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The CES 2012 Parties

Bob Buskirk — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:51:58 +0000

One of the best things about CES is the parties that companies throw. Las Vegas has some of the craziest and most over the top hotel rooms and suites. Many companies rent these suites out for private parties. This year there were 3 parties that were pretty memorable this year.

The first party was the “Night Before CES” party that has been going on for quite sometime. This party is put on by FutureLooks.com and Redux. This is one of the best parties not only because it is at the Palms Place Penthouse, which has one of the best views of Vegas, but this is the party where most site owners show up so it is one big party for all of us.

Photo my buddy Shawn took of me on the balcony, notice the awesome view of Vegas!

The next party was put on by Zotac, NZXT, iBUYPOWER and ADATA. This party was held at the Palms 2-Story Sky Villa.

This is one cool suite. Not only is it 2 stories it has a pretty large pool on the balcony! This also makes for a great view of Vegas as well. Did I mention this suite has beds that are shaped like circles and they have a remote to make them rotate!

The last party was at the Hardwood Suite at the Palms and was put on by Patriot, MSI and Intel.

The Hardwood Suite as you can guess from the photo above is a basketball themed suite. It has a basketball court inside the suite itself! This was the first time I’ve been in this suite and it is probably the craziest suite that I have been in, in Las Vegas. It definitely made the party different than the normal CES party.

What a Vegas Trip!

Bob Buskirk — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:26:09 +0000

Well as I said I was heading to Vegas for CES and I have just got back. All I have to say is what a trip! This trip seemed different than all other trips to CES. I am really not sure what it was, but it was a good feeling for sure. This year was definitely more relaxed, less stressful and just a lot of fun! So why was this year so different from others?

First we stayed at a condo this year, not a hotel room. The place we stayed at was called The Jockey Club and it was right in the middle of the strip. Having a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom condo was much more comfortable than having everyone in a single hotel room. The condo also had a full kitchen, which definitely was a plus. Having the extra room of a condo made it possible for CyberPower to provide us with a desktop system to do video editing on. This not only saved us time, but make working much, much easier.

Second, the ThinkComputers coverage was all video this year. This meant we did not have to write as much. Coming home after a long day on the show floor, press events and industry parties the last thing you want to do is sit down for 2-3 hours and write articles. Having video meant that we really only needed to write intros for the articles. This definitely elevated a lot of stress. To give you an idea of the videos we shot check out my interview with Bill Owen of MNPCTECH!

Third, things were much more relaxed. It seemed in the past I really got stressed out over things at CES, but this year things were just chill, even down to our “dress code”. I decided this year that myself and staff could wear jeans and a simple dress shirt or something similar, most importantly everyone could wear sneakers instead of dress shoes. Besides just our dress code I scheduled most of my meetings so I was not running all over the place.

Finally I have gone to CES so many times I knew exactly what I needed to do and what I needed to get done. I don’t think there was one time during the week where I was super stressed or pissed off. Another great thing was my staff, not only are these guys great at what they do they are great friends and who better to spend a week in Vegas with! Stay tuned for many different posts about the trip. You can also check out all the coverage over on ThinkComputers!

Headed to Vegas for CES 2012!

Bob Buskirk — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:00:05 +0000

As you are reading this I am most likely on a plane from Pittsburgh to Las Vegas (gotta love being able to schedule posts with WordPress). I am on my way to Vegas for this years Consumer Electronics Show or CES as we all call it. If I am counting this right this will be my 6th year at the show! I can’t believe 6 years ago I made the plunge and went to CES and Vegas for the first time ever. A lot has changed in those 6 years that is for sure! Luckily since I have been blogging since 2005 you can go back and see my blog posts about previous shows.

Obviously I am going to CES for ThinkComputers. We hope this year is going to be a huge year for us and we will be doing mostly video coverage. To give you an idea of what to expect check out the video below.

To follow all of the coverage on ThinkComputers you can bookmark this URL: http://www.thinkcomputers.org/tag/ces-2012/ or follow myself or ThinkComputers on the social networks below.

ThinkComputers
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/thinkcomps
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThinkComputers
Google+: https://plus.google.com/b/101097389100489939399/101097389100489939399/posts
Instagram: http://followgram.me/thinkcomputers

Bob Buskirk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/bobtv
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobBuskirk
Google+: https://plus.google.com/103093986391371376749/posts
Instagram: http://followgram.me/bobtv

See everyone in Vegas!

Into 2012…

Bob Buskirk — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 02:54:02 +0000

Wow can you believe it is already 2012!?! It seems like 2011 flew by! 2011 was an ok year for me, I know it had its ups and downs, but the good times definitely outweighed the bad times. This yeah has been a learning year for me, by that I mean I have learned from my mistakes and I’m doing things to not make those mistakes again. Case in point would be that over the past 3-4 months I have completely eliminated all of the drama from my life and cut out fake friends. By doing this I have been happier than ever! So what does 2012 have in store for me? Well let’s talk about things I want to do, I hate calling them resolutions.

Time Management – This is something that I have really been horrible at lately. I need to work smarter and stop wasting time on things that do not matter. I also need to stop being so lazy and just get things done!
Being more active – I always say I need to get in shape, but honestly I do. I am going to try to work out at least 3 times a week starting this week.
Blog More – Yeah yeah I know I haven’t really blogged that much at all but I really want to. Blogging is a great way to not only share experiences with friends and family but also save those memories.

Only 3 things? Well I think if I accomplish both of these goals I will be much happier and stress free. So what are my plans for 2012?

ThinkComputers – As always I will be doing ThinkComputers full time. This year I really want to make a big push a get the site to where it needs to be. Also with us doing video now I really want to gain a good following on YouTube.
COB – COB has been a great experience and learning process as it is the second company that I have started since ThinkComputers. I definitely want to gain more clients and really put more time into it as I do enjoy working with social media.
Other Endeavors – Well there is a possibility that I may be starting a 3rd company, but that is quite a ways away right now. I also am becoming more involved in the Pittsburgh startup scene and I will definitely continue that in 2012.

Thanks to my friends and family for always being there in 2011, here is to 2012!!

Not Blogging as Much…

Bob Buskirk — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 20:40:24 +0000

Well as you may have noticed my blogging has been a little dry lately. I mean the main reasons really is that I have been super busy, but after thinking about it there are a few different reasons why my blogging has slowed down. I think the biggest reasons is all of the micro-blogging platforms that I use. This blog is to keep people updated on my life, but with all those micro-blogging platforms I can do that very easily and with less work. As well as right from the event or place I am at.

Some of you may already follow me on these platforms, but I am going to list them so you can be up to date with what I am doing. The biggest one is twitter. Everything I do I post on twitter so that is the main one if you want to follow me on there.

I post many pictures and videos. Those all go through twitter as well as Posterous and Tumblr. These photo blogs I have really show you what I’m up to.

Don’t worry I will still be keeping this blog up for longer posts and things I want to talk about. I just wanted to let you know about the other ways you can stay in touch with what I am doing.

Instagram Update 11-9-11

Bob Buskirk — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 01:24:10 +0000

Well I really am enjoying these Instagram updates, but I think instead of 1 week intervals I will be doing them every 2 weeks. It makes it easier and I can show you more photos in more of a gallery. So here is the Instagram update for 11-9-11!

Frzy Boy Go Music Video Shoot

Bob Buskirk — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:00:18 +0000

Some of you may know that I work with a few different artists in the Pittsburgh area. One of them is Frzy, a rapper who has become a very close friend of mine. I have been helping him out with social media and other internet related things. A couple of weeks ago he was shooting a video for his new song “Boy Go” and he asked me to come along and be in the video. So I showed up and it was a lot of fun and a great experience.

I had never been to a music video shoot before so I did not know what to expect. I think the weirdest thing was having to get makeup done. Everyone at the shoot had to get makeup done, even the guys. The shoot started at 9PM and we were there to about 6AM so it was a long night, but it was a lot of fun! Here are some photos I took when I was at the shoot.

Make sure you follow me on twitter for my latest updates!

It’s November, Time To HUSTLE!

Bob Buskirk — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:00:09 +0000

“Hustle is the most important word. Ever. And that’s what you need to do.” – Gary Vaynerchuk

Well it is getting back in to that time of year again, the holidays. This time of year for me means a lot of work. With ThinkComputers we are reviewing computer hardware and companies are releasing many new products for the holiday season. So it always is a big rush to get reviews done before the holidays are over and especially before CES. This means I will be busting my ass for the next 2 months pushing out a ton of content for ThinkComputers.

This is going to be a large task since I am doing most of the reviews myself and since the launch of The ThinkComputers YouTube channel I am producing 3-4 videos a week. It’s pretty crazy, but I do enjoy being busy. It keeps my mind off all of the other bs that is going on.

I know I have been slacking on this blog, I really want to keep it personal and keep it updated frequently. So for November my goal is to break the double digit mark when it comes to posts, so 10 or more and I will be happy. Are you working like crazy the last 2 months of the year? Let me know about it in the comments!

Schenley Park Photo Walk – Late Summer

Bob Buskirk — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:06:22 +0000

A couple of week ago I went to Schenley Park to do a photo walk. Photo walk’s are always fun because they are a great way to experience a place or event. Since I’ve moved, Schenley Park is a 5 minute walk so I’m always over there running and taking photos. I would consider it late summer since most of the trees have not turned yet. Hopefully I will be able to do another photo walk in the fall when the trees have all turned. Anyways check out all of the photos from my photo walk below!

Steve Jobs 1955 – 2011

Bob Buskirk — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:02:10 +0000

I’m sure by now you’ve heard that Steve Jobs passed away yesterday of cancer at the age of 56. This was shocking and sad news to many people, myself included. For those who do not know Steve Jobs co-founded Apple Computers with Steve Wozniak in 1976. Over the years he has been the visionary behind many of Apple’s greatest products and really changed the way many people view technology. Being that I work in technology I have followed Apple products over the years.

You know growing up you read about people like Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and George Westinghouse. These were all visionaries and people who really thought outside of the box. For our generation Steve is one of those visionaries. Obviously I was really too young to follow the early Apple Computers, but since Steve returned to Apple in 1997 I think most of us in the technology field really followed Apple closely. If you think about it personal computers might not be what they are today without Steve Jobs.

All innovators have to take chances and of the first one that really shocked many of us with the introduction of the iPod in 2001. MP3′s were not that popular back then and many people did not think the device would be successful, but as you know it was a huge success. There were MP3 players out there, but no company really made one that caught on. I’m sure many of you reading this currently own or have owned an iPod. This was a step away from Computers for Apple and gave them what they needed to continue as a successful company.

Just 2 years later Apple introduced the iTunes Music Store, which allowed you to purchase music online and download it. This completely changed the music industry and is revolutionary. Before the iTunes music store most people were still going out and purchasing CD’s or buying MP3′s online and websites that most likely do not exist anymore.

In 2005 Steve gave a great commencement speech at Stanford in which he talks about life, start Apple, getting fired from Apple and much more. Instead of me talking about it you can watch it below.

In 2007 Apple introduced the iPhone, which as you know completely changed how we view mobile phones. Before the iPhone I really cannot think of a mobile touchscreen phone that was popular and worked well. It completely changed the way people see phones and really pushed them to become all in one devices. Now the iPhone is one on its 4th generation and is one of the most popular mobile devices of all time. Here is a video of the unveiling of the original iPhone.

After the iPhone other great accomplishments where the iTunes App Store and of course the iPad and iPad 2.

I am in now way an Apple Fanboy, I run all PC’s at home, although I do own an iPhone. Whether you like Apple products or not you have to think about what Steve did in his life and how his vision changed the way we view personal computers, phones and the music industry. He was a true pioneer and visionary. We are quite lucky to have a person like him in our lifetime, there are not many like him. He has given many people, including myself inspiration to do what we love and to “Think Different”.