Part of my Friday (day three of CES) was spent learning the differences between girls and boys. I know, it doesn't sound very revolutionary or even relevant, and I'm sure you think the differences are pretty obvious. But deeper than those--and pertinent to consumer electronics--are the differences in their buying habits.

This was the topic of discussion at the afternoon's "Thinking About Sex" panel, led by Fast Company senior writer Linda Tischler and Smart Design's Erica Eden and Agnete Enga. When it comes to men and women purchasing consumer electronics, it's not as black and white as simply considering differences in size and strength, for example. There are more subtle issues that need to be considered that can make or break a product.

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I've seen two cool but unrelated tools for small-business owners in the past few days.

The first is MarketSplash by HP. This was formerly known as Logoworks until it was acquired by HP back in 2007. MarketSplash lets you create your own marketing and branding materials, using its templates or your own entrepreneurial imagination. This means you can build your own website, business cards, promotional materials--all using MarketSplash. Its design consultants will even work with you to help you come up with what you need. All via a la carte services and prices. Very convenient. Also an FYI to other booths: The only reason I noticed MarketSplash was because it was on a kiosk labeled "Small Business" in the HP booth. I wish other companies would have done this. read more...

Here's another small business I met up with in Vegas that seems to be doing it right: Smartfish Technologies. Founded by Dr. Jack Atzmon, 41, it's a 3-person company based in Englewood, N.J. Their product? The PRO:Motion keyboard. It's a robotic, ergonomic keyboard that changes your hand placements every so often to avoid causing carpal tunnel syndrome.

What makes it robotic is its intelligence, which moves and splits the keyboard into different typing placements depending on your needs.

Atzmon, a chiropractor in a former life, decided to create a product that would help his clients who came in with wrist pain from using traditional keyboards. He launched Smartfish Technologies in July 2007 and told me about how he aggressively pursued angel investments to fund his company. read more...

What do a mathematician and a lumberjack have in common? Other than being on the same list of ranked jobs for 2009, not much.

Job portal CareerCast.com wanted to know what the best and worst jobs are (though after today's job report every job looks pretty good). So the editors there compiled a set of criteria, fed 200 jobs into the formula and ranked them from top to bottom. Their findings may surprise you. read more...

We all know what the economy is like these days and it seems like even CES isn't immune to the recession woes. Compared to last year, CES 2009 seems a bit ... subdued. The big booths aren't as flashy, the music not as loud and even the attendees seem to have more serious expressions on their faces.

Everyone I've talked to, attendees and exhibitors, acknowledges that this year's show isn't radiating the same glitz and glamor of years past. Large companies are still making their presence known but the floor isn't as packed. I've even noticed more empty booth spaces this year. A year ago, I remember walking up to a gigantic, life-size replica of Bumblebee from the Transformers movie and fighting through huge crowds to snap pictures of a R2-D2 that doubled as a digital projector. My impression from last year: wow. My impression so far this year: oh. read more...

Without even spending much time on the CES floor (don't worry, that's what my days will consist of today and tomorrow), I've already seen a lot of rad stuff.

Yesterday, James Park and I met up with Kensington--quick shout out to Tanya and our friends at Kensington: You guys rock! If you're not familiar with the company--you should be--it makes all kinds of nifty computer peripherals and accessories, USB gadgets, and some cell phone and iPod accessories. James and I were like kids in a candy store yesterday when checking out all the products, both old and new. read more...

This being Vegas, there's a lot of flashy gadgets and showing off here at CES. But one company's product stood out yesterday, even though they were tucked away on a side of the show floor that probably receives the least amount of traffic.

NComputing offers "desktop virtualization solutions. The company's L and X series models allow you to have 11 to 30 users work from one PC. Its booth has multiple workstations hooked up to one PC tower. Each workstation was operating independently using Windows XP. read more...

Hello from Las Vegas! Entrepreneur is here at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show and we'll be prowling the show floor looking for the coolest tech gadgets and resources coming out this year.

One thing about CES is that it's simply humongous. The show takes over the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Sands Expo, and various hotels along the strip. All of the tech giants like Sony, Samsung and HP converge here to show off their goods, so you might be surprised to learn that there are quite a few small businesses standing up alongside the big boys. read more...

The holidays are over and it's a new year, so that can only mean one thing: the Consumer Electronics Show. Holiday bonuses have been spent, and people are trying to cut back on eating and simply relax, but James Park and I hopped on a plane, cleaned up and set out to schmooze with tech geeks hoping to sell their latest gadget, gorge over free food, and pack in tens of miles up and down the Las Vegas strip and around showroom floors.

 
CES opened in full swing first thing this morning, but James and I hit up Pepcom's preshow Digital Experience event last night at the Mirage. read more...

This much seems true: Entrepreneurs who start businesses that are in line with their field of expertise, such as startups that follow in the professions of corporate jobs their owners once held, are 40 percent more likely to make it, according to the book Race and Entrepreneurial Success.

But how do you narrow that down and find a niche that no one else has? One way to go is to think big. We're not talking just about dreaming big; we're suggesting that businesses that take into account America's historic weight gain might have an edge. read more...