LAS VEGAS -- CES -- The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) boasts an amazing 1.85 million net square feet of exhibit space and about 2,700 exhibitors, all of whom were in the taxi line ahead of me.

But you should see some of the madness for yourself, as we kick off a slideshow series from CES. Click the first photo to launch the show:

Photos courtesy of Lee McDonald.

— Phil Harvey, Editor, Light Reading

Nav N Go-GoThe Nav N Go hostesses were sporting those one-piece outfits you usually see on space shows.
And we're fine with that.Ultimate FighterUFC fighter Houston "The Assassin" Alexander smiled and signed photos at the Treo Engineering booth. No one was hurt.Chopper This amazing, tricked-out bike has nothing to do with telecom. But you'll excuse us this once, won't you?HD WonderlandSharp's arrangement of full 1080p flatscreens was enough to make us weak in the knees. And the wallet.Big ScreenThe TVs were as tall as people and nearly as colorful.Sanyo's S1Imagine that: a slim phone with no gimmicks that just works. Pffft. It'll never catch on.WaterproofAlso at the Sanyo booth, a phone you can dunk in water, as we've always wanted to do.ShreddersPlug in "Guitar Hero" and see how many different styles of facial hair show up at your booth.Hello KittyThere you are, reading this, while a co-worker is walking right behind you,
wondering what the heck you're doing.DECT DetectorAt Uniden's booth, DECT phones were the talk of the show.Girl, Put Your Records OnA digital phonograph, a wooden housing, with iPod attachments. Silly, eh?Lot 360, Row ZZZZI parked... somewhere out there.Small Cameras, Big CrowdXacti's handy HD cameras will someday cause YouTube to crash.Lean BackSeriously, isn't it obvious why interactive TV hasn't taken off?MotoMotorola was all about MP3-playing phones at this show.
Still smarting from that iPhone whipping they're taking, I guess.Dish FansFrom the silly accessories department: satellite dishes with team logos.
So now your roofer will know just how big a fan you really are.Hi, I'm ArtThis photo just looked cool. No news value here.Spot the EditorLight Reading editor Phil Harvey is somewhere in this press room.
(Waaay in the back, looking at the camera.)Autonomous AutosCarnegie Mellon University’s self-navigating vehicle drives us crazy.BeemersThe BMW Sauber F1 team (well, the marketing team) were out promoting fast cars and stuff. CSICSI Miami actor David Caruso was on-hand to do interviews with the press
and dust the new smartphones for fingerprints.Delphi DelightsNew satellite navigation devices also offer entertainment choices, including video on demand.UFO?That four-wheeled thing making all the vibrations and noise -- that's a car, right?Rock-n-ShockThe new Taser devices come in stylish colors and feature MP3 players,
in case of an attack while you're gettin' your jam on.Junk in the TrunkThe next big video-on-demand market? The car. Then we'll have in-car DVRs, and so on.