Scenes from SXSW Interactive (pictures)

A look at some of the best moments from a week filled with big thinkers, big sounds, and big parties.

SXSW Interactive 2013
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James Martin/CNET

SXSW Interactive 2013

South by Southwest Interactive has wrapped up, and it was a long week. There were lots of people, lots of parties, and lots of interesting discussions, but there might not have been one "next big thing."

Just as SXSWi in the past was dominated by golden boys like Twitter, location-based services such as Foursquare, or group messaging apps, this year the masses seemed to constantly be searching for "the thing," -- but they were never able to settle on one.
Austin, a music town
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James Martin/CNET

Austin, a music town

At its heart, Austin is a music town, and even during the Interactive portion of the festival, the nights are filled with music as bars and clubs downtown host exclusive parties.
Inside the convention center
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James Martin/CNET

Inside the convention center

Inside the Austin Convention Center on Saturday morning, the heart of the South by Southwest Interactive world.
6th Street at night
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6th Street at night

During the festival, many blocks of 6th Street are closed and there is music everywhere.
Follow Me
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James Martin/CNET

Follow Me

Street art along 6th Street on Thursday night in Austin, Texas, beckons to "Follow Me."
Elon Musk at SXSW
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James Martin/CNET

Elon Musk at SXSW

During his keynote speech at South by Southwest on Saturday, Elon Musk discussed Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity, and how he sank his whole fortune into these three innovative companies.
Setting up for SXSW
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James Martin/CNET

Setting up for SXSW

Outside the Austin Convention Center on Thursday night any surfaces not already covered with ads, flyers, and other promotions were quickly being plastered with bills for the coming week.
Tim Berners-Lee
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James Martin/CNET

Tim Berners-Lee

British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee, who is best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web, was at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers meetup on Saturday afternoon.
Full scale model of the James Webb Telescope
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James Martin/CNET

Full scale model of the James Webb Telescope

NASA's full scale model of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which is the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, and will be launched in 2018.
Mirrors on the JWST
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James Martin/CNET

Mirrors on the JWST

The mirror array on the full scale model of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which is the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, and will be launched in 2018.
The browser wars
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James Martin/CNET

The browser wars

CNET's Seth Rosenbaltt moderated a panel Saturday on Web browsers, during which Mozilla's Jay Sullivan revealed there are no plans for Mozilla to return to iOS.
Bre Pettis unveils the MakerBot Digitizer
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James Martin/CNET

Bre Pettis unveils the MakerBot Digitizer

MakerBot's Bre Pettis pauses briefly before unveiling the Digitizer, which will scan real-world objects into 3D-printable digital files.
MakerBot Digitizer
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James Martin/CNET

MakerBot Digitizer

The MakerBot Digitizer prototype was shown for the first time at South by Southwest.
MakerBot Digitizer prototype
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MakerBot Digitizer prototype

"It's kind of like Tron," MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis explained, as a prototype of the new Digitizer 3D printer fired its laser scanners at a garden gnome.
3M holograms
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James Martin/CNET

3M holograms

3M was showing off some holographic technology around the Austin Convention Center this week at South by Southwest. A video image was projected from behind onto a thick cutout in the same shape as the projection, which gave the impression of a very life-like figure speaking to you.
Playing with the light field
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James Martin/CNET

Playing with the light field

This strange-looking 50-foot-tall plastic bottle tower was actually part of a demonstration for the Lytro light field cameras, which were available to check out and use for the day.
Wearing 3D printers
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Wearing 3D printers

At a panel discussing the future of 3D printing moderated by CNET's Rich Brown, these two 3D Systems employees were actually wearing Cube 3D printers.
Mayorships and badges
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James Martin/CNET

Mayorships and badges

Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley talks location with blogger and entrepreneur Anil Dash. Crowley says Foursquare's massive amounts of data are so much "more than mayorships and badges."
Sponsored pedi-cabs
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James Martin/CNET

Sponsored pedi-cabs

With tens of thousands of people in town, traffic is awful in Austin this week. A better way to travel is a pedi-cab, a tricycle which carries up to three passengers.

Many of these pedi-cabs are sponsored, and free, like this one powered by Oreo.
State Department reaches out to SXSWi
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James Martin/CNET

State Department reaches out to SXSWi

At a panel on "Mobilizing Ingenuity to Strengthen Global Security" with CNET's Daniel Terdiman, acting U.S. Undersecretary of State Rose Gottemoeller (far right) said she believes the public can play a vital role in helping combat international arms control violations and threats.
Grumpy Cat along 6th Street
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James Martin/CNET

Grumpy Cat along 6th Street

A video of Grumpy Cat, quite possibly the biggest story coming out of South by Southwest, was projected in the windows of a building along 6th Street on Saturday night.
CNET party Saturday night
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CNET party Saturday night

The CNET party on Saturday night.
The Wanderu monkey
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The Wanderu monkey

Wanderu is a service that facilitates travel on intercity buses and trains between any two points in the country. This little monkey appears to be a fan.
Social media guru Gary Vaynerchuk
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Social media guru Gary Vaynerchuk

Social media guru Gary Vaynerchuk doles out advice inside the Austin Convention Center on Sunday.
Al Gore talks with Walt Mossberg
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Al Gore talks with Walt Mossberg

Al Gore chats with journalist Walt Mossberg on Saturday during South by Southwest Interactive.
Robert DeLong at the CNET party
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Robert DeLong at the CNET party

Musician Robert DeLong performs at the CNET party in Austin, Texas, on Saturday.
Unicorn Apocalypse
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Unicorn Apocalypse

A unicorn from Samsung's new Unicorn Apocalypse game makes an appearance at the CNET party on Saturday.
Spotify House
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Spotify House

Fun in the afternoon sun at the Spotify House at South by Southwest.
Music and more at Spotify
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Music and more at Spotify

The Spotify House had long lines to get in on Monday afternoon, as people came for the free drinks and performances from Robert DeLong and Atlanta's Watch the Duck.
Mashable Jenga
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Mashable Jenga

Someone's turn has gone horribly wrong while playing a large-scale version of Jenga at the Mashable party on Sunday night at Speakeasy in Austin.
Salt Lick BBQ
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James Martin/CNET

Salt Lick BBQ

A trip to Austin is never complete without a visit to Salt Lick for barbeque. A visit to the legendary spot has become a sort of South by Southwest annual pilgrimage for many festival attendees.

We'll see you next year!

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