Philadelphia Daily News Plugged In column: The stuff we saw at CES that you'll really want.

Byline: Jonathan Takiff

Jan. 17--THE GIZMO: Flashpoints from CES. What was the most important news at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas? Many reporters were wowed by Sharp's gigantic, 108-inch LCD TV, though it's likely only a few dozen will be made. Others were hyping Apple's iPhone, even though it was unveiled at the rival MacWorld Expo in San Francisco. (No wonder CES execs have been courting Apple to exhibit in Vegas!)

For news we can really use, the following developments topped my list at last week's gathering. INTERACTIVE CABLE TV WITHOUT THE BOX: You may have heard about the CableCARD. It's a small, smart device that's inserted into a compatible ("CableCARD ready") TV set so you can tune digital and analog cable channels without a separate, set-top cable box (or second remote control). Problem is, the first CableCARDs and compatible TVs offered only "one-way" signal …