Once tech's top showcase, Comdex now on life support. (Top Technology Showcase).

Not long ago, Comdex was the one and only place where any self-respecting technology company would demo a new product line. In fact, just a few years ago it seemed that Comdex was stealing the thunder of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), as the November mega-show was over-run by consumer gadgets and home electronics. I remember a Comdex circa 1994 or 1995 when the show filled three convention halls, when cab lines were 30 minutes long, and when one entire section of the show was devoted exclusively to porn on compact disc--and the porn stars promoting them.

For better or worse, those days are a distant memory. Key3Media, the company that runs Comdex, may file for bankruptcy protection. The show that once drew nearly 200,000 visitors was expected to draw fewer than 100,000 this year. According to official estimates, attendance was expected to be off more than 30% over a year ago (when attendance was already down significantly from past years). Now, rather than have Comdex swallow CES, there's even talk of Comdex being subsumed by the consumer event.

None of this is particularly surprising. For many years now, the cost of booth space has been so expensive that many tech heavy weights choose to stay away from the show floor, preferring instead meeting rooms in the nearby Hilton and other hotels. While Comdex is still a valuable concept--as a once-yearly meeting place where those in the industry can gather--it's no longer a demonstration/exhibition of new computers (the derivation of the word "Comdex"). It's more of a casual conference in the desert.

There has never been a scarcity of optimism at Comdex, and this year was no exception, with glowing predictions from keynote speakers and talk of a tech turnaround already underway. But aside from some new personal wireless products, a few Tablet PCs, and an alphabet soup of DVD players and recorders, the air of excitement of past years was not in evidence.

What is the future of Comdex? Should it move to a smaller venue? Should it merge with another show, CES or perhaps even N+I? Might it even be scrapped altogether? Like all tech tradeshows, Comdex has fallen on hard times. But perhaps the bubble years for Comdex have given us an unrealistic expectation of what the show should be. Maybe a smaller, more intimate show should be viewed not as a failure but as a much needed return to sharper focus. Whatever the solution, if the losses continue to mount for the show's organizer, change for Comdex is now inevitable.