Jackie Floyd

A traditional German oompah band performs.

Tobit Software throws a party for customers and others in typical trade show fashion. The entertainers are mostly ignored while everyone talks business.

August-Wilhelm Scheer, president of the Presiding Committee for BITKOM, the German Information Technology Association, plays the sax with a jazz trio at a reception for the international press put on by the government of France.

The real reason that the members of the international press corps go to parties like this is the food–in this case, French specialties prepared by French chefs.

Staff from Hannover Fairs, organizers of CeBIT, assist the press in checking out the German consumables. In this case, it’s Brock McCormack from Hannover Fairs USA (right) assisting members of the International press in their task.

This is Zeno, a fully function robot with human like reactions. Scarily real to the touch, Zeno is programmed with artificial intelligence software and capable of facial recognition, having a conversation and making eye contact. Made by Hanson Robotics, a New Zealand based firm, Zeno could be on sale to consumers for $300 by 2010.

Software AG used the trick of having a supercar on its stand, with the tag line, Getting there faster. The company had this white Lamborghini parked in the middle of its stand, and visitors could try to win a test drive of the car.

For those people who only like riding bikes downhill, this Hybrid car on display with Sun Microsystems is the perfect solution. Driven by peddle power, when the bike has an electric motor inside it for when the rider gets tired, or for those particularly steep hills.

Reinventing the way we all use our mouse is the idea behind this cool gadget. There are two designs, one for using a laptop, the SwiftPoint Slider and one for use with a tablet PC, the SwiftPoint Triped., Held between thumb and forefinger, Simtrix, the manufacturer said they also help to combat RSI.

Is this is future? CeBit had its very own future parc, which included technology such as eyeball tracking, demonstrating how it could to help marketers know where to place their products on shelves, and this wearable computer range, which means you need never be without GPS or your PC again.