OTHER TECH

The Consumer Electronics Show is all about the neatest, sexiest, highest-tech products we'll get to see in 2006, right? Well, sort of, because CES isn't just about hardware anymore. Getting all that neat, sexy, high-tech gear to play nice together has become just as important as the gear itself. And feeding all that hardware with things like movies, TV shows, music, and games is also a lot bigger deal than it used to be. Entertainment-related networks and online services now get just as much attention as mega-size plasma TVs and style-conscious speaker systems.

Home entertainment today has as much to do with stuff outside the house - in the car, on the commute, at the beach or the park - and around the house as it does with whatever goes on in the sanctum of your home theater. So all of the major electronics companies are scrambling to find ways for you to enjoy your entire music collection wherever you go, give you instant access to your favorite TV shows, and keep the number of necessary gadgets to a minimum. They're not there yet, but CES 2006 made it clear they're working their butts off to get us there.

So, yes, we've got plenty of flat-panel TVs here to drool over, but we've also got world-at-your-fingertip services to consider. And for every new speaker system, there's also a must-have gadget - or at least "must have" until next year, when, inevitably, there'll be something even better.