Gizmodo: probably not invited to CES next year.

I went to a trade conference last week, my first in almost a year.

It didn't take long for me to get back into the swing of things. Working out where the TV monitors are, so you can watch the plenary sessions while getting early access to the press buffet; finding just the right spot to wear your badge so people can't quite make out your name and collar you; picking the two pieces of paper you need from the press pack and ditching the oh-so-classy conference bag.

It occurred to me  that this sort of  event is always the same. There's the introductory keynote that includes rock star/red arrows/celebrity footage, in an attempt to make enterprise software appear more "sexy". Then there's the speaker who makes some incredibly sexist analogy to prove a point. This time it was the revelation that men don't always go shopping with their wives, which is just like partnership working in local government. Right. And there's always one stall that's crowded with visitors because they have the best freebies - this time it was the stall running a wii golf competition.

It can sometimes feel just a little predictable. So thank heaven's for this, the funniest thing I've seen in ages. Gizmodo went to tech trade show CES armed with some little gadgets that use infrared to turn off TV screens. Havoc ensues. Enjoy.