Technology Predictions for 2006

In no particular order:

1) Google will continue to innovate with more hosted solutions. The effect of this will be continued increases in Google’s stock price. Is a split in store for 2006? Maybe a Google home-device.

2) More companies will settle on using Microsoft’s .NET architecture. Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 will fuel this.

3) Java will continue to be the programming language of choice for corporate America. C#, however, will close the gap. In St. Louis, Monster.com is reporting 39% (98 to 38). By the end of the year, expect to see Java with only a 15% lead. J2EE will see a decline and will be replaced with Spring/Hibernate frameworks.

4) Cell phones will continue to increase in use. By the end of the year, video messages will be the rave with teenagers.

5) On-line video will start to become more prevalent. Content providers will still be trying to apply television-style revenue patterns, but this will not bode for the new medium. A new revenue technique will be needed in order for this to be successful. Expect to see a new wave of RIAA/MPAA lawsuits.

6) Sony will release the PS3 and will usher in a new era of multi-media. The PS3 will overtake the XBOX 360 both in popularity and in games. The PS3 may become the media-convergence device.

7) Linux will still not be ready for prime time at home. This will change in 2007. Red Hat, IBM, and Apple will have a stake in this.

8) Popular Application Frameworks for 2006:
a. Eclipse
b. Spring
c. Google Earth
d. Microsoft .NET Compact Framework
e. Firefox

9) VoIP will continue to be big. Expect to see more PC-based use both in home and business use. Employees will notice they no longer need a telepone at their desk. Headsets with a microphone will be the replacement. Google, Vonage, and Skype will be leaders -- followed by Microsoft. EBay might be the first "Big" pusher of this.

10) Expect announcements in alternative energy -- particularly in BioFuel and Solar.