LAS VEGAS -- Remember the Casio calculator? The humble digital abacus that has been pimped in every possible form, including that geek icon, the calculator watch?
With all the fuss over Casio's rather splendid 1000fps Exilim FC100 here at CES 2009, it's easy to forget the humble calculator, but here they are at the show, proudly on display in the center of the Casio booth.
The Casio booth girl approached me. "Would you like to know all about Casio calculators?" she asked. I scoffed. What could you tell me, a boy who was so pleased with the calculator (Casio) he received for his tenth birthday that he actually took it to bed that night? And the next night. The answer is, of course, an arrogant "nothing".
I just took the photos. And upon getting back to Wired's CES HQ, a monolithic box that resembles the one in Kubrick masterwork 2001 (if Kubrick had made his monolith out of MDF and trestle tables), I took another look at the photo. Can you see it?
Yes. It has a "replay" button. Why? What is that there for? I want to head back to the Casio booth to ask, but I'm embarrassed by my earlier behavior. Really, though, it doesn't really matter. The only useful upgrade that Casio could make is to add a mode that automatically spells out rude words when you turn the handset upside down. Every schoolboy would buy one.
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