Las Vegas – Comdex Fall 2001 opened this morning under an intense security screen that is causing massive lines as attendees line up outside the Las Vegas Convention Center to pass through airport-style metal detectors.
The lines were orderly Monday morning and the people patient as their bags were inspected. Some people were more heavily scrutinized by security personnel with hand-held metal detecting wands.
The talk of the show so far has had nothing to do with technology, but of the crash of American Airlines flight 587 in New York City. It is still too early to tell if this disaster will impact show attendance, although with the three New York City airports shut down after the crash, this could delay some attendees’ arrival at the show.
The number of people, at least initially, appears to be much lighter than at previous shows. This was expected by show organizer Key3 Media, which expected about 150,000 people to attend this year’s event, about 50,000 less than last year.
