this is a very visible blemish for the tech industry, whether you liked Comdex or not. Maybe it only served as a massive cheerleading session for IT, but we needed that -- and still do. I'm not sure how much the so-called cancellation of this year's event will hurt the positive momentum the IT industry has enjoyed this year, but it's certainly not going to help.
• Something else will surely come along and fill the hole that Comdex has left, and whether the ownership returns in 2005 doesn't really matter. Comdex, as we know it, is dead, and I mourn its departure. So long, Comdex. You were good.