Ces

LAS VEGAS - Concert pianist Bob Taub watched his teenage daughter strive to learn the violin, and wondered: Could he design a digital tool to help her see and hear the exact notes where she was going astray? Last week, six years into an add-on career as an inventor, Taub was here at the massive International Consumer Electronics Show, moving his idea a bit closer to reality. His invention, MuseAmi, is already at the heart of an iPhone app that may prove to be the ultimate Karaoke tool.

IF YOU'RE expecting a "Best of CES" awards column from the Gizmo Guy, think again. Yes, I was in Las Vegas at the consumer electronics megashow from start to finish, and I figure I was exposed to maybe 400 new products at CES. Sounds impressive, huh? But according to Consumer Electronics Association CEO Gary Shapiro, there were "20,000 product introductions" at this year's trade show, sprawled over a record-breaking 1.8 million square feet of exhibit space. That means I saw all of 2 percent of the show's offerings.

CAN WE BE frank? Numerous media organizations taking the pulse of the giant CES consumer electronics show put out "Best of CES" lists. But with 3,300 exhibitors unveiling something like 20,000 new products, who can claim to have judged them all? And this year, it became painfully clear the choices can be manipulated. Popular tech website CNET was forced to disqualify the innovative, second-generation DISH Hopper satellite receiver/DVR from its "best of" awards. CBS, a sister operation of CNET parent company Viacom, is suing DISH over Hopper's automatic commercial skip feature.

When the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) comes here each June, McCormick Place becomes more than an exhibit hall. For four days, it is transformed into the hypercharged nerve center of the $35 billion audio, video and computer industries, filled with manufacturers showing off their flashiest equipment and retailers making decisions on what - and how much - to buy. The 20th summer CES - another CES is held each January in Las Vegas - opened yesterday,...

New Hope-Solebury has taken a bold new step in experimental education, state Department of Education representative Jean diSabatino told the school board Monday night. Speaking to more than 30 residents, parents and the newly installed school board, diSabatino praised New Hope-Solebury for participating in a drastic restructuring of education through a program called the Coalition for Essential Schools (CES) The plan puts less emphasis on a broad-based survey of all disciplines and a greater emphasis on mastery of skills employing a variety of disciplines.

The largest trade show in the Americas must be a great place to show off new products, right? Wrong. The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is quickly becoming a launch pad for products that fall flat. When the annual gathering kicks off next week, organizers expect more than 140,000 people to descend on Las Vegas. They will mill around 1.8 million square feet of booths and exhibits, equivalent to 31 football fields. The 2,800 or so exhibitors are hoping to set the tone for the year by showing off tons of tablet computers, throngs of 3-D TVs, and untold numbers of slim, light laptops called ultrabooks.

Faced with declining enrollment at many of its two-year campuses across the state, including Ogontz in Montgomery County and the Delaware County campus in Media, Pennsylvania State University is planning cutbacks to offset a projected $12 million shortfall in tuition income. The cutbacks, to be spread out over the next two academic years, include laying off workers, eliminating unfilled positions and deferring projects. In addition, some schools have begun to look into joint efforts between campuses.

Pennsylvania State University's Ogontz campus in Abington would become a four-year school, and 12 branch campuses - including Delaware County - would be grouped into a college unit called Commonwealth College under a plan outlined by university officials yesterday. The proposal, which comes at a time of record enrollment for the school, would revamp many of Penn State's 18 satellite campuses, including giving them autonomy over faculty and curriculum. Penn State Altoona also would become a four-year school.

For the first time in 25 years, the consumers were allowed into the Consumer Electronics Show this past weekend in Chicago. And yes, they came in droves - 50,000 civvies on each of the two CES public days, double the cumulative trade attendance figure over four days, to gawk at the newest high-tech products for home, car, office and portable use. At this CES, you saw guys and girls on dates, cozying up in exotic show cars laden with super...

THE GIZMO: The "all connected" CES 2011 Report. TECHNO TOGETHERNESS: The promise of "connected electronics" - gizmos capable of communicating and sharing content with kindred products and sites - has been well-fulfilled in recent years with hot-selling smart phones, computers, game systems and Internet-enabled TVs. But at last week's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it seemed almost EVERYTHING new and cool had an...

CAN WE BE frank? Numerous media organizations taking the pulse of the giant CES consumer electronics show put out "Best of CES" lists. But with 3,300 exhibitors unveiling something like 20,000 new products, who can claim to have judged them all? And this year, it became painfully clear the choices can be manipulated. Popular tech website CNET was forced to disqualify the innovative, second-generation DISH Hopper satellite receiver/DVR from its "best of" awards. CBS, a sister operation of CNET parent company Viacom, is suing DISH over Hopper's automatic commercial skip feature.

IF YOU'RE expecting a "Best of CES" awards column from the Gizmo Guy, think again. Yes, I was in Las Vegas at the consumer electronics megashow from start to finish, and I figure I was exposed to maybe 400 new products at CES. Sounds impressive, huh? But according to Consumer Electronics Association CEO Gary Shapiro, there were "20,000 product introductions" at this year's trade show, sprawled over a record-breaking 1.8 million square feet of exhibit space. That means I saw all of 2 percent of the show's offerings.

LAS VEGAS - Concert pianist Bob Taub watched his teenage daughter strive to learn the violin, and wondered: Could he design a digital tool to help her see and hear the exact notes where she was going astray? Last week, six years into an add-on career as an inventor, Taub was here at the massive International Consumer Electronics Show, moving his idea a bit closer to reality. His invention, MuseAmi, is already at the heart of an iPhone app that may prove to be the ultimate Karaoke tool.

OPENING TODAY in Las Vegas, the 2012 edition of the International CES is awash in Internet-connected and higher-definition video screens, razor-thin Ultrabook laptops and iPad wannabees - some at dirt-cheap prices. The enormous consumer electronics (and beyond) trade show also is flaunting dramatic growth in categories ranging from health and fitness to voice- and motion- controlled . . . everything. But for this seasoned showgoer, the most compelling CES story is how veteran companies are striving to make their products relevant.

The largest trade show in the Americas must be a great place to show off new products, right? Wrong. The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is quickly becoming a launch pad for products that fall flat. When the annual gathering kicks off next week, organizers expect more than 140,000 people to descend on Las Vegas. They will mill around 1.8 million square feet of booths and exhibits, equivalent to 31 football fields. The 2,800 or so exhibitors are hoping to set the tone for the year by showing off tons of tablet computers, throngs of 3-D TVs, and untold numbers of slim, light laptops called ultrabooks.

THE GIZMO: The "all connected" CES 2011 Report. TECHNO TOGETHERNESS: The promise of "connected electronics" - gizmos capable of communicating and sharing content with kindred products and sites - has been well-fulfilled in recent years with hot-selling smart phones, computers, game systems and Internet-enabled TVs. But at last week's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it seemed almost EVERYTHING new and cool had an...

Consumers whose lives revolve around home entertainment - music, digital photos, TV shows and movies - face more frustration than fun in the near future. That was about the only inescapable conclusion one could take away from last week's Consumer Electronics Show. Manufacturers of computers, televisions, MP3 players, video recorders and game boxes showed off perhaps their most dazzling array of products ever. But looming everywhere - in the booths crowded by the 130,000-plus who thronged the show, and in panel discussions before standing-room-only audiences in 500-seat meeting rooms - was this troubling question: Is the consumer electronics industry any nearer to making it easy for consumers to access the thousands of songs and photos and the hours of recorded TV shows and movies they have accumulated, no matter what device they are stored in and no matter where they want that access?

Pennsylvania State University's Ogontz campus in Abington would become a four-year school, and 12 branch campuses - including Delaware County - would be grouped into a college unit called Commonwealth College under a plan outlined by university officials yesterday. The proposal, which comes at a time of record enrollment for the school, would revamp many of Penn State's 18 satellite campuses, including giving them autonomy over faculty and curriculum. Penn State Altoona also would become a four-year school.

Faced with declining enrollment at many of its two-year campuses across the state, including Ogontz in Montgomery County and the Delaware County campus in Media, Pennsylvania State University is planning cutbacks to offset a projected $12 million shortfall in tuition income. The cutbacks, to be spread out over the next two academic years, include laying off workers, eliminating unfilled positions and deferring projects. In addition, some schools have begun to look into joint efforts between campuses.

For the first time in 25 years, the consumers were allowed into the Consumer Electronics Show this past weekend in Chicago. And yes, they came in droves - 50,000 civvies on each of the two CES public days, double the cumulative trade attendance figure over four days, to gawk at the newest high-tech products for home, car, office and portable use. At this CES, you saw guys and girls on dates, cozying up in exotic show cars laden with super...