Light Minds Think Alike

Not just another day in Vegas

Thursday was not Friday. Friday was quite exciting!!!

The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony took place and then allowed hundreds to burst through the gate. We were the first booth on the right and got slammed right off the bat. I had photos and then accidentally deleted them thinking they were old! Oh well. More laterr.

The biggest buzz on the floor is really digital lights and LED's. Big surprise ?? Not really.

Barco and Robe are really pushing the digital light while PRG pushes the analog light with a great name "The Bad Boy"

This light is well named. It is amazingly bright - big fat beam. Look to see it in stadium shows. Amazing optics.

At the same time PRG distribution continues to amaze me. As I walk by I snow see a "State Automation" dimmer rack on their booth?

Seems like one of the industrys big customers has become a competitor to everyone.

And a congratulations to Trisha Traut on becoming the new Quotations Manager at ETC! She is also at her first LDI.

Last but not least. Someone at ETC planned a brilliant bit of marketing that even I did not hear about. Imagin my surprise when I went to the restroom nearest our booth to discover this!

It's better than web advertising! It's better than print! Whoever did this - (and I think I know who you are) we appreciate your generosity and humor. It got me a  lot of laughs!  I think we have really reached a new pinnacle when even the little guys take shots at us!

LDI is great - now for day 2.

Another Vegas trade Show

 The Sun rises over opening day of LDI 2008. Just another trade show in Las Vegas. All is well here in the west. Cranes and construction continue to be the primary decorative elements of the Vegas skyline. I haven't ventured out to see signs of the economic crisis and how it grips Las vegas yet -- but it does not appear to have arrived here. The streets are still crowded.

We are introducing the new Paradigm and SmartLink systems to a new audience here at LDI, expanding our networking options and features, still introducing our successful console lines to many new customers (and old.) I had planned to get really excited about LDI this year - but so far it just seems like another day in Las Vegas. Of course we are regailed with the promises of huge crowds and record turn-outs. We never really know if that happens, but each year seems to bring continued success for us and we'll give LDI some of the credit.

I walked the floor yesterday and didn't see anything that knocked my socks off. I'll try to report more for you after day 1.

Useful Email services

I saw this article on the facebook page of a friend.

Google launches Mail Goggles to save you from yourself

This really cracks me up. It is called Mail Goggles and it bears some attention from other technology companies. It throws math problems on the screen when you hit send on Gmail and you have a certain length of time to solve them. Are you geting the picture? This saves you from the famous drunkmail.

I really think other companies should look carefully at this concept. My suggestions --

1. an outlook add-in that monitors your replies for certain words and gives a good old "are you sure?" when you hit send.

2. Maybe a next level of protection makes it appear that the email left your outbox but actually stores it away and then 24 hours later asks if you still want to send this.

3. Options settings to watch emails sent to certain people more carefully! 

4. Perhaps the software could monitor the speed and intensity of your typing and catch those emails too.

5. Any Reply-to-all email is rejected for 24 hours cooling off period.

Innovations like Mail goggles are the reasons that Microsoft and other technology companies should be very afraid of Google.

David Lincecum