Thoughts from the CES: Low-margin goodies we never asked for

Although all eyes are on the Consumer Electronics Show going strong this week in Las Vegas, the consultation I've done in that industry still stands at a dark crossroads these days.

More and more products are pushed onto the consumer (most of whom did not ask for them) and every company from here to there wants to supply those consumers with either the content or the devices (or both) and take a cut based on volume subscriptions or device purchases.

I agree with Doug in that there is only so much time in the customer's day -- and *no* customer can be expected to consume so much using so many different mediums (YouTube, digital cable, digital satellite, Netflix, etc. etc.). I even like Mark Cuban's reference to YouTube's change into an advertisement platform since Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) bought it. Hmm.

Will Sony bomb and get rid of current CEO Howard Stringer if the Playstation 3 fails in 2007? Maybe. Will consumer electronics manufacturers continue to supply us devices they "want us to use" to prop up sagging margins in an effort to push content we never asked for in the first place? Of course. But I will say this -- I'm not sure I want the convergence of the PC and living room except for one aspect -- to watch video clips and downloaded movies from the PC on the living room PC, and perhaps to listen to my MP3 collection over the sound system in the living room.
OK. So maybe I do want a little convergence. But do *normal* consumers, though?