Transmeta (Semiconductor) (TMTA)

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Report from CeBIT on Pacebook.

http://www.networkcomputing.com/1306/1306colron_cebita.html

CeBIT 2002 OnSite Report: Day One
March 14, 2002
By Ron Anderson

The thing is, it doesn't feel like there are that many people because the facility is so large, 27 exhibit halls spread out over what must be 53 square miles or so (that's what my feet are telling me). I'm sure I walked the equivalent of 72 holes today while carrying a bag that is almost as heavy as my golf bag.

The size of the press contingent rivals the numbers of some of the larger American trade shows. I know that because I had to fight with each and every one of them to get a connection to the Internet to file this report.

The second most striking thing about this show is that in Europe, everyone smokes everywhere. You can't escape it, so you may as well just get use to it -- in fact, if you come over, you may want to think about starting to smoke if you don't already. That way, you'll be acclimated when you arrive.

One of my most fundamental beliefs has been crushed since I arrived. I'm taking the train (zug) everywhere. Based on my belief about German efficiency, I expected to be able to set my watch by the train's arrival and departure schedule. It ain't going to happen. I'm not saying it's awful, the schedule is probably adhered to with better precision than any schedule in the United States, but I was expecting perfection, or close to it.

My first train trip from Amsterdam to Copenhagen involved three different trains. The first train was on time until it hit Germany, then it slipped 10 minutes behind schedule. I thought I'd miss my connection for the second train, but that train was running 20 minutes late, so I made it with time to spare. I only had 18 minutes to make my third connection -- well, you get the picture. I'm not bitter, just disappointed.

I spent most of today getting the lay of the land. Aside from the size, the breadth of technology represented (everything from computers to mail sorting equipment in one of the large exhibit halls), the smoking (which I already mentioned) and the fact that there are a lot of people who speak German, the show is not that much different from Comdex or N+I.

Most of the booth reps I talked with today speak English as well as German, and my conversations with those who didn't were short and unproductive, kind of like hooking an Ethernet adapter to a Token Ring network. Sign language can only take you so far when you're trying to get to the heart of the technical details.

I saw a couple of interesting things today. PaceBlade Technology announced and released its PaceBook, a tablet notebook, LCD touchscreen PC that runs Windows XP or Windows 2000. The display is the system unit, which can be used with a stylus by medical personnel at bedsides or for note taking at meetings. The PaceBook uses a Transmeta Crusoe processor, supports up to 640 Mb of SDRAM, houses a 20 to 30-GB hard drive and has a 12.1-inch XGA TFT-LCD. It has a consumer IR port and an IR keyboard that can work up to 10 meters away from the unit (why you'd ever want to use your keyboard from 10 meters away is a mystery to me).

It also comes with a soft case that, when opened, holds the tablet PC and the keyboard in such a way that it looks like a laptop, except there aren't any wires connecting the display and the keyboard. This is good, because you can flip the tablet to portrait mode, touch a button and work on word-processing documents or surf Web pages one at a time in portrait mode. The PaceBook is very high on the gee-whiz scale. The unit includes a built-in modem and a 10/100 Ethernet adapter, but lacks built-in Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. PaceBlade plans to make both larger and smaller PaceBooks in the future.