Attendance at the show was up this year from the previous year, at 120,000-plus versus 113,000. While this did not approach the record 141,000 of two years ago, it was a healthy increase for those who look to CES as an indicator for the overall well-being of the CE industry. As our video editor and fellow blogger Tom Norton pointed out, "they were hanging off the rafters" at the Central Hall. See press release.

The economic recovery, though spotty, seems to have reached the consumer electronics industry, if the latest numbers from its biggest trade show are any indication. The January 2011 Consumer Electronics Show boasted audited attendance of 149,529 people, a new record.

No wonder the line for box lunches was so long.

Time Warner Cable is the latest cable system to be threatened with channels going dark due to yet another spat over retransmission fees.

Cable companies and TV stations have been brawling over how much the former should pay the latter for the right to carry their content. This time the warring parties are Time Warner Cable and Sinclair, owner of 33 stations in 21 markets including CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox affiliates. The channels may go dark as early as this coming weekend.

But there's a twist. The Fox network has agreed to provide TWC with a signal if the local station withholds it. That's because its parent, News Corp., already has a retransmission agreement with TWC.

How would you like to save money on a TV package from a major cable operator and dump the set-top box at the same time?