Small business owners, inventors and entrepreneurs joined the nation’s technology thought leaders and innovators in New York at the Consumer Electronics Association Line Show. Author of Gadget Nation, Steve Greenberg, was among the tech experts at the expo covering technology’s greatest innovations and business opportunities for SBTV.com.

One of the highlights of the New York event was a keynote address from White House Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, cutting-edge technology products and newly unveiled market research were among the highlights at this week’s inaugural CEA Line Shows and Digital Downtown Conference Program in New York City. Aneesh Chopra, U.S. Chief Technology Officer and Associate Director for Technology in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, delivered a keynote address on Thursday afternoon. Recently appointed as the nation’s first CTO, Chopra discussed how the technology industry’s entrepreneurial spirit can have a meaningful impact on the collective good and on President Obama’s innovation agenda to improve economic growth, health care, energy policy and educational excellence.

After discussing how the June 12 digital transition represents a transformational shift in our airways by offering a digital platform for broadcast, Chopra praised the private-public partnership that promoted the transition and encouraged consumers to call 1-888-CALL-FCC if they have any DTV related questions. He spoke about his plans to bring Retail 2.0 strategies into government services and operations and challenged the technology industry to use 20 percent of available resources to develop products and services that will benefit society and not just result in economic gain. After his keynote, Chopra participated in an executive one-on-one with CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro and discussed harnessing the power of innovation to improve our nation’s strengths and how public-private partnerships can drive economic growth.

Gilbert Fiorentino, chief executive of the Technology Products Group at Systemax, parent company of CompUSA and Tiger Direct, also gave a major Thursday morning keynote at the CEA Line Shows. Fiorentino addressed how the Internet is deeply woven into the fabric of CompUSA’s business strategy and discussed how the company is combining the best of storefront and online retailing to offer an optimal Retail 2.0 experience to consumers.

Aviary, which offers four browser-based applications for editing online images, and MakerBot, a build-it-yourself 3D printer, were the winners of the NY Tech Start-up Classic competition on Wednesday evening. The two companies will be awarded free booth space at the 2010 International CES in January in Las Vegas.

CEA Economist Shawn DuBravac and CEA Director of Industry Analysis Steve Koenig presented a mid-year reality check on Wednesday morning which focused on CE industry sales and trends. Despite the current economy, they noted that CEA’s CE Advisory Panel’s expectations for the future are more optimistic now than they were three months ago, and that CEA expects sales to increase later in 2009. DuBravac and Koenig noted several hot trends in the CE industry, including 3D HDTV, Internet TV and netbooks.

More than 40 product showcases were featured at the CEA Line Shows, displaying the latest innovations from leading CE manufacturers. Exhibitors included Alcatel-Lucent, Atlona, Boxee, ClickFree, Cobra, Contour Design, Disc Eraser, Ergo-Tilt, Eviant, Hantech, Help Alert, Instinctiv, Lightglove, Minoru, Mitsubishi, Monster, Nextar, OmniMount, Pongr, SanDisk, Schlage, SmartFish, SoundSense and Toshiba.

Technology pavilions highlighting new market-specific innovations were also on display at the CEA Line Shows, including the Gadget Nation Pavilion, Mobile Apps Lounge and the Techlicious Lounge. For more information on the CEA Line Shows and Digital Downtown Conference Program, including the full list of highlights and displays, visit www.CEALineShows.com.

Restaurant Association Supporting Calorie Counts on Menu Legislation

The National Restaurant Association and several large chain restaurants are supporting a move to require food service businesses to list calorie counts on menus.  The move is being considered in Congress to combat the nation’s expanding waistlines:  "America is facing an obesity epidemic which must be addressed at the national level," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

Calorie-count disclosures would be required on menus at chain restaurants under federal legislation that has the backing of the restaurant industry and nutrition labeling watchdogs.

The Senate backers of two competing bills on menu labeling announced bipartisan, compromise legislation on June 10^th, 2009 that would require chains with 20 or more locations to disclose calories of food items on their menu boards or menus.

The legislation also would require such chains to give customers additional written nutritional information -- including amounts of fat and cholesterol -- immediately upon request. And it would create a national standard that would supersede the growing number of local and state calorie-disclosure mandates aimed at curbing obesity.

In addition to the National Restaurant Association, which is a SBTV.com organizational partner, the American Diabetes Association and the Center for Science in the Public Interest are also supporting the calorie count measure in Congress.