From Mac Tablets to Windows 7: Our Macworld and CES wish list

I'm getting ready for a trip that has become an annual tradition for me. I'll be in San Francisco on Tuesday posting from Macworld Expo, and the rest of the week in Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show. It's one of the most busy and fun weeks of my year, and I'm especially looking forward to making the trip for TechFlash for the first time.

The fun part is getting an early glimpse of all the new stuff coming in technology. And beforehand, I always enjoy the guessing game about what the big companies are going to announce.

But this year my mind has been going in a different direction. I've found myself not guessing about what will be announced so much as thinking about what I want to see -- the things I'd find interesting enough to cover or crave. So I put together this list.

MAC TABLET: This has been rumored for years -- a full-fledged Mac tablet computer. There are new signs that Apple is headed in this direction by expanding, literally, on the iPod Touch. Given Microsoft's struggles with Tablet PCs, it would be fascinating to see Apple use the popularity of its music device to give the Mac market even more momentum. And it would be great to see it at Macworld.

A SURPRISE PS3 MOVE: One question facing Sony is whether it will be able to pull the PlayStation 3 out of third place in the market. As someone who likes video games but doesn't always have time to master the controls, I'd like to see a breakthrough interface that goes beyond even Nintendo's Wii to offer a completely intuitive and accurate method of controlling console games.

BREAKTHROUGH IN FORD SYNC: Former Boeing exec Alan Mulally, now Ford's CEO, is speaking at CES on Thursday, and it's looking like he'll unveil the next generation of Sync, the joint Ford-Microsoft entertainment and information system. How about something totally unexpected in Sync that singlehandedly revives the U.S. auto industry? Is that too much to ask?

TRUE XBOX-NETFLIX INTEGRATION: I've been watching shows and movies lately via the Xbox 360's new Netflix on-demand feature. This is a minor annoyance, and I've written about it before, but it's crazy that I need to first go to a separate device, the PC, to populate the queue. Netflix and Microsoft should finish the job and let people browse the full Netflix on-demand catalog on their TVs.

IPHONE WIRELESS ROUTER: Another from my list of personal pet peeves: Why are iPhone users relegated to jailbreaking their devices if they want to install an app that lets them use the iPhone's 3G wireless connection for mobile Internet access on their laptops? This would be a great addition to the iPhone's native functionality.

NEW KINDLE: Come on, Amazon, why not surprise us with an early glimpse of your next-generation digital book reader?

GREEN REVOLUTION: President-elect Barack Obama should make a surprise appearance at CES to unveil a previously secret technology that will end U.S. dependence on foreign oil by the end of the year, simultaneously solving the global economic crisis. (Hey, if you're going to make a list, why not dream big?) 

WINDOWS 7: Microsoft needs to show an amazing new Windows 7 feature -- something absolutely, indisputably amazing --  that no one has seen before. Unfortunately this isn't going to happen, because the company has already unveiled the major features for the next version of the operating system. But Microsoft needs a big surprise at CES, from Windows or another product group. This is particularly true after its rocky Windows Vista experience and, just last week, its Zune meltdown.

SEINFELD: Microsoft traditionally brings out a star for a guest appearance during its CES keynote. This year there's no more appropriate choice than Jerry Seinfeld, who could use his time on stage to explain to us those perplexing Windows ads he made with Bill Gates. At the very least, Seinfeld could make jokes about them.

A JOBS SURPRISE: The real kicker, of course, would be a surprise appearance by Steve Jobs at Macworld. Recent announcements notwithstanding, here's hoping the Apple CEO has one last "One More Thing" to show on the Macworld stage.

What do you think? Am I too optimistic? Not thinking about the right stuff? Feel free to offer your own wish list below.