Last night, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates opened CES with an opening show that was about what we’ve come to expect; it was high energy, humorous, and over the top.

This year, there was also quite a bit of nostalgia. Gates, who no longer works in the trenches at Microsoft, has intimated that this 10th CES may be his last. Rather than rigorous techno-speak, Gates opted to mirror the gee-whiz factor of the CES with a light-hearted and optimistic keynote.

The speech was peppered with video appearances and comedy bits featuring newscaster Brian Williams,  Bob Costas, and  Robbie Bach (Microsoft’s’ head of Entertainment and Devices). One of the highlights was  a satirical ‘Last Day at Microsoft’ video that included a session with Gates and his trainer. Gates also made prankish calls to Hillary Clinton, Al Gore and Barack Obama (the last two didn’t play along).

There were some unveilings - a touch-screen computer that looks like a glass coffee table,  a collaboration for reporting the 2008 Olympics, and something that’s still in R&D,  a personal facial recognition  device.

Facial recognition devices are nothing new, and in fact are a source of high controversy in the US. (Other countries, like Iceland, have implemented them for security & immigration purposes for years).  Gates said his version will also be able to recognize places, which caused the minds of the attendees to whir with possible applications.

Finally, Bach challenged Gates to a duel of Guitar Hero -  the impossibly popular and hard-to-get video game. Bach used a ringer, so Gates said he would too. And onto the stage walked Slash, the Guns N’ Roses guitarist who is the template for a duel opponent in Guitar Hero III. With Gates on the game guitar and Slash on a real thing, the two performed a musical duo.

With nothing to top that, the CES keynote was over and the conference officially begun.

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