We are still roughly 6 months out for the January 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, but there is already talk about the keynote speech from Steve Ballmer. Reportedly giving the public their first taste of Windows 8 with the release of a public beta, Ballmer is going to get the crowd excited, as usual.

Microsoft’s upcoming BUILD developer event in September is expected to bring some more Windows 8 news, but more specific to developers rather than public end user consumption.

Microsoft has been keynoting at CES for a number of years and 2012 will be no different. Ballmer is set to take to the stage at 6:30PM on Monday January 9 in The Venetian. Microsoft has previously introduced the original Xbox and Avatar Kinect during its keynote address. The software giant used CES 2009 to launch the first public beta of its Windows 7 operating system.