As long as Apple is bringing over high-end displays to its portables, I'd like to see it add Siri functionality to OS X. While I'm skeptical that Siri -- still officially in beta on the iPhone 4S -- will make its debut in Mountain Lion, I'm hoping dictation will. Currently, OS X is capable of speech recognition for limited voice commands, courtesy of the Speakable Items service. It's been a part of the Mac OS since the mid-1990s, and mostly ignored for just as long.

Given that iMacs are , watch for a move to Intel's Ivy Bridge processors. Even more in need of an upgrade is the Mac Pro line, which hasn't seen major changes in two years. (AppleInsider last week . The best news there: Apple appears to already be shipping the hardware to stores, meaning it'll be available right away.)

Apple is also likely to talk up iCloud, though it's less clear exactly what features Cook may have up his sleeve for Apple's cloud/syncing service. (One possibility: the ability to include videos in photo streaming.) Also unclear -- and this is the biggest question mark to me -- is the future of AppleTV.

I'm not talking an actual Apple TV. No one knows when or whether Apple will ever produce such a device. But Cook could begin laying the groundwork now. If there's ever going to be a TV from Apple, it makes sense for the company to introduce a software development kit (SDK) sooner rather than later. An SDK would help developers build an army of apps for existing AppleTV devices so that an Apple-branded TV would arrive with a thriving app ecosystem. So, while a bona fide Apple TV will be a no-show, there's a decent possibility for an AppleTV SDK -- especially since Apple is expected to show off .