The latest in consumer communications, straight from the IEEE consumer communications and networking conference 2011 [Series editorial]

Every year in January, researchers working on consumer communications and networking come together for the IEEE Consumer Communications and Networking conference in Las Vegas. Major themes of the conference are Emerging Consumer Technologies and Applications, Peer-to-Peer Networking and Content Distribution, Security and Content Protection, Multimedia and Entertainment Networking and Services, Smart Spaces and Personal Area Networks, and Wireless Consumer Communications and Networking. Each of these themes forms a separate track in the conference program. In addition, the conference is host to a series of Special Sessions and Workshops as well as prototype demonstrations. Some of the latter were selected to also be shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, the world??s largest consumer electronics trade show, which is hosted in Las Vegas around the same time as CCNC.