TED2009

This ideas fest is bringing back some of its best speakers for its 25th birthday, themed "The Great Unveiling."  This slogan refers to the innovations TED promises to premiere, and to its huge new home, the Long Beach Convention Center.  The "great" could also be a nod to TED's price tag — $6,000 per person for the chance to network with the likes of Bill Clinton and Sergey Brin.  Too steep?  $3,750 buys entrée into a simulcast "satellite" meet in Palm Springs.  That's right: $3,750 to mingle with the B-list. —  Anne C. Lee