Monday, January 13, 2020

CES 2020 buzzword of the show: Streaming

After every CES, I like to pick the buzzword of the show. The buzzword is usually a marketing term that companies throw around with abandon at CES. Sometimes it’s a hot technology term. Other times, it is a theme that stands out.
For CES 2020, I’m picking “streaming” as the buzzword of the show. The importance of streaming video and music at CES was too big to ignore this year.
If I went just with what wording was used most frequently in press conferences and in exhibitor booths, the buzzword would be either “smart” or “AI.” Both of those terms were tossed around with practically every new product at the show. We had smart toilets, smart showers, smart faucets, smart mirrors, smart toothbrushes, smart bathroom mats, and that’s just in the bathroom.
Frankly those terms could have been used as the buzzwords for the past several CES conferences.
CES 2020 will be remembered as the coming-out party for a host of streaming video services, including Quibi, NBCUniversal’s Peacock and WarnerMedia’s HBO Max. Also at the show were The Trade Desk and other companies involved in placing advertising in streaming video services.
Plus, streaming music services, including Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, iHeartMedia and SiriusXM, had a major presence at CES 2020.
If I had to pick a runner-up for buzzword of CES 2020, I’d pick MicroLED. The display technology is gathering steam and could soon be rival OLED as a next-generation display.

CES buzzwords through the years:

2010: Green
2011: Smart
2012: Ultra
2013: Super
2014: Curved
2015: Wearable
2016: HDR (high dynamic range)
2017: Voice
2018: AI (artificial intelligence)
2019: 5G
2020: Streaming

Photos: Quibi Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg introduces his mobile video-on-demand service (top); NBCUniversal executive Linda Yaccarino leads a panel discussion with special guests including Terry Crews, Ester Dean, Kate del Castillo, Mandy Moore and Natalie Morales. (CES)

Related reading:

CES 2020 news in review (Jan. 11, 2020)

Celebrities at CES 2020: Alicia Keys, Shay Mitchell, Terry Crews and more (Jan. 12, 2020)


Sunday, January 12, 2020

Celebrities at CES 2020: Alicia Keys, Shay Mitchell, Terry Crews and more

CES 2020, the giant consumer technology trade show held Jan. 7-10 in Las Vegas, featured many celebrities in addition to the latest tech innovations.
Singer Alicia Keys spoke about streaming music in high definition on a panel at the C Space area of the conference. (See article by Twice.)
Actress Shay Mitchell spoke at a C Space panel on direct-to-consumer engagement.
Actor Terry Crews and actress Mandy Moore were among the stars on hand for a keynote presentation by NBCUniversal executive Linda Yaccarino.
Actress Aisha Tyler hosted the Dell press conference for the second year in a row.
Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps appeared at the Panasonic press conference.
Oscar-winning composer and producer Giorgio Moroder made an appearance at the FPT Industrial booth.
Professional wrestling stars Becky Lynch and the Bella Twins met fans at the WWE booth.
But some of the biggest star power was reserved for private corporate parties.
Rock legends Pat Benatar and Stevie Nicks performed at a concert for Samsung brand JBL.
Singer Mary J. Blige performed at the MediaLink party.
Rapper Ludacris performed at the Spotify party.
Singer Janelle Monae performed at the CNet party.
Rapper LL Cool J performed at the Pandora party.
Rapper Snoop Dogg was the DJ at the Twitter party.
French Montana performed a set at the iHeartRadio party.
I’m sure I missed a few. Let me know.
























Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Top 20 celebrities predicted to die in 2020

Actor Kirk Douglas is one tough SOB. At age 103, Douglas has topped the Stiffs.com annual dead pool for four straight years.
Of the top 20 public figures marked for death in 2019 by players on Stiffs.com, five died last year. They were author Herman Wouk, 103; actress Carol Channing, 97; architect I.M. Pei, 102; actress, singer, and animal welfare activist Doris Day, 97; and actress Valerie Harper, 80.
Who’s likely to bite the dust in 2020?
What follows are the top 20 public figures (with their ages) predicted to die in 2020, according to Stiffs.com.
  1. Kirk Douglas, 103, actor 
  2. Olivia de Havilland, 103, actress 
  3. Jimmy Carter, 95, former U.S. president 
  4. Prince Philip, 98, husband of Queen Elizabeth II 
  5. Alex Trebek, 79, “Jeopardy” game show host 
  6. Roberta McCain, 107, political matriarch 
  7. Bob Dole, 96, retired U.S. senator 
  8. Beverly Cleary, 103, children’s book writer 
  9. Vera Lynn, 102, singer 
  10. Bob Barker, 96, game show host 
  11. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 86, U.S. Supreme Court justice 
  12. Betty White, 97, actress 
  13. Henry Kissinger, 96, former U.S. secretary of state 
  14. Hugh Downs, 98, TV news anchor 
  15. Olivia Newton-John, 71, singer 
  16. Carl Reiner, 97, comedian, actor, writer and director 
  17. Sumner Redstone, 96, media magnate 
  18. Queen Elizabeth II, 93, queen of the United Kingdom 
  19. Ed Asner, 90, actor 
  20. Dick Van Dyke, 94, actor 
Here are some notable younger public figures predicted to die this year by multiple Stiffs.com dead-pool players:

65. Val Kilmer, 60, actor
67. Eddie Van Halen, 64, rocker
105. Michael J. Fox, 58, actor
112. William “The Refrigerator” Perry, 57, football player
123. Charlie Sheen, 54, actor
135. Artie Lange, 52, comedian
142. Kim Jong-un, 36, supreme leader of North Korea
149. Shannen Doherty, 48, actress
168. Julian Assange, 48, WikiLeaks founder
177. Demi Lovato, 27, singer
183. Johnny Depp, 56, actor
184. Lindsay Lohan, 33, actress
230. Lamar Odom, 40, basketball player
236. Matthew Perry, 50, actor
242. R. Kelly, 52, singer

Photo: Movie poster for “Spartacus” (1960), starring Kirk Douglas.