The trade fair CeBIT kicks off this week with the big computing expo swerving back to its historic role as a public celebration of all the useful and fun things you do with computers.
Attempts in recent years to turn the annual fair into a congress for professionals have failed to bring the needed boost to the expo, which this year features slightly more than 4,200 exhibitors, according to fair chief Frank Poerschmann.
Back in 2001, CeBIT had almost twice as many: 8,093 exhibitors. The decline now seems to have bottomed out, with the exhibitor numbers stagnant for three years running. A few digital printer makers, such as Brother, Epson and Xerox, are even returning to the March 1-5 fair after years of absence.
Other European fairs outshine CeBITas showcases for home entertainment equipment, sat-navs and smartphones, but the Hanover event is still top if you are looking for something more obscure like wireless routers or software to monitor your electricity use.
"Private people interested in computers will consider it an eldorado," promised August-Wilhelm Scheer, president of German trade association Bitkom which sponsors the event. Some 330,000 people attend the expo each year.
Scheer argues that the private-professional distinction has blurred anyway in a world where everyone can post to Facebook about their kids and pets. In today's social media everyone is a content provider.
To lure the German masses, organizers say they will let in anyone free if they are carrying Germany's newly introduced electronic identity cards. The vast majority of Germans still carry old-fashioned laminated cardboard IDs. For corporate visitors, the theme this year will again be cloud computing, according to Scheer.
With a server handling all the storage and processing, Hotmail and Facebook are examples of cloud computing, a concept that has been around for years but is starting to appeal to business and not just private users. Offices and factories can save money by dumping their onsite IT and connecting all their workstations to a distant computer centre, cloud advocates say. "Cost efficiency is at the front of their minds," explained Scheer.
Overall, world sales of all office and computing technology are booming, forecast to rise 4.8 per cent this year to 2.56 trillion euros, according to Bitkom data.
Sales in China will lead, growing 10.8 per cent, while European Union sales will grow a modest 1.7 per cent and Japanese sales will rise by an anaemic 0.7 per cent. Every year, CeBIT features a partner nation, which organises a special showcase for its IT skills. This year it is Turkey. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will join German Chancellor Angela Merkel at an inaugural event on Monday evening.