The Consumer Electronics Show starts in just 96 hours. When it does, the din will be deafening. Some 2,700 exhibitors will be pitching their latest and greatest doodads to the world. Last year, Macworld was held at the exact same time. Jobs' announcement of the iPhone essentially silenced the noise from CES entirely. This year, Macworld occurs a week later. What will Jobs do to keep the focus on Apple?

It would not surprise me to learn that Apple CEO Steve Jobs relishes his role as the company's main spokesperson. He uses events such as Macworld and other Mac-specific conferences to get up on stage and showcase the company's newest products. In contrast, PC makers Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard both dropped a bunch of new laptops and desktops into the market today. I didn't see any grand product announcements from the CEO of either company.

With MacWorld beginning on Jan. 15, it makes sense that Jobs would save any major product announcements for his keynote. Rumors have been swirling around the Internet for months now as to what he'll announce. Among the possibilities are a 3G version of the iPhone and an ultra-portable laptop. Bloggers and fanboys alike are salivating in anticipation of the news. But what about during CES? Can el Steve-o keep us focused on Apple during CES?

We've been waiting for it for months now: iPhone firmware update 1.1.3. I bet if Jobs releases the firmware update Monday morning, Jan. 7, just as CES opens, he can keep us bloggers talking about Apple, even during the onslaught of news spewing from the CES pressroom. That will depend a bit on what the firmware update actually includes. Earlier this week we saw a supposed video preview of the new functions added by the update. They include Google Maps' My Location, multiple-recipient SMS, and adding application shortcuts to the home screen of the iPhone. This morning's freshest rumor about 1.1.3? The ability to cut and paste. These are all nifty new functionalities, and are sure to whip up a storm of blogging. And, of course, if the firmware update bricks unlocked iPhones, you can be sure the blogosphere will raise hell.

Will it happen? Hard to say.

As protective as Jobs is of Apple's upcoming product releases, I think he loves the blogger/fanboy chatter, speculation, photoshopping, and rumor-mongering. He probably has a running list of the rumors that are furthest from reality clipped somewhere in his office just to give him a chuckle from time to time.

The question is, which rumors are right?