The fact that neither Microsoft nor Apple are participating in these kinds of events anymore is certainly a sign of something, but 153,000 press, exhibitors, analysts, and staff are suggesting that the death knell could be a bit premature.

I’m sitting in Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport. But tonight at 6:30pm PT, I’ll be in Las Vegas at Steve Ballmer’s final Microsoft keynote at CES–and TIME’s Doug Aamoth and I will liveblog it one last time. You can join us at technologizer/ces12, and I hope you will.

Still, I came away from Wingfield’s piece unconvinced that there’s a new sea change going on in the industry that’s rendering CES less relevant than it has been in recent years.

Here’s why:

CES has never had anything like a monopoly on major product announcements. Wingfield points out that the iPad, iPhone, Kinect, and Kindle Fire weren’t announced at the show.  But Apple, at least during Steve Jobs’ second time around, didn’t announce any products, major or minor, at CES. (Its absence certainly leaves a gaping hole in the show, but it’s a long-running one.

And you could come up with a list of famous tech products going back years that weren’t announced at CES. As Wingfield says, the Xbox was announced at the show in 2001. But the Xbox 360 wasn’t announced at CES. And neither was the PlayStation 2, the PlayStation 3, or the Wii. Or Windows 95. Or TiVo. Or the PalmPilot. I could go on.

New categories of tech products have been good for CES. Wingfield says that TV and stereos–the products that got CES going back in 1967–are no longer driving change in the consumer-tech industry. That’s true. But CES seems to be doing a pretty good job of being a key event for other types of products.

It became the computer industry’s default big show after COMDEX died in 2003, which is why one of the biggest trends at CES 2012 will be ultrabooks. There are going to be scads of tablets and phones at the show, too, even though two huge mobile shows, Mobile World Congress and CTIA, are coming up. And the camera business’s big event, PMA, is co-located with the show this year. As technologies have converged, they’ve all made their way to Vegas for CES.

In some cases, the fact that companies avoid CES is a sign that CES is successful. Wingfield quotes an analyst who says that CES isn’t a great place to announce products, because it’s too noisy. He also says that the fact that the show has 1.7 million square feet of exhibits makes it hard for new stuff to stand out. All of which inevitably brings to mind that Yogi Berra line about the restaurant that nobody goes to anymore–because it’s too crowded. And it’s a complaint that’s existed for as long as giant, jam-packed conferences have.

In many ways, CES is a relic. When I started writing about technology in the early 1990s, there were two CESes a year. And two COMDEXes. And two PC Expos. And two Macworld Expos which were both much bigger than the current incarnation of that event. The world doesn’t need anywhere near that many humongous tech conferences anymore, which is why the winter edition of CES is the only one left from that era that remains humongous.

It too could start to wither away, either soon or someday. But most of the show’s weaknesses as detailed in the Times story are perennial problems, not emerging threats. Despite them, I see no evidence that recent CESes have been anything other than overwhelming successes, especially given the rotten state of the economy. I’m looking forward to landing in Vegas this afternoon so I can take the pulse of the 2012 edition for myself.

[Photo at top of post: Conferencegoers register for the first CES in 1967.]

And the third most-represented group? It may well be celebrities. They’re one of the most surefire ways to attract attention to a booth or a party, and so the companies exhibiting at the show bring them to Vegas by the truckload.

Some of the well-known people in attendance actually are into tech stuff: LeVar Burton, who I once had a pleasant chat with at a Monster party, is as much of a gearhead as you and me. Others are presumably there purely because they’re being handsomely compensated, (Not that that’s necessarily bad: The best thing that ever happened to me at a Las Vegas trade show was seeing Ray Charles perform, brilliantly, at an otherwise mundane WordPerfect party at a mid-1990s COMDEX.)

The Consumer Electronics Association, which organizes CES, has released a list of “celebrity guests” who’ll be at this year’s event. And here they are. (If the names don’t all sound familiar, don’t feel bad–I didn’t know who some of them were until just now, either.)

50 Cent

Who is he? The “acclaimed rapper.”

What’s he doing at CES? Fitty “will sign autographs from 3-4 p.m. on Tuesday, January 10, Wednesday, January 11 and Thursday, January 12 for his new audio company, SMS Audio, which combines technology, function and style to bring the highest caliber of sound, comfort and fashion to every product, at their booth (LVCC, South Hall, #20818). He’ll also be on hand to discuss his new line of wireless headphones with the editors of TechCrunch at the AOL Studio (LVCC, Grand Lobby) on Wednesday, January 11 from 12-12:30 p.m.”

Justin Bieber

Who is he? A “Grammy-nominated platinum pop megastar,” apparently.

What’s he doing at CES? The Bieb’ll “be appearing with TOSY Robotics at this year’s CES. Justin Bieber is helping TOSY unveil their new innovative entertainment robot at the their booth which is located in the Robotics TechZone of the LVCC South Hall ground level (#21964, 21968, 22064, 22066 and 22068) on Wednesday, January 11 from 1-3 p.m.”

Wayne Brady and Greg Grunberg

Who are they? Wayne is an “Emmy winner and Grammy nominated actor, singer…known for his work as a regular on the American version of comedy television series ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?” Greg is “best known for his starring role on the NBC television series ‘Heroes’.”

What are they doing at CES? They’ll “join OnStar for their Tweet House sessions, the official social media track for CES, on Wednesday, January 11 from 1-5 p.m. in N254, North Hall. Greg and Wayne will also attend OnStar’s “It Won’t Stay in Vegas” party on Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. at the Stirling Club.”

Chicago

Who are they? All the CEA says is that they’re “legendary” and play “real music.”

What are they doing at CES?  They’ll perform at Monster’s “annual Retailer Awards and Concert…on Wednesday, January 11 at the Paris Hotel.” (Hey, does anybody know what time it is?)

Jose “Hyde” Cotto

Who is he? An “urban music pioneer.”

What’s he doing at CES? ” He’ll “perform at iHip’s celebration on Tuesday evening” along with with Mas Flow, El Verdadero Quimico, Luny Tunes, and DJ Nelson, ”and will be signing autographs at the booth on Thursday, January 12.”

Eliza Dushku

Who is she? Dushku “rose to fame with her role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff series Angel. She is also known for her starring role in the network series, Tru Calling and Dollhouse, as well as roles in True Lies, Bring it On, This Boy’s Life, Wrong Turn and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.”

What’s she doing at CES? She’s CES’s “Entertainment Matters Ambassador…As part of her ambassadorship, Dushku will contribute to Spike TV’s ‘CES All Access Live’ broadcast coverage from 12:30-1:45 p.m. on Tuesday, January 10, and she will also host the network’s exclusive VIP CES party that evening at Tryst Nightclub in the Wynn Las Vegas.”

Andy Fisenden, Simon Fisenden, and Dane Alderton

Who are they? “Top Australian musicians.” (Disclaimer: An Australian friend of mine who’s a fan of Eliza Dushku and Alistair Overeem isn’t familiar with these guys.)

What are they doing at CES? “Playing at Audiofly’s booth (LVCC, South Hall, #26728) at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. each day.”

Allison Fishman

Who is she? A “cookbook author and creator of The Wooden Spoon cooking school.”

What’s she doing at CES? She “will give a cooking demo and make daily appearances at Haier’s booth from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Tuesday, January 10 and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on both Wednesday, January 11 and Thursday, January 12.”

Robert Horry and John Salley

Who are they? Horry is a “seven-time NBA Champion and current sports commentator” and “one of only two players to have won NBA championships with three different teams.” Salley is “the first NBA player to win four championships with three different teams.”

What are they doing at CES? They will be appearing at Haier America’s “booth from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Wednesday, January 11.”

Jabbawockeez

Who are they? “The all-male, hip-hop dance crew best known for winning season one of MTV’s ‘America’s Best Dance Crew’ and headliner at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino, making them the first and only dance crew to headline their own show in Las Vegas.”

What are they doing at CES? They’ll be “opening Qualcomm’s keynote address, scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 10 in the Venetian’s Palazzo Ballroom.”

John Glen, Martin Campbell, Michael Apted, Olga Kurylenko, and Caterina Muterino

Who are they? Glen, Campbell, and Apted are “critically acclaimed directors” who have helmed from one to five James Bond movies apiece; Kurylenko and Caterina Muterino are “former Bond girls.”

What are they doing at CES? The directors are there for a panel to “kick off the 50th anniversary of MGM’s James Bond on Tuesday, January 10 at 1:30 p.m. at Panasonic’s booth (LVCC, Central Hall, #9806).” Kurylenko and Muterino “will be on hand for a special presentation that will include props from the legendary film franchise.”

LL Cool J

Who is he? “Star of the hit CBS drama NCIS.”

What’s he doing at CES?  He’s introducing “exciting new technology from Boomdizzle on the CNET stage (LVCC, South Hall Lobby) on Tuesday, January 10 at approximately 2 p.m. In addition, LL COOL J will make a public appearance at the Dolby Booth (Central Hall – #8153) on Tuesday, January 10th at 4 p.m. to demo a track he created using Boomdizzle, playing it back on a Dolby technology-enabled laptop to a full home-theater surround sound system.”

Jillian Michaels

Who is she? An “inspirational television personality and fitness guru.”

What’s she doing at CES? “From 10:30-11 a.m. on Tuesday, January 10, Michaels will discuss the impact of digital innovation and her recent partnership with BodyMedia, an on-body monitor company.”

Jamie Michelle

Who is she? Jamie is “one of southern California’s most requested models” who’s “been modeling for the past nine years for online and commercial print work, calendars and swimsuit fashion shows, and has worked with famous photographers such as Ladi Van Jansky and Mike Prado. “

What’s she doing at CES? She will be ”representing automotive audio company Powerbass USA, Inc.”

Alistair Overeem

Who is he? The famous “three-time World Champion Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter and winner of the recent Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight bout.”

What’s he doing at CES? Overeem “will battle against Qualcomm executives and media in mobile MMA fight games, including “Fight Game Heroes” at Qualcomm’s booth (LVCC, South Hall, #30313) at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, January 10, 2 p.m. on Wednesday, January 11 and 12 p.m. on Thursday, January 12.”

Dennis Rodman

Who is he? The “NBA Hall of Fame player.”

What’s he doing at CES? He’s “representing Paltalk, a service that allows users to explore the online world of chat sites with community chat rooms and cool webcam technology that lets you see and be seen. Dennis will make an appearance at Paltalk’s booth (LVCC, South Hall, #26915) from 2-3:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 12.

Jordan Rudess

Who is he? A “recording artist, composer, producer and performer.”

What’s he doing at CES? He “will be representing iConnectivity at CES, demonstrating software applications from Wizdom Music including their innovative Sample Wiz and Geo Synth applications, and connecting his iPad to his musical gear with iConnectMIDI, the ultimate MIDI interface.”

Teresa Scanlan

Who is she? Miss America!

What’s she doing at CES? She “will walk the CES show floor from 10-11 a.m. on Tuesday, January 10,” for unspecified reasons. (Side note: She’s only Miss America until the Saturday after the show, when her successor will be crowned at Planet Hollywood on the Strip.)

Snooki

Who is she? Why, she’s “best known for her role on the most talked about reality TV show Jersey Shore.”

What’s she doing at CES? She’ll “make a guest appearance and sign autographs at iHip’s booth (LVCC, South Hall, #21920) from 2-4 p.m. on Tuesday, January 10 and will also host iHip’s new line and 2012 collaboration celebration on Tuesday evening from 9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. at the Gallery at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino.”

The Yok

Who is he? A “world-reknowned graffiti artist.”

What’s he doing at CES? He’ll be at Audiofly’s booth “creating some of his artwork.”

That’s the official roster. I’m sure it’s incomplete, and it doesn’t include notable names from the tech industry, such as Steve Ballmer–who’s more famous than most of the people here.

There’s nobody on the CEA’s list that I’m going to go out of my way to meet. But if I happen to get on an elevator and find Justin Bieber or Snooki there, I’ll let you know…

Next Monday at 6:30pm PT, Steve Ballmer will give what Microsoft says is the company’s final keynote at CES. I don’t know whether he’ll acknowledge that fact, in either a serious manner or a lighthearted one. But it’s a safe bet that he’ll talk about Windows 8, ultrabooks, Xbox, and Windows phone. And I’ll be in the audience, along with TIME’s Doug Aamoth. We’ll liveblog the event as it happens at technologizer.com/ces12. Join us, won’t you? (And if you need a reminder, head there now: You can get an e-mailed notification when the event begins.)

At first blush, this could be any year’s show–you can see Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, and other companies that will be at next week’s edition. I might believe you for a moment if you told me this was last year’s show, which I attended.

But it isn’t CES 2011, or 2001, or even 1991–it’s the 1980 edition. (I’m not sure whether it’s what was then called Winter CES, which was held in Las Vegas, or the summer show in Chicago.)

If you look carefully, there are lots of telltale clues that this is a CES from the distant past. For instance, Soundesign has a booth. I remember it from my 1970s/80s youth as a company that made crummy, dirt-cheap electronics products which you bought only if you couldn’t afford anything else–and didn’t know until just now that the brand name died in the 1990s.

Over at Sony’s booth, you can see that the company is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its entry into the U.S. market– a brief period in this market given that most Americans today don’t remember a world without Sony. (I also like the humongous set of headphones.)

And here are some real smoking guns, also at Sony’s booth–a man in a leisure suit, turntables, and a tiny cathode-ray TV.

While we’re at it, here are some more photos from CES’s archive. This one’s from the 1980 Winter CES, and everything about it, from the hair to the gear, tells you that it’s from another era. (But I could swear I know where it is in the main hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center–I recognize the restroom sign in the background.)

This photo’s from the first CES, held in 1967. Packard Bell–the defunct consumer electronics company, not the later maker of bad PCs–is there, touting its color TVs. Westinghouse appears to have a big booth. And Panasonic has a profusion of portable radios.

Also from 1967. I’m not sure why the ladies are wearing hats with holes in them, but it’s sort of comforting to see that people in inexplicable attire were part of the show from the beginning.

I wonder if any of the people in the above photos will attend CES 2012? For that matter, I wonder who holds the record for having attended the most editions of the show? Surely there’s somebody out there who attended in 1967 as a fresh-faced recent hire for some company who still makes the trek today as an elder statesman. Or if there isn’t, don’t tell me–I don’t want to know.

Are there bloggers who would write about LG products in return for $500 gift cards? Of course. Not me, though, and I also wouldn’t do it in return for $5000 cards or $50,000 cards. And while Technologizer has sometimes worked with companies to offer prizes to Technologizer readers, with disclosure–for instance, in 2009, we gave away an HP laptop–I wouldn’t use gift cards as an incentive to encourage tweeting and commenting about a particular company.

After I received the e-mail, I dropped a line to a couple of Ogilvy bigwigs asking, essentially, “what gives?” I heard back promptly from John Bell, the head of the company’s 360° Digital Influence team, and we chatted on the phone this morning.

I was more grimly amused  and confounded by the e-mail than angry and offended; Bell, to his credit, was more irate about the whole matter than I was. He said the offer had been made without his knowledge, called it “stupid,” and said “we have a whole university inside our company designed to prevent things like this.” He pointed out that the offer of gift cards in return for coverage violates Ogilvy’s own policies against paying for editorial placement, which were linked to in the e-mail to me. (Ogilvy’s stance is more restrictive than FTC rules, which say that payments are legal as long as they’re disclosed.)

Bell also said that I, as a grizzled journalism veteran who writes not only for Technologizer but also for established media outlets like TIME and CNET, should not have been on the list of candidates in the first place. He criticized the form letter-like tone of the e-mail and said that Ogilvy would “re-educate” the people responsible for it.

I also heard, via e-mail, from Christopher Graves, the global CEO of Ogilvy Public Relations (and a former journalist at CNBC and the Wall Street Journal). He was similarly humble and apologetic, and didn’t defend the offer.

The LG campaign, Bell told me, will not proceed as planned: “We will do something but it will be a different program with the right characteristics and reaching out thoughtfully to the right folks.”

You wouldn’t have read posts here about LG products spurred by Ogilvy’s pay-for-play offer under any circustances; I do, however, wonder what you might have read on other sites if I hadn’t asked. (Ogilvy’s policies, incidentally, require that bloggers be “transparent” about posts that are, in one way or another, prompted by PR outreach–although I wonder if anyone would have said “I accepted a $500 Amex card in return for writing this.”)

Graves called the whole situation a “teaching moment.” I’m glad he looks at it that way and that he and Bell responded to my query with a fair amount of grace under pressure. And I’m glad I brought it to their attention, rather than do what I usually do with offers that I have no interest in pursuing–which is to briefly and politely decline them and then move on.

The Rock and Bill Gates introduce the original Xbox at CES in 2001.

Microsoft has announced that next month’s Steve Ballmer keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas will be its last, and that it won’t have its own booth at the show. The move is unquestionably reminiscent of Apple’s 2008 decision to pull out of Macworld Expo, although Microsoft will still be a part of the show in other ways. It’s just ending its traditional, high-profile presence.

And what a long tradition it’s been. It started, of course, not with Ballmer but with Bill Gates. And it didn’t begin with CES. For years, a Gates keynote kicked off the now-defunct COMDEX show: He did them in Vegas in November and sometimes at Spring COMDEX in other cities.

(I’m not sure when Gates did his first COMDEX keynote, but he was doing them as early as 1983, and they became a ritual in the 1990s.)

I’ve always wondered just how much Microsoft benefited from all these keynotes. It’s used them as an opportunity to present its perspective on the future of computing. But as I wrote back in 2008, an awful lot of the things it unveiled at COMDEX and CES never amounted to much, including the Tablet PC, Windows Smart Displays, the Smart Watch, and the amazingly short-lived Urge music service. Unlike Apple, Microsoft rarely if ever saved up a big announcement until a keynote, so the PR bump wasn’t remotely in the same league as Apple’s Macworld events. And the copious use of uncomfortable-looking celebrity guest stars usually didn’t help matters.

I’ve been going to COMDEX and/or CES every year since 1991. For years, I had a contrarian tradition of not attending Microsoft’s keynotes; I’m not sure if I saw any of Gates’ in person, although in recent years I’ve attended and liveblogged Ballmer’s. (We all know that Steve is capable of being, well, exuberant on stage, but to me, he always felt miscast at a CES keynoter–and usually didn’t look like he was enjoying himself that much.)

Anyhow, now that Microsoft Vegas keynotes are going away–starting in 2013–I’m feeling nostalgic. Herewith, courtesy of YouTube, a few highlights from the past twenty-two years of them.

At Comdex 1990, a youthful Bill Gates speaks–very briefly, in this clip–about the futuristic notion of “information at your fingertips.”

Here’s part of Gates’ unusually ambitious 1994 COMDEX keynote, which included a lengthy movie set in the Seattle of 2005:

At COMDEX 1996, Gates presided over the launch of the original monochrome “Handheld PCs” based on Windows CE–the great-great-granddaddies of today’s Windows Phones. (If I recall correctly, this wasn’t a keynote–it was a separate Microsoft event held in the Cirque Du Soleil theater.)

In a snippet of the Comdex 1997 extravaganza, Gates and a friend demos a new device called the Net PC:

At Spring Comdex 1998, one of the most famous Windows blue screens of them all:

In 1998, Gates jokes about the Microsoft anti-trust investigation, predicts a future of devices connected through high-speed networking, and pals around with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar:

Early digital-camera video clips of Gates introducing the Tablet PC at COMDEX 2000:

COMDEX 2000 featured a film with Gates dressed as Harry Potter and Steve Ballmer as Luke Skywalker (caution: it may make your eyeballs burn):

At CES 2001, Gates unveils the original Xbox with the help of the Rock, then known mostly as a wrestler:

The 2005 CES keynote involved a live Conan O’Brien show with Gates as a guest–and an Xbox demo gone bad. Here it is with helpful subtitles:

CES 2007′s keynote, I’m sorry to say, featured…Windows Vista:

When Gates left full-time work at Microsoft in 2008, his final CES keynote included a celeb-filled movie:

Part of CES 2009–Steve Ballmer’s first as the headliner–involved a demo of an iPad-like Tablet PC (a year before the iPad was announced) exchanging data with Microsoft’s Surface table-top computer.

At CES 2010, Ballmer introduces the ill-fated Windows-based “Slate PC,” a response to Apple’s iPad that appeared slightly before the iPad did. (I remember sitting in the audience and thinking to myself that even Steve didn’t seem that excited by them, even though he declared them to be “perfect–just perfect” for the Web and entertainment.)

I liked this CES 2011 appearance by an Xbox avatar Steve Ballmer:

What will Ballmer talk about next month? Ultrabooks, I assume. Windows 8, for sure. Probably Xbox developments, too. I plan to be there. And I wonder who CES will get to kick off the conference in 2013?