Geek's guide to Vegas
On the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show, business reporter Dean Takahashi offers his take on the coolest technology in town
Las Vegas and technology go together. As the Consumer Electronics Show kicks off this week, it will draw more than 100,000 people, with well over 10,000 of them from the Bay Area, to view the glitzy marriage of geek and chic in the latest consumer gadgetry. This city has embraced technology for everything from its visible allure to its invisible plumbing. Behind the scenes, the MGM Mirage casino chain uses five refrigerator-sized computers loaded with dozens of Intel Itanium chips so it can process 13 million slot machine transactions a day for its casinos. ``People come to Vegas for heightening all forms of indulgence,'' says Tabu nightclub director Candace Carrell. ``Technology helps to do that.'' Here are some of Vegas' top technological marvels:
Aureole/Mandalay Bay
At this Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino restaurant, you can scroll through the cabs and chardonnays on an electronic tablet rather than a leather-bound wine list. More than 100 pages of wine selections are included on a PocketPC handheld computer. The restaurant launched the eWine book two years ago at a Microsoft party during the (now-defunct) Comdex trade show at a party hosted by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.
Tabu/MGM Grand
Inside the Tabu nightclub at the MGM Grand Hotel, where it can cost as much as $1,200 to reserve a table, multicolored lights react to the action on the dance floor, and lighting from Reactrix Systems in San Carlos creates motion-sensitive images on top of cocktail tables. When the lighting projects images of a pool of water, for instance, you can send ripples through the water by moving your hand over it. The lights rotate through a variety of artsy shots from ``sensual'' pictures to eyeballs. The room was designed by Roger Parent, former art director of the original Cirque du Soleil show.
Viva Vision/Fremont Street Experience
The Fremont Street Experience tries to draw crowds downtown with a huge video and ad display that uses 12.5 million light-emitting diodes. The Viva Vision canopy rises 90 feet above the street and is 1,500 feet wide. The screen has 16 million color combinations and a 550-watt sound system to support it.
Star Trek Experience/Las Vegas Hilton
The Las Vegas Hilton is host to the Star Trek Experience with two 18-minute shows that combine live acting and computer animation, ``Klingon Invasion'' and ``Borg Invasion 4D.'' Threshold Digital Entertainment created the Borg feature by tapping hundreds of linked computer servers at an IBM supercomputer center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The show rattles you with hydraulic effects, pneumatic actuators and sound transducers that basically make you feel as if someone is shaking your seat as you flee the Borg collective. You can get into both shows for $29.99.
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