Before the massive gadget show and tell at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) begins (this Sunday!), we caught wind of a few advance tidbits in addition to our usual roundup of news and gizmos from the tech world. The big headline-stealer was LG's plans to create a player that reads both HD DVD and Blu-ray, those two disc formats that are vying to be the successor to DVD. Also (almost) ready for action: double-sided LCD screens and a couple of fun portables from iPod-competitor iriver. We also took a look back to remind ourselves to temper our CES expectations, since we were able to together a list of very exciting products from last year's show that never made it to stores. More news from the pre-Terabyte Era:

Saturday: Remote webcam shuns AC power, has sunny disposition
Sunday: Glow-in-the-dark paper lights up your life
Tuesday: Fingerprint doorbell to keep you more secure than necessary
Wednesday: Walletex MP3 player fits, unsurprisingly, in your wallet
Thursday: SHIFT: Making the HDTV upgrade without losing your shirt
Friday: Emoticon transmitter: Your mood unleashed