Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Technology Predictions for 2008

As many writers who concentrate on information technology will do at the end of the year; I, too, will prognosticate on what will be hot for 2008. In no particular order, here are ten of my predictions.

1) Bandwidth changes will be coming. It would be easy to leave it at that, but I think the United States is on the verge of some major changes to the bandwidth infrastructure. I believe the largest change will have to do with the price per speed. Either the price will go down, with little change in speed; or, price will remain about the same and we will get more speed for our bucks. This will be driven by wireless broadband and the fiber to the curb.

2) Increasing availability for wireless Internet access. Verizon and AT&T will step up their offerings for WiFi Internet access. This will add significant competition to Cable TV internet access. The result will be more competitive pricing and packages for consumers. This competition will do more for innovation than Net Neutraility.

3) Fiber to the curb will be more of an option for consumers. Our thirst for bandwidth and regulations on copper will be driving factors in the telecommunication companies offering fiber to the pole (or curb) for consumer access.

4) Google will become a telecommunication infrastructure company. Google will bid, and win, the 700MHz spectrum bid and will become a telecommunication company. They will probably team up with an existing wireless company and merge their infrastructures with Google’s “Dark Fiber” network. The gPhone will be a part of this.

5) Microsoft will dominate the mobile application space. This will be a short-win because stiff competition with Google’s Android offering. Apple will have the IPhone, Google will have the GPhone, and Microsoft will have Windows Mobile 6 and the legion of .net developers. People will like the “Eye Candy” from Apple and the “Open’ness” of Android; however, the easy of .netcf and the corporate-adoption of Mobile 6 will prevail – for 2008.

6) Apple will continue on their world domination fight in the consumer electronics space. Look for a few more iPhone announcements and the eventual merging of iPod and iPhone. Apple will also move into the video distribution game, utilizing some “iMediaDevice” and Apple TV.

7) Botnets will move from the “Hacker” world to the “Corporate” world and the legitimate use of this parallel system will take root. The business world will not know how to do this. Perhaps the emergence of a “Corporate IntraBotNet” system will spring up. Hummmmm.

8) Corporate VoIP will be the next killer application. Microsoft will take the lead in providing the merging of Telephone, IM, and Email. We will see more “Headsets” on desks and slow decrease in telephones. 2008 will mark the year the traditional desk phone starts to go extinct.

9) Ajax and Silverlight will weigh heavy on the minds of developers. Maybe 2008 will see a possible solution to the desire to have “Disconnected Web Applications.”

10) Sun will make another stab at re-branding Java. Renewed interest in the Java Applet will be fueled by the legions of Java developers already familiar with programming, but want something better than Ajax and Silverlight. Applets may be a possible answer to “Disconnected Web Applications.”

Those are mine... what do you predict for 2008?