The DeanBeat: What to expect from CES 2018 — the stupid and the good

I’m expanding my horizons from games to tech next week as I head off to Las Vegas for CES 2018, the big tech trade show that begins for the media on Sunday. I hope to find some interesting stories, like the one that Arnold Donald, the CEO of the world’s largest cruise company, told last year as Carnival Cruises launched its Ocean Medallion wearable. That was interesting because it was an example of how technology was infiltrating a non-tech business.

Technology is fading into the woodwork, as the woodwork is getting smart. The Internet of Things trend will be a huge part of the product mix. Gartner estimates that 8.4 billion IoT devices will be in use in 2017, growing to 20.4 billion by 2020. And judging by CES, these things will be zany and incredibly expensive, like last year’s U by Moen smart shower, which will get your water temperature just right for the price of $1,200. Moen was clever in using beautiful models to get us excited about this idea, but we have to take a cold shower.