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New meaning to the term 'smoke screen'

We interrupt your regular programming to show an eye-catching trade show gimmick: a translucent display made of a curtain of fog.

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Expertise Processors, semiconductors, web browsers, quantum computing, supercomputers, AI, 3D printing, drones, computer science, physics, programming, materials science, USB, UWB, Android, digital photography, science. Credentials
  • Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
Stephen Shankland

A rear projector displays a swirling image on a curtain of descending fog. Stephen Shankland/CNET News.com

MONTEREY, Calif.--Here's an entertaining gimmick that looks as if it's from a company called FogScreen.

At the 6Sight digital-imaging show here Thursday, the Portola Plaza Hotel had a machine producing a thin, downwardly flowing curtain of fog backlit with a digital projector.

It was kind of hypnotic to watch the swirling psychedelic graphics, and it was just the thing to kill time while waiting for the audience to sift into the auditorium. Alas, during the speeches later, after it had been turned off, it dripped on one of the speakers, so be careful where you mount it.

It wasn't perfect for a PowerPoint presentation, but it worked for logos, and you can walk through it, so this could be a better attention getter than spinning LED novelties for your next trade show, if you have the budget.

Another view. Stephen Shankland/CNET News.com