CES in Las Vegas feels the effects of government shutdown
The CES 2019 gadget show is revving up in Las Vegas. Here are the latest findings and observations from Associated Press reporters on the ground as technology’s biggest trade event gets underway.
Government shutdown
Even the world’s largest tech conference is feeling the effects of the U.S. government shutdown.
Organizers of the CES gadget show said Saturday that some scheduled government speakers have canceled their travel plans. The sprawling consumer-electronics show opens to attendees on Tuesday in Las Vegas.
Canceled speakers include Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and at least nine other officials from agencies including the Federal Trade Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
CES organizers say Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is still planning to deliver a keynote talk Wednesday on federal initiatives to advance drone technology and self-driving vehicles.
The partial shutdown began Dec. 22, but some federal workers remain on the job if they perform essential activities that “protect life and property.”
Apple: The elephant in CES showroom
Apple stopped attending the CES consumer-electronics show years ago, but it’s still making its presence known.
The biggest may be the huge sign it splashed across a high-rise hotel overlooking the Las Vegas conference center where other tech companies are gathering to show their wares this week.
The sign says, “What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone.” It’s a not-so-subtle dig at the looser privacy practices of data-hungry rivals like Google and Amazon.
But Apple also has news to share at CES. It’s just letting some of its partners do the talking.
Samsung announced Sunday that its TVs will start offering Apple’s iTunes movies and TV shows beginning this spring. It’s a shift for Apple, which typically hasn’t allowed its services to run on non-Apple hardware. (The big exception: iTunes on Windows PCs.)
