HBO's announcement Monday that it was putting full-length episodes of "In Treatment" onto a new YouTube channel made me wonder why there were no ads on the network's YouTube pages. I can see why HBO might not want to throw pre-rolls and interstitials into the videos themselves, given that the programs air on TV without commercials (except those for other HBO programs). But what about all that real estate around the video window?

Amazon.com's vice president of consumer electronics, Paul Ryder, walked the show floor with us to talk about some of the themes from CES 2008 that resonate with Amazon customers. One theme he repeated was the important distinction for users between convergence-capable and convergence excellence.

-- Michelle Maltais

Check out the i-Fi Chair.

-- Myung Chun

-- Myung Chun

As I walked the aisles in one of the cavernous halls of CES 2008, there were storage devices, printers and PDAs, cellphone cases, gaming accessories and MP3 players-- the expected items. And then something stopped me in my tracks.

Not so much for apparent innovation, but more for its seemingly absurd presence at a consumer electronics expo. I was mesmerized since I'd never considered anything -- not a darn thing -- about these devices to be technology-related. 

A closer look, however, revealed that there is a common thread connecting high fashion and high tech. 

Oh, Brother ... sewing machines? It was the constant tattering of thread to cloth that grabbed my attention over the din of beeps, bleeps and dings echoing through the hall. I wasn't the only one -- I've never seen so many men entranced by a sewing machine in my life -- and, no, they weren't just gawking at fashion models on the monitors.

You know what a bother it is to carry both your MP3 music player and your Taser gun?

Worry no more.

Today at CES, Taser International introduced the Taser MPH -- the first combination hand-held music player and Taser. 

The player, which has a 1-GB capacity that can hold about 150 songs, is embedded in a holster that slips on your belt. Feel the need to zap someone and you can unholster the Taser, use the built-in laser pointer to aim, and blam -- a couple of darts carrying 50,000 volts hits your victim.

And you don't have to miss a beat.

The Taser MPH is not just a gadget, it's a fashion statement. The company is releasing it in several cover motifs, including leopard.

"It's fashion,  with a bite," said Taser International spokesman Stephen Tuttle.

What's next: The iPod gun, Blackberry Nunchucks, RAZR Razor?

-- David Colker

Monster Cable drew a decent-size crowd for its news conference today, as rumors swirled around the Web about what the big announcement could be. (Some thought it might be a new music service to rival iTunes.)

Noel Lee, a.k.a. the "Head Monster," rolled up on a red Segway scooter first to extol the merits of some new additions to the HDMI cable family and a deal with Disney to help the masses figure out proper cabling in a high-def/low-understanding world.

Lee also scooted back and forth across the stage excitedly describing the new ScreenClean products for mobile accessories (cellphones, cameras and MP3 players), as well as Monster Power that is power line control-friendly, Outlets to Go with USB integration and a host of iPhone accessories that he raced through at the end.

That's all well and good, but that was hardly the product folks throughout the hip-hop blogosphere have been speculating about.

The big draw strutted up like a prizefighter in a plume of wicked bass: It was Dr. Dre.