One thing that struck me as I walked through the displays of gadgets and gizmos at the International Consumer Electronics Show was how CES 2010 had made good on a word that was often used in the last decade, but hadn't seen much mention recently: "convergence."

The idea of living room convergence, where multiple technologies come together in the comfort of one room, used to be an often mentioned dream of technology innovators who wanted to accomplish the tasks performed by TVs, VCRs, computers, telephones and more via a single box that could live on a shelf in your house.

The use of the term died out at CES over the years, but recently, we've begun to see the dream become reality. Last year saw the rise of Netflix streaming movies coming via the Internet to XBox 360s, PS3 and Internet-enabled Blu-ray players. This year, it arrives in the form of HDTVs with built-in app stores that can run games, get weather updates or stream movies directly from multiple network sources.

One of the apps that I saw that I think will make a huge impact over time was the Skype app on a few Panasonic and LG HDTVs shown at CES. The technology that allows video conferencing using a webcam and Internet connection isn't new, but the ease with which it can be performed with an app built into the TV will make adoption and use explode. Could Skype-enabled HDTVs kill home telephone lines more than mobile phones have?

Another example of convergence is the ease with which Blue Label 2.0 laptops from Toshiba, Dell and Sony can connect wirelessly to an HDTV using Intel's new Wireless Display technology . A Netgear HDMI wireless receiver connects to the HDMI port on your TV and setup consists of a few clicks on the laptop. Computing from the couch will be easier than ever.

So what's the future of convergence? Well, check out the predictions of the Geek Squad Chief Inspector for our guess. Hint: It may involve bionic eyes.

Looking Forward to 2010

Living room convergence wasn't the only thing I'm looking forward to this year thanks to CES. There were a number of products I came across on the show floor that I can't wait to find in my local Best Buy. (Hopefully we’ll carry them.)

The first were the Transformer USB flash drives shown at the Toshiba booth. Just like regular flash drives, they provide an easy way to keep your data with you and accessible in just about any computer. However, they also provide entertainment for a child of the ‘80s such as myself by transforming into robot animals just like the toys did from my youth. What's the point of being an adult, if you can't act like a kid sometimes?

Moving from silly to serious, I'm also really excited by the number of green portable charging solutions I came across on the CES show floor. I love the idea of having an efficient portable solar panel gadget that I can pop onto the dash of my car to suck up the sun while I'm out and then easily charge my SmartPhone on the go.

Speaking of cars, the automobile of the future never sounded so good as it did in Microsoft's auto display, with Ford Sync, Kia's UVO and Fiat's eco:Drive all running apps to control your phone, MP3 player and more via touch screens and voice control. As a geek, I can see my future automotive purchasing decisions being greatly influenced by how many apps that auto can run.

For the most part, however, I can pretty much say that as a geek, I look forward to EVERYTHING we saw at CES 2010. If there's anything you think you missed, check out the rest of our CES coverage.

Now I need to start planning for CES 2011.