Josh Gatka, sophomore integrated social studies education major, and guitar fiend, stopped by the Gibson display at the TechKnow Overload Tour on Thursday to jam on a Gibson Les Paul.

Credit: Jason Hall

William Schertz

Daily Kent Stater

Students crowded outside the M.A.C. Center yesterday for a hands-on preview of some of the newest gizmos and gadgets.

The TechKnowOverload made its way to Kent State and brought several new examples of electronic-consumer technology from various companies like Sirius, Audiovox and Nintendo.

The tour, which was started by the Consumer Electronics Association in 2003, allows such companies to advertise their products at universities across the United States. This is the tour’s third year on campus.

Tour manager Jennifer Harrison said students on campus seemed to be very interested in the new technology, but time constraints and classes have made it hard for them to stop to check out the equipment.

“There’s tons of people out here, but not a lot of them stop and check out what’s going on,” she said. “When they do have class breaks, a lot of them are out here looking around though.”

Some products on display included amplifiers, digital cameras, flat-screen televisions, car adaptable MP3 players and wireless keyboards and headsets.

There were also several giveaways throughout the day, with students winning video games, iPod covers and Audiovox CD players.

The tour concluded with a guitar “jam off,” and seven students competed for a free Epiphone guitar by playing for a minute on stage.

Josh Gatka, sophomore integrated social studies education major, won the competition based on the response from the crowd.

“This is crazy,” he said. “I feel incredible right now.”

Gatka, who has been playing for five years, said he spends much of his time in his room playing his Ibanez RG guitar.

“I’m up there shredding all the time,” he said. “My RA hates me.”

Gatka said though he is excited about his new guitar, he was just happy to be able to play.

“It’s not even about the material thing,” he said. “It’s the honor of getting up there and being able to play with all these guys with different styles.”

Contact technology reporter William Schertz at [email protected].