Compared to last year, this year's Cebit looks deserted, but it still goes a long way towards showing who's hot and who's not. Those who visit will notice that companies are trying to cut costs in all departments, and Cebit, being a hefty investment, is for many an unnecessary cost in these harsh times.

On the other hand Asus' booth, if you can call it a booth, is as big as ever and Intel proudly takes up an entire hall for its gaming and promotional events. Still, these are not the only ones that chose to prance around and pretend they're recession proof, but we found them to be the most prototypical.

Sadly, many regular visitors have chosen not to come, others chose less costly means of holding meetings, but overall you can smell the recession all around the show.