In the forefront of everyone’s mind covering the Apple event today, there is probably a fervent little wish that at some point its legendary co-founder and chairman Steve Jobs will saunter on out to take a much-deserved bow.

That seems unlikely for a variety of reasons — most especially because it would take the focus off Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook and also the new products being featured.

It certainly would be something to see, even if it would be difficult, in one stage moment, to encapsulate the profound impact of Jobs on Apple and on the tech world in general.

But it seems unlike Jobs to do that, mostly because it would be too obvious, too rote and too much of a Hollywood wrap-it-all-up cliche.

And, most of all, because it’s not different — a guiding idea that has always been at the heart of Apple and its best motto ever.

I thought a lot about that today, looking over all the frantic speculation about exactly what Apple would release this morning, and all the piles and piles of news stories, tweets and more about it all.

That has become typical around any Apple announcement, of course, and it can become more than a little wearying at times.

That said, when you take a moment to step back and think about it, all the hubbub is perhaps a good thing, given that a lot of it is about what could be done, what might be made, what people really hope for in technology.

That’s because — unlike other, more prosaic tech companies, who all make a lot of cool stuff, too — much of the crazy swirl around Apple seems to be about what’s possible and what could be.

And that is at the heart of the most important “one more thing” that Steve Jobs has given to Silicon Valley and beyond.

Which is to say, the impetus to think different.

In fact, it’s hard to say just how critical it is in this world today to zig in an opposite way from the safe norm, and to do it with a confidence that belies the difficulty of that shift.

In small tech ways, Jobs has done that again and again, dumping everything from removable batteries to Flash to internal disk drives to whatever he thought needed the heave-ho.

These are not easy decisions for a big tech company to make. But they are ones that are often muddled through by too many executives, to little effect and no definitive change, leaving a mushy pile of nothing.

As I like to say about a lot of big companies I cover — they think small, and then, well, think smaller.

For all its pros and cons, that has never been Apple under Jobs, and I hope that continues.

Jobs sounded a lot of the same arguments in his famous 2005 speech at Stanford University, in which he famously said: “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

So in honor of his massive contribution: Let’s.

It reminds me of a poem by Shel Silverstein that I always read to my kids — so much so that they are more than a bit tired of hearing it, even if I never am:

Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child,
Listen to the DON’Ts
Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON’TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me –
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.

And while it is perhaps just another iPhone or whatever doodad Apple whips out today, the real point of it — and what Jobs has taught tech — is that it can be anything.

Enjoy:

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After all these years of covering tech, after too many words on Apple and its CEO Steve Jobs, after even interviewing the tech icon several times onstage at various D: All Things Digital conferences over the years, BoomTown is a little embarrassed to admit that I have never attended in person one of the legendary keynote speeches delivered by him.

What ho? Never seen the man–who is known for blowing the doors off any room he headlines–work his apparent magic on the enthralled crowd? Never seen him handle that presentation clicker like Mozart conducting one his operas? Never heard him utter the immortal phrase, “one more thing,” to be immediately followed by much audience oohing and ahhing?

No. I have not. And, as much as I like to ooh and ahh, nope!

We always send a crack team from All Things Digital to these various Apple (AAPL) events, but I have not been part of that thus far, opting to watch the proceedings online at ATD HQ.

But this year I finally said yes to an invite and will apparently get to see Jobs unveil one of the more anticipated and potentially innovative new devices from the Silicon Valley computer icon. It will most certainly be the long-expected tablet that I predicted will be called the iPad.

“You are going to love it and want to come to all our events,” wrote one Apple exec to me about the Wednesday gathering in San Francisco, which immediately made me think of the iPods, oops, pods, in the sci-fi movie classic, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”

Note to self: Do not fall asleep.

All joking aside, I will be curious to be at this event, since the level of media hype–which is typical–seems to have reached even higher than I ever thought possible, including one report today about how people have “overheard” Jobs saying that the tablet is the most important thing he has ever done.

Ooh. Ahh. How about we all wait and see first?

Until then, send your advice as to the do’s and don’ts of attending the Jobs revival meeting, especially tips on whether I need to set my phaser on “stun” for disabling fervent Apple fanboys if they get too excited.

Also, what should I wear? A black mock turtleneck, jeans and sneakers too much?

Video to come, as usual, along with all of our terrific coverage from ATD.

And, finally, I really hope it is not as cheesy as this bizarre video about how to present like Steve Jobs. My two cents as an expert-to-be on how to do that: Be Steve Jobs.

iPhone OS 4.0. And the iPhone 4G–on Verizon (VZ).

That’s the word from Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek, who believes there’s “a good chance” we’ll hear about all three come next Wednesday.

“Together with our semi-conductor partners, we have ascertained that there is a reasonable chance the Asian supply chain is prepping for mass production of a new iPhone in March, for availability in late Q2, likely June,” Misek wrote in a note to clients today.

“The phone will be carried on Verizon and hence will operate on the CDMA network,” he asserts, adding, “however, it will also support European GSM and HSPA standards. An updated 4GS version that will support LTE is anticipated to arrive in June 2011.”

As to the cost, the analyst expects change. “At this moment, we have not heard about the pricing of the device, but believe it will be different from what it is at the moment. While we remain of the view that tiered data plans are imminent, our checks indicate the new iPhone from Verizon will still come with an unlimited data plan.”

Now, I have no idea how much credence to give speculation like this, nor do I have any insider insight into Apple’s carrier negotiations. But I will say this: It seems unlikely that Apple will announce a new iPhone and carrier partnership right after unveiling a brand new, and presumably revolutionary, product.

It might do so before, though. After all, the debut of the iPhone at Macworld 2007 was prefaced by the announcement of Apple TV.

[Image credit: Robert Davis / iLounge]

• Three new pricing tiers in April: $.99, $.69 and $1.29
• iTunes Plus eight million songs DRM-free today. By the end of this quarter, all songs will be DRM-free in iTunes Plus
• Finally, the iTunes store will be available to iPhone and iPod touch users via Wi-Fi AND 3G networks beginning today.

This is a big step for Apple (AAPL), says Phil Schiller, and a big step for music. And with that, he welcomes Tony Bennett to the stage to close out Apple’s final Macworld. Bennett’s first song: “The Best is Yet to Come,” followed quickly by a second, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”

After a few parting words from Schiller, the keynote address ends. No jaw-dropper announcements, no cameo appearance from Jobs, but a good keynote just the same. Schiller did his boss proud, I think.

Over at Kaufman Bros., analyst Shaw Wu is betting on new iMacs as well as a sneak preview of Mac OS X 10.6 Leopard. “Our sense is that investor expectations [for Macworld] are fairly modest since it was announced that CEO Steve Jobs wouldn’t be the keynote speaker,” he wrote in a recent research note. “Nonetheless, we view new Macs as a positive catalyst as Apple’s desktop business (iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro) needs a refresh to re-ignite sales.”

“There will not be any revolutionary products at this year’s event,” writes Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who anticipates the announcement of an updated iMac, possibly a redesigned Mac mini and little else.

Analyst Ben Reitzes of Barclays Capital expects a new iMac to the big announcement in an otherwise “neutral event.”

Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi has similarly low expectations. “We expect MacWorld to be relatively unexciting, with the major highlights likely to be (1) a demonstration of Mac OSX 10.6 “SnowLeopard,” (2) new Mac desktops (iMac, MacMini) incorporating the same Nvidia chipset in the new MacBooks, and (3) a modest update to the AppleTV,” he writes. “A new iPhone is unlikely, in our view, though we do expect Apple to introduce a lower-end iPhone model within the first half of the year. Apple announced three weeks ago that this will be its last appearance at MacWorld, and that CEO Steve Jobs will not deliver the keynote this year. Given this, and a relative lack of new product rumors, we do not expect any big surprise announcements at MacWorld.”

Over at Kaufman Bros., analyst Shaw Wu is betting on new iMacs as well as a sneak preview of Mac OS X 10.6 Leopard. “Our sense is that investor expectations [for Macworld] are fairly modest since it was announced that CEO Steve Jobs wouldn’t be the keynote speaker,” he wrote in a recent research note. “Nonetheless, we view new Macs as a positive catalyst as Apple’s desktop business (iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro) needs a refresh to re-ignite sales.”

“There will not be any revolutionary products at this year’s event,” writes Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who anticipates the announcement of an updated iMac, possibly a redesigned Mac mini and little else.

Analyst Ben Reitzes of Barclays Capital expects a new iMac to the big announcement in an otherwise “neutral event.”

Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi has similarly low expectations. “We expect MacWorld to be relatively unexciting, with the major highlights likely to be (1) a demonstration of Mac OSX 10.6 “SnowLeopard,” (2) new Mac desktops (iMac, MacMini) incorporating the same Nvidia chipset in the new MacBooks, and (3) a modest update to the AppleTV,” he writes. “A new iPhone is unlikely, in our view, though we do expect Apple to introduce a lower-end iPhone model within the first half of the year. Apple announced three weeks ago that this will be its last appearance at MacWorld, and that CEO Steve Jobs will not deliver the keynote this year. Given this, and a relative lack of new product rumors, we do not expect any big surprise announcements at MacWorld.”

BoomTown is not saying it’s going to be like watching grass grow.

But 2009 is not exactly getting off to a rousing start this week–with a pair of definitely underwhelming blockbuster tech events taking place that already have more of an air of whimper than of bang to them.

That would be the Consumer Electronics Show, the annual egregious gadgetfest in Las Vegas, and the final appearance by Apple (AAPL) at Macworld in San Francisco.

Of course, while CES tries to fend off the spate of no-one-is-going-to-CES stories–well, I am!–the absence of his digital Holiness and Apple CEO Steve Jobs at Macworld has really generated most of the glumness.

[UPDATE: In a public letter, Jobs says he has a "hormone imbalance" and will stay on as CEO as he recovers.]

Still, the keynote cancellation by Jobs–which started off a new round of is-he-sicker? rumors–is profoundly depressing for Macworld.

After all, it was only two years ago that he practically blew out every geek mind with the introduction of the iPhone there. (See a part of that masterful performance in a video below.)

Thus, it falls to Apple’s SVP of Worldwide Product Marketing, Phil Schiller, to be thrilling–with exactly what, it is still unclear. Rumors abound, none of which are very promising (New iLife and iWork! New Mac mini! Zzzzzzzz).

There is, of course, the vain hope that Schiller will end his speech by uttering Jobs’s patented “one more thing” line, wherein Jobs will walk out (without a walker!), wave and create what would be a genuine frenzy, especially since the last sighting of him was at a yogurt store.

As to CES, there is no big or new product trend to point to, except rumor of a possibly exciting intro of a touchscreen smartphone from Palm (PALM) with a slide-down keyboard. Wheeeee!

Some keynote speakers include Sony (SNE) CEO Sir Howard Stringer, Ford Motor Co. (F) CEO Alan Mulally, Intel (INTC) Chairman Craig Barrett and Cisco (CSCO) CEO John Chambers.

Interestingly, the absence of former Microsoft (MSFT) head Bill Gates at CES–long announced, after more than a dozen times there–caused no weeping and rending of garments, as did Jobs’s nonappearance.

In his place, there will be a keynote by the software giant’s CEO, Steve Ballmer, in which no major announcement seems to be coming.

Still, one can dream, and I desperately hope Ballmer will say “one more thing” and out will come Yahoo (YHOO) CEO Jerry Yang to announce a big honking search deal, finally putting to bed one of 2008′s longest-running soap operas.

What can I say? This is tech and, for us (okay, me, at least), that would be exciting.

Speaking of gripping, I dare you to watch this 2007 iPhone intro performance by Apple’s Jobs and not be deeply impressed by his stylings:

• A preview of Snow Leopard, the next iteration of Mac OS X
• A long overdue update to the Mac Mini
• New iMacs
• A Time Capsule home media server

Beyond that, there are rumors of an Apple tablet circulating once again. And there’s been some chatter about an iPhone Nano, but analysts are skeptical that we’ll see such devices uncrated Tuesday. “Frankly, we would be a little surprised if there is a major announcement,” Shaw Wu, Kaufman Bros. senior research analyst, wrote in a note to investors last week. “However, there is always the likelihood that Apple may surprise and send a message that Apple is a much broader and deeper company than one person, even if he/she is a living legend.”

Of course, there’s also the possibility that the living legend himself may be the big announcement. Given all the morbid speculation these past few months, the best “one more thing” of all could be Jobs himself making a cameo appearance–with, or without, a new product. “The beauty of this scenario is its simplicity,” Philip Elmer-DeWitt writes at Apple 2.0. “There are only two possibilities: Either Jobs shows up or he doesn’t. If he does, and looks no worse than he did at the Spotlight on Notebooks special event in October, the audience will erupt with applause, investors will be reassured, and Apple’s share price will soar.”

And if he doesn’t show? Well, that’s another matter entirely and one that may begin to tell us whether or not concerns about Jobs’s eventual departure from the company–whenever that may be and whatever form it may take–have finally been baked into Apple’s share price.

• A preview of Snow Leopard, the next iteration of Mac OS X
• A long overdue update to the Mac Mini
• New iMacs
• A Time Capsule home media server

Beyond that, there are rumors of an Apple tablet circulating once again. And there’s been some chatter about an iPhone Nano, but analysts are skeptical that we’ll see such devices uncrated Tuesday. “Frankly, we would be a little surprised if there is a major announcement,” Shaw Wu, Kaufman Bros. senior research analyst, wrote in a note to investors last week. “However, there is always the likelihood that Apple may surprise and send a message that Apple is a much broader and deeper company than one person, even if he/she is a living legend.”

Of course, there’s also the possibility that the living legend himself may be the big announcement. Given all the morbid speculation these past few months, the best “one more thing” of all could be Jobs himself making a cameo appearance–with, or without, a new product. “The beauty of this scenario is its simplicity,” Philip Elmer-DeWitt writes at Apple 2.0. “There are only two possibilities: Either Jobs shows up or he doesn’t. If he does, and looks no worse than he did at the Spotlight on Notebooks special event in October, the audience will erupt with applause, investors will be reassured, and Apple’s share price will soar.”

And if he doesn’t show? Well, that’s another matter entirely and one that may begin to tell us whether or not concerns about Jobs’s eventual departure from the company–whenever that may be and whatever form it may take–have finally been baked into Apple’s share price.