Oracle OpenWorld

We’re headed toward Fall, which means it’s time for Oracle OpenWorld, being held September 19-23 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. As the most important meeting for Oracle users and experts, Oracle OpenWorld is the premier place to meet business leaders, researchers and innovators from all kinds of industries and scores of countries around the world. If you want to master the Oracle technology stack with which your run your business, then more than 1,800 sessions, a full Saturday of MySQL offerings, 400+ exhibits, scores of Oracle demos and keynotes from global tech leaders will make the event a surefire winner.

For years, CRE has been providing solutions for presentations, breakout sessions, networking and everything else you need to do at conferences. We have Oracle OpenWorld plasma rentals for dramatic displays and signage if you will be exhibiting, and tablet PC rentals to ensure your conference team captures all the information your firm needs. Our wireless gear will help you take control of session notes, manage downloadable conference materials, save prospects’ contact information – and get maps to find your way around The City by the Bay if you don’t know the lay of the land. Oracle promises “five days of education,” with insights and connections that will “transform your business.” Don’t miss it!

Interbike 2010

Interbike 2010, set for September 22-24 at The Venetian & The Sands Expo in Las Vegas, is North America’s largest bicycle trade show and a key event for the entire global cycling community. There will be over 1,000 top brands represented, showing wares and sharing insights with some 22,000 attendees from 60+ countries. Industry leaders, R&D innovators, parts suppliers and bike enthusiasts will mingle and converse at breakout sessions, following keynote speeches and around the hundreds of exhibits.

If you’re exhibiting at this year’s show, CRE has special Interbike plasma rentals to help you make your best impression to buyers, first-tier retailers and product experts from around the world. Get some laptop rentals and you will be equipped to fill an array of monitors with your PowerPoint presentations, Flash animations and digital signage to make booth your a surefire hit.

Make sure your team members have the tools they need to interact with the hundreds of journalists expected at the event, like digital recorder rentals for audio notes and office equipment rentals to print, fax or copy press and marketing materials. Whatever you need to succeed at this important venue, which is co-located for 2010 with the Health and Fitness Business Expo, CRE has it, ready to go.

Digital Video Expo 2010

Digital Video Expo 2010 will be “Delivering the Digital Video Industry” to some 6,500 attendees at the Pasadena Convention Center from September 28-30. Digital video professionals from around the world will discuss current issues, network with experts and check out the latest and greatest processes and products. If you are attending in any capacity, you have to put your best foot forward, because this is the number one must-attend event for production, post-production, storage and IT experts.

The 2010 event dedicates more hours to “show-floor time,” scheduled and ad hoc meetings for building newpartnerships, hands-on product demos and educational sessions right on the exhibit floor. Representatives from the leading publications, blogs and Web sites in the digital video marketplace will cover all that’s new and exciting in videography, broadcasting, digital video, TV and film, computers and display technology.

Last year’s Digital Video Expo 2009 made a big upgrade by moving to the state-of-the-art Pasadena Convention Center, a comfortable and classy destination for So Cal’s (and the world’s) legions of digital pros. Among the top focuses this year is networking, so consider both presentation technology (LCD monitor rentals) as well as two-way technology like interactive kiosk rentals that can both make presentations and capture prospects’ contact information.

Whatever event you are planning to attend, and whatever you need to accomplish, CRE is ready to support you with a iPad rental or a thoroughly outfitted exhibit area. We’ve got you covered from iMac rentals for your digital control center to audio visual rentals for making a powerful impact. Contact one of our experienced Account Executives today and see what kind of power and control CRE can put in your hands for conquering a convention or two.

Our recent gadget blog mentioned a potent hard-drive-based media player that could connect with CRE plasma rentals to create a low-cost, high-impact presentation system. For all of you who use PowerPoint, we’re going to share some creative and cost-effective ways of bringing a presentation to your seminar or breakout session.

You could present the PowerPoint show from your connected laptop – or from a CD or DVD containing the presentation and the standalone PowerPoint Viewer application – but PowerPoint is notorious for its propensity to stutter and crash. The most dependable playback format is a universally supported video format like AVI, where you will have a smooth, flawless presentation with no glitches. With an AVI file of your presentation, you can then leverage the power of a neat piece of equipment we found in a rather unexpected place.

Convert PowerPoint presentation to video

Literally scores of applications, from freeware and shareware to commercial packages, can convert PowerPoint presentations to AVI. Most allow a trial period before buying, although they might watermark your video, so find out about that. PowerVideoMaker Professional, for example, converts PowerPoint files to AVI , MPEG or WMV formats, while PPT To Video Scout will convert to AVI and over half a dozen other formats. There are plenty of converters to choose from, and several Web-based conversion sites, as well.

Mention “karaoke” and most people think of rolling carts full of audio equipment. You can still have a big rack of karaoke gear if you want, but the high-powered, handheld Acesonic PK-6000 Pocket Karaoke Entertainment System can replace all of it. If it didn’t have “Pocket Karaoke” stamped on it, it could just as easily be called the “Presentation Player with Voice-Over.” The PK-6000, an iPod-ish media player with a 2.8-inch color LCD screen, stores 2GB of MP3 and MP3+G files in internal memory (plus up to 16GB more on a MicroSD card). It also has native support for AVI video files – and fits in your pocket.

Flexible power with AVI movie

Convert your PowerPoint file into an AVI movie and load it on the PK-6000 via USB. A touchscreen with great navigation tools offers intuitive control, and the PK’s mini-gooseneck microphone lets you speak over the program material as it runs. The device has a built-in FM transmitter so you can use it as a PA, but you won’t need to if you connect it via the included RCA cable to one of CRE’s LCD monitor rentals or other big displays. In addition to its presentation chops, the PK has a digital mixer for tweaking mic volume, echo level and tone settings.

You can make an honest case that the Acesonic Pocket Karaoke was made for presenters as well as singers. There’s nothing in the manual that says you can’t talk instead of sing, or play business presentations instead of Toy Story. At CRE, we don’t let any obstacles get in the way of working smarter as well as harder, and can offer you creative solutions to even the most daunting audio, video and post-production challenges. If you need meeting rentals,  simply fill out the Quick Rental Quote form, and we will get you what you need to capture the meeting presentation on video.

SPIE Optics + Photonics

The SPIE Optics+Photonics conference is set for August 1-5 (Exhibition is August 3-5) at the San Diego Convention Center. Attendees will get the latest news and research on the solar, nano, optical and photonics technologies that promise improvements to our communities and our planet. Along with access to almost 2,800 papers in the various aforementioned fields, and 22 plenary talks by experts, conference goers will enjoy unparalleled opportunities for networking and bridge-building.

Interactive poster sessions, as well as group discussions focused on specific technical topics, enable you to join your peers and colleagues in delving deep into important subjects, and are open to all paid attendees. Wi-FI laptops or tablet PC rentals may be just the ticket for your conference team, whatever your goal at the conference. There will also be general admission and invitation-only admission to various social, networking, professional development, student and SPIE membership events, where digital recorder rentals might come in very handy.

If your goal is to spread the word on your own product or service, presentation aids like plasma rentals are easily arranged. If you want to capture contact information and develop prospects, you might avail yourself of CRE’s interactive kiosks, now with 17-inch touchscreen interfaces. Whether bringing a message, gathering information or both, CRE can equip you to succeed.

ASR Access

From August 13-15 at the San Diego Convention Center, ASR Access will be where over 400 surf and skate lifestyle brands preview their 2010/2011 collections to international buyers. With over 18,000 people from over 60 countries, 7,000+ buyers/distributors of lifestyle products and some 450 exhibiting manufacturers representing over 700 brands, ASR Access is a product-focused event with plenty of variety.

ASR Access features range from a fashion show and centralized lounges to business seminars and places where you can meet, network, make buying decisions and gain valuable insights. Whether you need a full-size exhibit space with plasma rentals, or some audio visual rentals to lead a breakout session, CRE is prepared right now to prepare you right.

CLASS@ASR runs concurrently with ASR at the Convention Center with over 100 designers that cross over from surf/skate lifestyle lines into the prestigious fashion market. Also staging across from ASR in the Petco Park parking lot is Crossroads, committed to the independent nature of skateboarding culture and a uniquely relaxed format. It’s almost like three conferences in one, but if you get the right  convention rentals from CRE Rentals it can be one big success.

NACDS Pharmacy & Technology Conference

The NACDS Pharmacy & Technology Conference, also at the San Diego Convention Center from August 27-31, is where leading retailers meet with suppliers of healthcare products, pharmacy technology, software and a wide range of other innovative goods and services. With strategic reports, educational sessions and insider insight into pharmacy operations, clinical issues, marketing and distribution, this is one conference that delivers unique, usable information.

To reach the decision-makers of over 130 retail companies – chain drug stores, supermarkets and other mass merchandisers with some 80,000 retail outlets and $200+ billion in annual sales of prescription medicines, OTC preparations and home healthcare goods – the dramatic, colorful plasma rentals still cannot be beat. If you will be having key meetings with others in the exhibit area or the “Meet the Rx Market” sessions, consider outfitting your team with laptop rentals.

No matter what you need to accomplish at one of August’s San Diego conferences, CRE is here to help. Whether you’re attending, exhibiting or both, we have the hardware, software and know-how to make your presence a success. Call, send an e-mail or fill out our Quick Rental Quote form and let our experienced Account Executives help prepare you for a successful conference (or two, or three).

Introducing an HD Media Player

Seagate has introduced its new GoFlex TV 1080p HD Media Player (GTV for short), which can handle just about the entire alphabet soup of video formats from MPEG-1, -2 and -4 to Xvid, DivX, h.264, MOV and AVI files. It can also display most photo files – including JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG and GIF – and play all the latest audio formats, too, like WMA, WMA Pro, AAC, WAV, MP3 and others.  Why not combine the GoFlex TV media player with CRE plasma rentals to create a unique and cost-effective presentation system at your next event? CRE Rentals can help.

In addition to accessing media from a hard drive (not included) or a USB device, the GTV connects to the Internet with an optional Wi-Fi adapter or included Ethernet port. You can stream RSS feeds (video and text) – as well as other content from Flickr, YouTube, vTuner, Netflix, etc. – to both PAL and NTSC TVs. To insert a GoFlex drive, the only kind that will work with the GTV, just open the door on the front, slide it in and play media from the drive, over your network, off USB-connectable devices or via online services.

3D Cameras from Sony

With 3D breaking out of the movie theater and into homes with 3D TVs and Blu-ray titles, could cameras be far behind? Of course not. Sony is out of the gate with two new 3D Cyber-shot cameras. Two 12.2 megapixel models, the DSC-WX5 and DSC-TX9, use Sony’s 3D Sweep Panorama technology to create 3D images. You move the camera from side to side and capture up to 100 images that are then combined to create two “stereoscopic” frames. These are then viewed on a 3D-capable TV via HDMI, the sort of high-end connection found on CRE’s LCD monitor rentals.

Alternatively, using what’s called the Sweep Multi Angle feature creates 3D-style images from a burst of 15 frames. The multi-angle views can be seen simultaneously on any TV connected to the camera. The new 3D cameras rely on the same new Exmor R CMOS Sensor in the new Cyber-shot models. The 3D DSC-WX5 and DSC-TX9 models should hit the stores by the end of September.

Pad Madness Grows

Korean manufacturer Cydle has decided to distribute its new M7 Mini Pad tablet worldwide. The pad uses a version of Google’s Android operating system (OS), meaning there is yet another Android pad/tablet getting ready to hit the market with the other few thousand (so it seems). With 8 or 16GB of flash memory, 256MB of RAM, a 7-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi, MicroSD slot, USB 2.0 port, HDMI, headphone jack, microphone and built-in speaker, the M7 will output 1080p high-def video and handle all media tasks you can throw at it.

Included software ranges from an e-book reader, Internet redio, e-mail and Web browser to a calendar, alarm clock, movie player, music player and image viewer. Cydle has not announced a release date or pricing so stay tuned.

CRE stays abreast of all the technology that can affect your work and your life. Whether you need Audience Response System rentals or a room full of iMac rentals for a seminar, our expert Account Executives are ready to advise you and provide just the right solutions. Give a call, send an e-mail or fill out the Quick Rental Quote form and see how fast we’re on the job for you!

“Going green” has been promoted as responsible corporate behavior, and it is. The new model for going green, however, focuses on its ability to save money as well as resources, and you get the added benefit of the good press this can bring your firm. For convention planners, exhibitors, host facilities and all kinds of vendors, highlighted are five green, moneysaving ideas:

1. Deploy lightweight booths
2. Minimize paper, maximize wireless
3. Coordinate transportation
4. Review food service
5. Cultivate a green mindset

1. Deploy lightweight booths

You certainly don’t need to gut your marketing budget because of a recessionary economy, and it’s not wise, anyway. A new generation of lightweight booth designs can save you a bundle in shipping (and associated fuel costs and carbon footprints). New wrinkle-resistant fabrics, or plastics made from over 80% recycled material, are stretched over recyclable aluminum frames, allowing different panels to be swapped in and out to create unique looks at various events. New retractable banner stands take the same approach, and are easy to set up, recyclable and all of 10-15 pounds in weight.

2. Minimize paper, maximize wireless

Literally tons of paper are used for meetings and conferences so much that even state agencies (like the State of Virginia) are getting involved by certifying convention centers as “green.”  The overriding goal is to minimize paper use as much as possible, by making online registration the preferred method for signing up, and delivering program materials via PDF downloads and other eco-friendly means. Convention centers are rapidly deploying wireless networks to capture more business, and exhibitors of all sizes are prepared to distribute even post-conference materials by download rather than in printed form.

3. Coordinate transportation

Even when a conference is held in a single location, attendees should be encouraged to carpool, walk and use alternatives to single-passenger cars. Exhibitors who use CRE for convention rentals do not have to transport any equipment to the site, as CRE can take care of delivery, setup and breakdown in most cities. Conference managers may be able to strike a deal with local public transportation agencies for discounted passes, and simply providing rate and fare information has been shown to increase the use of public transportation and cooperative carpools by conference participants.

4. Review food services

If food preparation is part of the plan, reusable dishes, flatware and glassware should be considered in place of disposables, as the American Chemical Society included in the municipal plan it did for Boston. Unserved food portions are often overlooked in planning, and last-minute notions of distributing them to food banks or missions will not pass muster with most municipal, county and state food handling laws. Check on food-handling regulations, federal and state, and remember that unserved portions must be kept separate from food waste.

5. Cultivate a green mindset

Conference participants, from presenters to exhibitors, should all be encouraged to cultivate an attitude supporting reduced waste and increased recycling. Green events do not happen automatically, but through careful planning and the cultivation of a take-charge, can-do mindset. You are doing the right thing ecologically and, even better, you are saving some green while you’re acting green. CRE can help, since we are convention experts as well as the premier source for the computer rentals, large monitors, audio-visual equipment and plasma rentals that will make your exhibit a success. Call, send an e-mail or fill out a Quick Rental Quote form and an experienced Account Executive will be on the job for you right away.

SEMICON West 2010, from July 13-15 at San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center, is the leading annual event in North America for the global semiconductor and microelectronics industries, with technical meetings, business programs and networking events. Exhibitors on hand will be featuring new cables, communications and computer hardware, data communications products, electrical components and other technologies. CRE has the entire range of convention rentals to make your SEMICON appearance a success.

From a massive inventory of audio/visual equipment rentals CRE can assemble just the right package for your booth and/or breakout room. CRE has it all, from simple mixers to complete sound reinforcement packages, to reach people’s ears, and the full range of plasma rentals, up to 61” in size (diagonal measure), to capture their eyes. If  you need an entire breakout room package, CRE has years of experience at SEMICON events and will deliver, set up and pick up your rentals in strict accordance with conference guidelines. Our veteran delivery staff, plus 24/7 tech support, make CRE the number one choice for all your SEMICON needs.

Comic-Con 2010 is the 41st edition of the world’s premier comic book and popular art convention, being held July 22-25 at the San Diego Convention Center.  Comic-Con is a unique mix of both low and high tech approaches to the comic book art form, where pen and ink artists mingle easily with computer-based illustrators. Exhibitors and attendees alike come from all points on the artistic and business spectrum – from writers, designers and illustrators to publishers, broadcasters, filmmakers and all the technical personnel working in those fields.

CRE’s Comic-Con rentals run the gamut from exhibit booth necessities to breakout room requirements. CRE has a long history of supporting exhibitors, small and large, with everything from Comic-Con plasma rentals for exhibit booth displays to large-room solutions for breakout sessions, as well. A session package may include wireless mics, powered speakers and/or other audiovisual rental technology that CRE can provide.

SIGGRAPH 2010 takes over the Los Angeles Convention Center from July 25-29, once again creating the best place in the world to behold the state of the art in computer graphics and interactive technologies. As an attendee, exhibitor or both, you can meet and brainstorm with worldwide leaders in research, software, animation, visualization, art, hardware, special effects, games and education. From speaker panels to breakout sessions, the SIGGRAPH conference is five days of top-notch, interdisciplinary education with a commercial exhibition on the last three days, an unfailingly exciting show that attracts hundreds of diverse exhibitors from dozens of countries.

CRE’s SIGGRAPH plasma rentals provide an effective means of grabbing attention for your booth, while interactive kiosk rentals act like extra team members, since they can be set up in high-traffic areas to present product demos and collect contact information from interested parties. In addition to the technical programs, SIGGRAPH has numerous display areas (”installations”) that provide close-ups of the latest digital art, offer hands-on opportunities for creative collaboration and focus on new, emerging technologies.

Whether you’re exhibiting or attending (or both); a small firm needing a few MacBook Pro rentals or a media company contemplating a video wall; a graphic arts studio or inventors of a new, improved drawing tablet for computer-based art – whatever you want to promote, discover or share at one of July’s hot-as-summer trade shows, CRE is the conference expert you need on your side. A call, an e-mail or our Quick Rental Quote form is all it takes to get us working on your booth or breakout session plan.

Design Automation Conference (DAC)

The 47th Design Automation Conference (DAC) is set for June 13-18 in Anaheim, California. DAC is the world’s premier technical conference and trade show covering electronic design and design automation. It is where the many members of this technological niche gather to learn, network and conduct business. CRE can help you stand out in this milieu, as we are intimately familiar with it, providing more rentals to DAC exhibitors than anyone in the business.

There are a number of different ways to showcase your company and your product, from the exhibit/suite space and the IC Design Central Partner Pavilion to special promotional opportunities and scores of customer meetings, Exhibitor Forum Presentations and social functions. From plasma screen rentals displaying your company presentation in the exhibit area, to all the audio-visual rentals you need for breakout sessions, CRE can get you set up for success.

Whether you’re leading a workshop or making a special invitation-only presentation, CRE has the projector rentals and every other presenting aid you need to keep your audience focused. To “stir the pot” and get the creative communication flowing, DAC increased the number of User Track sessions, workshops, discussion panels and co-located events. For electronic design and design automation, DAC is definitely the place to be.

Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3)

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is the world’s premier trade show for computer and video games, plus related products. It is being presented in Los Angeles on June 15-17 by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the U.S. group that supports the business and public affairs needs of member companies that publish games for video game consoles, personal computers and the Internet. With such members (and 2010 exhibitors) as Activision, Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Sega, Sony, Disney, LucasArts Entertainment, Nintendo and Warner Bros., the E3 will doubtless be full of new product releases for the 2010 holiday buying season.

In addition to leveraging both presentation and info-collection tools – from mac rentals to interactive kiosks – a conference team would be right in the spirit (and the “spec”) of the event by getting some high-end desktop rentals and hooking these gaming-grade PCs to some nice, big, bright monitors (LCD monitor rentals or the ever-popular plasmas). What better way to hawk your visual wares than to make a bold visual statement? But remember, too, that a big part of the thrill in electronic gaming is from the “sound design” – not just the composed music, but the tight, story-enhancing arrangement of crashes, booms, glissandos and orchestra hits that give life to the animation and action. So some capable, decibel-bangin’ audio-visual rentals would combine with your big screens for a dramatically effective company display. CRE really does know how to make your E3 appearance a hit.

Cisco Live 2010

Cisco Live 2010 take place this year from June 27 to July 1 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. With over 400 technical breakout sessions covering four groups of (overlapping) roles – Networkers, IT Management, the Cisco Developers Network and Service Providers – attendees can formulate customized educational experiences that will pay off handsomely on the job. If you are exhibiting, CRE has vast experience with Cisco events and can ensure a successful presence.

Various Super Sessions will highlight how Cisco works with its partners to advance technology and deliver innovative solutions, while you can capture contact info from the swarms of sessions participants as they pass by one of your interactive kiosk rentals on their way to and fro. The World of Solutions Expo is where your conference team can avail yourself of plasma rentals and other tools CRE has specifically tailored caching peoples’ eyes at this event. Finally, the breakout sessions include model-specific instruction – Cisco Catalyst 3750 Switch Architecture, for instance – as well wide-ranging discussions on innovative approaches to social media and Web 2.0.

CRE has long-term, intimate experience with these trade shows and can set you up to be a powerful presenter and exciting exhibitor. Send an e-mail, make a call or fill out our Quick Rental Quote form online and we will get you “trade show ready”!

Because of our own commitment to sustainability, we’ve covered a number of green topics in our blog this past year (yes, it’s been a year now), but have discovered one glaring oversight. We never gave you, in one place at one time, a simple action plan or quick overview for having the greenest possible conference. Today, we will address conference exhibitors, but the ideas will be applicable to in-house meetings and events, too.

Green is the goal

Along with everything else that goes into your conference preparation – writing and design, layouts and animations, schedules and assignments – you need a strategy for equipment. The challenge is to balance your corporate conference goal with the green goal of minimizing waste of all kinds. This means not only saving paper by creating virtual sell sheets and brochures that can be downloaded, but saving on conference incidental costs by using one of CRE’s interactive kiosk rentals as both a “presentation station” and a data collector.

If you are scheduling a live presentation, the same thing goes for any ”handouts” – make PDFs available for download. (Most conferences these days have onsite wireless set up for attendees’ use.) For feedback on the presentation, forget the paper and pencils again, because Audience Response System rentals will get you much more feedback, and in a form you can immediately put to use on your computer. The presentation itself can be done in several ways, either with projector rentals or large-screen monitors (like CRE’s plasma rentals). You can attach a digital media player or your laptop to either a projector or a LCD monitor, and remotely control the whole thing.

More green tips for your conference

If you really want to limit your conference team’s paper use, you may want to outfit everyone with tablet PC rentals. This way, the team’s note-taking can be handled with the various “pen computing” tools. Using the stylus and a “notepad” program, you can take digital notes, saving them as-is or converting them in real-time (or later) with character recognition software. A tablet PC, of course, is multipurpose wireless device and can be used to keep team members connected and coordinated, no matter how busy and demanding the conference gets. (Tip: Don’t forget the AC adapter, and plug in the unit at all possible times to keep it charged for those times you need to be “untethered.”)

If you need to record a conversation with a potential customer, a keynote speech or a breakout session, digital recorder rentals can provide massive amounts of speech-quality recording time. Again, you will have no consumables, no waste, a low cost and high quality results. Instead of pages of random, unsorted notes (plus the occasional napkin or envelope with someone’s name and phone number), you will leave the conference with a useful collection of digital assets – audio notes, imported/downloaded video, drawings, doodles and handwriting converted to editable text.

Always back up your digital assets!

In addition to carrying your digital assets out of the convention center on your laptop, you can upload them to your company’s server (or elsewhere) as you go along from session to session, day to day, in a sort of ongoing online backup routine. This is the way to safeguard against loss of your laptop, file or disk corruption or other catastrophes. After planning a Earth-friendly, green conference appearance, the last thing you need is a technological breakdown. Don’t forget to make backup an important part of your strategic planning.

CRE’s experienced Account Executives can help you “green” your next conference or event, or set you up with everything from computers to office equipment. Our expertise is yours with a simple phone call or e-mail, or if you know what you need, use our Quick Rental Quote form. We are here to help. Let us know how we can help with your next green event!

Rent high-def plasma for May 2010 Trade Shows and Conferences.

Web 2.0 Expo

Web 2.0 Expo will feature the latest Web 2.0 business models, design strategies and development tracks for building the next-generation Web. From May 3-6 at Moscone West in San Francisco, this year’s multi-track conference brings together people, ideas, connections, products, contacts and companies to nurture stronger Web 2.0 communities.

The Web is still a powerful engine of economic growth, continuously fueled by a host of evolving business, development and design ideas that collectively fall under the umbrella of Web 2.0. The Expo features influential keynotes and speakers, info-packed workshops, an Expo show floor where your CRE interactive kiosk rentals can capture contact information from attendees of all types and the freewheeling Web2Open “unconference” and other rich, rewarding networking events. The event-wide WiFi network will allow your team of attendees, exhibitors or both to stay in touch with tablet PC rentals and leverage the network to gain even more from the event.

2010 ISRI Convention & Exposition

The scrap recycling industry’s businesses, customers and vendors will be attending the 2010 ISRI Convention and Exposition from May 4-8 at the San Diego Convention Center. They will come together to define the meaning of “success” in coming years, attending workshops and general sessions that will equip them with knowledge that will be key to success in today’s, and tomorrow’s, business operations.

Networking time will provide many opportunities to find new partners, clients and customers, while the largest scrap recycling equipment and service expo in the world will introduce attendees to new tools and technologies. It’s a perfect opportunity to deploy plasma rentals in a “TV wall” or set up the all-in-one computer rental with multi-touch screen  for crowd interaction.

The Cable Show

Billed as the event that brings together “Hollywood creative visionaries and Silicon Valley technology leaders for a one-of-a-kind convergence of ideas and innovation,” The Cable Show runs May 11-13 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The conference, presented by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), will touch on all the program delivery models – cable, mobile, portable content, Web – where technological advances and new business models are creating new opportunities and synergies.

In addition to sessions on everything from customer service, e-care, IP (Internet Protocol) service delivery and social media, Brian Roberts, the chairman and CEO of Comcast Corp., will headline an exclusive Newsmaker Brunch on the future of entertainment. Both cable company executives and content creators attend The Cable Show, and you should consider plasma rentals or LCD monitor rentals from CRE to catch their attention at your exhibit booth.

CLEO/QELS 2010

The Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO), held in conjunction with the Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference (QELS), yields CLEO/QELS 2010. The conference attracts top talent from the fields of optical devices and fibers, lasers and photonics. This year’s conference will be held May 16-21 at San Jose’s McEnery Convention Center.

Attendees from around the globe come to hear from leading authorities as well as new innovators, and this year CLEO will include emergent applications related to lasers. The event is organized into four main segments, the first of which is the conference itself. The second segment is CLEO: Applications, where the focus is on practical demonstrations. The CLEO Market Focus sessions, segment three, will be held on the exhibit floor (a perfect place for interactive kiosk rentals) and deal with commercialized applications in such fields as energy, defense, security and biophotonics.

The CLEO: Expo segment, where over 300 companies from around the world will exhibit their new products and demo their latest innovations, is where you want to be equipped with CRE audio visual rentals and the biggest, brightest CLEO/QELS plasma rentals to showcase your company’s offerings.

Wherever you need to make an impression as an exhibitor, CRE can outfit you just right. Call or send an e-mail to our Account Executives, or fill out the Quick Rental Quote form, and we will take care of you quickly and professionally. With CRE., you are always equipped to win.

One great thing about the blog format and hyperlinking is the ability to simply link to good information that is already available in the “‘virtual world”.  That said, we will  “review the reviewers” and recommend where the best information is. We want to point out some great sites where you can get the very best insight into LCD monitors and monitor rentals that are being developed around the world.

TFT Central is a British Web site with some of the very best reviews of LCD monitors. The site has added visual documentation to increase its credibility and explain its ratings. While most Web sites view (and review) LCD monitors from just one or two perspectives – say, gaming or watching movies – the thorough evaluations at TFT Central cover the kinds of different uses found in today’s businesses, including color performance for designers, stable imaging for technologists and video playback for media professionals.

The estimable Government Computer News (GCN) Web site is a similarly trustworthy and dependable with reviews. It covers, along with its print magazine, government, technology and a wide range of products and solutions, including in-depth monitor reviews. While it also delves deeply into PCs and Apple computers, like Mac Pro rentals, its monitor reviews are particularly well-regarded by the tech press pool.

Other top LCD monitor sites

Another well-known Web site, X-bit Labs, may justly lay claim to reviewing the greatest number of LCD monitors. With thorough, formal testing and precise documentation, its reviews tend to be technical and sometimes opaque to non-techies. PC Magazine’s site also has excellent reviews, and they are written for the average user. Although the site lacks the technical depth of some other recommended reviewers, it is possibly the best starting place, and reviews all other computer technology, too. If you are looking into LCD monitors but want the specs on an iMac rental, it’s the place to go.

One thing to remember when reading any review is that one person’s dud is another’s star performer. Because of different ways of testing, and people’s natural subjectivity, you will find the very same monitors being hailed and panned. The best thing to do is read a number of competing reviews, or stick with a reviewer or review site that you have come to trust. Regardless of how you learn the inside scoop, on monitors or other displays like CRE’s plasma rentals, the more you know which monitors are best for each kind of work your business does.

Don’t have the right monitor to get the project done? Rent monitors from CRE – you’ll get exactly what you need.  Call or send an e-mail and we will help you. If you already know the monitor you need, even a non-LCD type like our LED-based 30-inch Apple Cinema HD rentals, just fill out a Quick Rental Quote form and you’ll be plugging and playing (well, “plugging and working”) in no time.