For those heading to the International CES expo 2012 held in January, it would be a final chance to see a Microsoft booth there; and a final chance to, if you're lucky, get to shake hands with Badboy Steve (CEO Steve Ballmer). After 2012's expo, Microsoft doesn't plan to have a CES keynote, or even place their booth there. The company blames the annual timing of the expo for its decision to stop setting up big presence at CES. It says that its product and service launches aren't able to align with CES' typical January timing.

In a press-note, the company said: "We'll continue to participate in CES as a great place to connect with partners and customers across the PC, phone and entertainment industries, but we won't have a keynote or booth after this year because our product news milestones generally don't align with the show's January timing."