My annual CES roundup

Welcome to my annual debrief from a two-day banzai trip to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. 

As expected there were tons of fantastic devices and trends on display, and a ridiculous number of accessories for those devices. It was as if technology took a break and the only Colorful accessories for phones and tablets from Uniqopening was to design cases and bags to accompany that technology. I think that says a lot about this economy, where buying decisions are tampered by the reality of thin wallets. Where we once may have splurged on something big and bad, we're either passing, waiting for Version 2 or dressing up what we already own.

And, as was the case last year, I didn't see any breakthroughs in battery technology. We're producing technology that outpaces the infrastructure. n that vacuum, many companies are producing portable "juicers," battery packs that can plug not your devices and recharge them much more quickly than standard cables. And there were many charging pads. I even saw luggage touted to charge devices while stowed away. One manufacturer that may be close to a real breakthrough in battery tech is myRata, which showed off its wireless, solar and heat-charging technology.  

CES is an adventure, covering six or seven massive halls. What follows is simply a sampling of what caught my attention, good or bad:

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Why Apple and the Green Bay Packers are so much alike

My Packers stock certificateThanks to Santa, aka my wife, I'm now the owner of an NFL team. OK, part owner of the Green Bay Packers, courtesy of a recent stock sale the team unveiled to fund stadium improvements. I've been a diehard Packers fanatic since 1971, and this gift may go down as one of the best ever. 

For $250, plus shipping and handling, I now own one share in the team, for which I get a nice stock certificate, access to the company's annual shareholder meeting, and discounts at the Packers Hall of Fame. Unlike a publicly traded stock, this certificate cannot be sold or traded and has no direct monetary value.

Critics of the Packers' stock sale/purchase ask, "Why would you pay $250 for something that's not worth anything?" It's a valid question but assumes the stock must have a market value instead of the enormous sentimental value that has driven the sale. 

Diehard Packers fans can speak passionately about why being a shareholder is worth $250 or more, but just in case any of them may have forgotten, the Packers have done a masterful job of reminding their fans why they and the organization are special, and not just because Green Bay is the only publicly owned professional sports team in America. 

With the stock certificate comes a "brand book" -- a small CD-sized booklet that eloquently reminds the owner of the things -- big and small -- that make the Green Bay Packers different than any other pro sports franchise in the United States. 

In 28 easily read pages filled with big pictures and short sentences, the stockholder is quickly reminded why their $250 investment is far more than a piece of paper. 

Case in point:

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Capture Kern wins EPpy award

Got some good news today: The Bakersfield Californian's Capture Kern County project earned an EPpy award for excellence in journalism.

Capture Kern was among four finalists in the ungainly category of "Best Crowd Sourcing or Citizen Journalism with under 250,000 unique monthly visitors." Other finalists in that category were Fort Wayne Newspapers, Deseret News and the City University of New York School of Journalism's partnership with The New York Times. Here's a complete list of winners in the competition, which is sponsored by Editor & Publisher magazine (hence the EPpy award). 

Capture Kern was recognized for its wide reach and celebration of all things Kern County. In short, the project has, to date, enticed more than 1,200 photographers to submit more than 25,000 photos representing life in our county, and then allowing thousands of people to vote and comment on those photos, with the best and most popular being published in a 128-page full-color book. 

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Screencast of Bakersfield Californian e-edition

Here's a simple screencast I created recently to help explain the features of the desktop version of The Bakersfield Californian e-edition. 

I used the free version of Screenr to capture a 5-minute screencast. There are a few sections where audio and video is clipped but those burps don't dilute the overall message. For a free product, the simple Screenr tools deliver pretty good results.  

I'd like to do a screencast for our iPad app but I'm unaware of integrated software that captures iPad movements. All I've seen are videos shot from above the screen, an angle that while it captures hand movements, is hard to get right because of screen glare. Please let me know if you're aware of a screencast tool that works on iPad; it seems to be one of those "holy grail" products that no one has been able to produce. 

Curiosity separates great journalism and lazy journalism

Journalism is a business where there's always something to do, stories to cover, deadlines to meet.

It's work that can be a grind, particularly when you wait for stories to land in your lap. But journalism can be magic when you dive into the unknown, led only by a single tip that may or may not pan out. 

Sadly, I regularly encounter journalists and other professionals who lack one key trait that separates the average from the great: curiosity. 

Tim Layden of Sports Illustrated is a great journalist. Case in point is "The Forgotten Hero," an extraordinary tale that started with a solid tip about a long-forgotten small-college athlete but grew into a much larger story about a dying man whose zest for life inspired everyone around him. 

"The Forgotten Hero" is Mike Reily, who played football at Williams College in the early 1960s. His life was cut short by Hodgkin's disease, and by all accounts the world lost a great one. 

But that's just a small piece of the story. 

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