Study Questions: Post-Christmas Comes a Geek's Gizmo-Rama
1. What is the subject of the two events featured in the article?
2. Who was invited and what did they do there?
3. Why could the Las Vegas-based show have been called the Video Electronics Show and what does that suggest about consumers' interests?
4. What new television and video technologies were presented at the Consumer Electronics Show?
5. How do those innovations improve on existing technologies?
6. To what audience will the new SED technology appeal and what might that mean to the general consumer population?
7. How do the Blu-ray and HD-DVD products differ?
8. What does the article suggest about consumers' responses to the products these two companies are offering?
9. What new software and Web services were presented at the show and what might that mean to owners of the current software?
10. How do these innovations improve on existing technologies?
11. How was Apple's influence visible in the Consumer Electronics Show and what does that suggest about the company's influence in the industry at large?
12. What do Apple's sales figures suggest about the success or failure of the iPod?
13. What new iPod innovations were presented at the Macworld Expo and what might that mean to current iPod owners?
14. What new innovation seemed to surprise the Expo audience, and why?
15. How are the Mac innovations an improvement on the current technology?
16. How might those changes affect current Mac owners?
17. What advice does the article offer to prospective new Mac buyers?
18. What does the article suggest about the potential contradiction between Apple's opportunity for income and the company's aesthetic choices?
19. What does the article suggest about the impact of the new technology innovations on the consumer?