2008 predictions

Google will buy the 700 mhzs spectrum, but will use it to launch an ISP and will not become a cell carrier.

The next Zune will be a huge hit among critics, but will do little to nothing in the consumer market.

At least one major IPTV company, possibly Revision 3, will be asked to launch their own network under the banner of a major network, but will decline.

Google's android OS will become a huge hit and will do a lot more than expected.

Vista will flounder until Microsoft takes some major measure, possibly stop support for XP, to push users to upgrade.

In order to combat the PS3's huge year of games, Microsoft will push Epic to release Gears of War 2 in November of '08.

2007 will be the year of downloadable content in games. Also, Microsoft will announce an initiative to put most 1st party games for download on XBL the day they are released.

Playstation home will release with little to no fanfare and will be a flop.

Wii sales will slow, but it will still dominate. In order to increase software sales, which will still be floundering due to people only buying Wii for Wii Sports, Nintendo will introduce a huge campaign of cheap, easy to pick up and play casual games. These will be released under some sort of mutual banner, similar to Touch Generations, and will be heavily advertised. They will use this to integrate current Wii owners into the major gaming market and will help expand the industry.

Google's Android platform will introduce new ways for mobile devices to integrate your call history, GPS locations throughout the day, your timestamped photos/videos, and your messaging usage to map out a detailed personal "history" of your mobile life. For instance, if you forgot what you did or where you went on a specific date, your mobile device will be able to pull up the information and paint a detailed [Google] map along with a fourth dimensional scroller for time.

Mobile communities will be driven in real-time where you can instantly view opt-in users around your vicinity and see where certain photos or videos were shot and shared. The Android platform will revolutionize the way communities share information, therefore Google's reliance on user information gathering will become more apparent. Privacy and security risks will be questioned, but by the end of 2008 Google will have changed one major rule - You are not the controller of your mobile device as a tool, you merely become a pushpin within a larger scheme of data collection.

My predictions for 2008:

1. <strong>Wii HD</strong> (native support) - it just needs to happen
2. <strong>Apple TV + Blu-ray</strong> - make the Apple TV buyable again
3. <strong>MMOG on a Console</strong> - there's room for a WoW-like console game

About 7-10 years ago Bill Gates, BM (Before Monopoly), wrote a very interesting article and picture of a tri-fold personal computer. It included 2 screens, keyboard, voice commands, camera, 2 screens, long lasting battery but also included solar power. You could see and talk to whomever you were on the phone with. It included touch screen as well. It was awesome. I cannot seem to find it anywhere in my Internet search. Anyhow, with all the high tech coming out in cells, smart cells, bluetooth, PIM's, pc's, IPODs etc, as well as google's new communication possibilities IT's TIME HAS COME. Its potential today would be unlimited and awesome. (Bill G., if you do it then PLEASE keep it inexpensive !)

Dell returns to life...USB memory gets cheaper...Palm hits the skids and Blackberry stock goes to $300...2009 conversion for digit TV gets postponed by an act of Congress...smartphones get smarter...GPS becomes standard in most cars for 2009 model year as does the iPod.

We'll see a hand-held networked device that offers unlimited storage capacity, sans HDD, using flash for local cache and Amazon S3 for main storage.


REFERENCE:
News items on ZDNet - SanDisk Cruzer flash drive with BeInSync software offers automatic Web storage:

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-6224346.html

::BLURAY BURNERS ARE GOING TO BECOME MORE FASTER IN WRITING SPEEDS.
::2008 NOTEBOOK COMPUTERS are going to have Dual Video Graphics Cards from Crossfire to SLi.
::SANTA ROSA CENTRINO PROCESSORS are going to outgrow NAPA Processors in 2008 with at least 2.0GHz now.
::HDMI 2.0 will begin.
::HD SD Cards for movies and games will replace DVDs and CDs.
::NOTEBOOKS will be more portable with longer battery life.

Why do people respond with "My Humble Prediction" ???

Prediction is not Humble, its a Prediction, or a mental Gamble (bet),
Or it could mean " "base born wretches with dirty faces"; "of humble (or lowly) birth"

My prediction is that wireless phone carriers will continue to fleece (rip-off) customers, by requiring, they sign TWO (2) year contracts.

Galactic Cannibal

I believe that the iPod Shuffle will have a screen with controls on the side.

Microsoft will get Vista working with 50% of the hardware that was purchased before Vista. In 2009 they will advance to hardware produced after Vista.

And here is a Big on. Microsoft OneCare will move into the 21st century and be able to backup files to a Wireless Network.

Do I sound a little sceptical? You bet!!

2008 will see high definition broadcasting via landline telephone wires. The viewer will be able to select multiple cameras and viewing angles with live sporting or other events. Cable companies and satellite providers will be on hard times without competitive pricing.

- Google will win the 700mhz auction
- Buy Sprint
- Make all connections VOIP / Wi-Max
- Release many phones with Android Software
- Offer tiered service - Free (many ads), 1/2 1/2, $20 month/unlimited nationwide
- Service will be limited because of slow Wi-Max Roll out

I hope all this will happen in 2008

Rick Tuinenburg
1/2/2008

I own a Shadow Ojo which enables me to see friends and loved ones who have access to broadband cable or DSL. The Ojo features a high resolution picture with smooth motion and audio synchrony for a realistic picture in real time!

You can see the Ojo at www.ojophone.com

For a mere $9.95 you can have unlimited video calls worldwide assuming there is an Ojo at each end.

The Ojo is also WiMax and WiFi ready or will be.

Since I'm outside the wall, and if I was inside the wall
I couldn't speak I would just say there will be another
surprise of the magnitude of the iPhone.

I have a short list:

A no hard drive portable with out a cd slot. I/O with plug in solid memory
sticks or wireless network for I/O. Disks would be read remotly in the hub. Maybe
a multi-disk attachment in the hub.
Battery life extended as a result. White LED's for screen illumination.

The ridiculous banter back and forth between Blue Ray and HD-DVD Formats will end. IPTV will come to dominate content and deliver movies and video in multiple resolutions. All early adopters of both HD-DVD and Blue Ray will be losers if their players can't be upgraded to read a combination format. LG will be laughing to the bank because they embraced this idea early and will be prepared with more affordable units. New set top boxes from cable and satellite operators will become home entertainment servers negating the need for a DVD player and only those folks that are DVD collectors will opt for a disc player of any sort. Expect more Internet companies to spring up to serve digital content directly to your computer and other mobile devices. The format war will be one small battle of the digital revolution.

The time has come to take the cell phone, Clock, camera, .mp3 player, appointment book, etc, and put it somewhere immediately available to everyone...THE WRIST.

With cell phones being so small anyway, it won't take much ingenuity to strap the little suckers on our wrists, leaving both hands free...one for the steering wheel and one for the Big Mac.

Also, users are going to start demanding that a certain aspect of their cell phone be PRIMO...like, a much better camera.

This will eventually lead to "modular phones/PDA's" that will fit together like LEGOs.

Consumers will then buy what they want (higher quality and higher price individually) while leaving unused features behind.

Of course, both wrists are free, so for the sake of good body mechanics, the weight of components will likely be distributed evenly to both sides.

You heard it here first...

Thanks to the internet and the independent news over net by independent organizations people are realizing that the old media are hacks and are used as tools for the elite to reach their goals. My prediction is that this trend will mature on 2008 and the use of this technology -news over net by independent organizations- or NOMBIOs will awaken many main stream Americans to their actual enslavement to the banker elite.

One of the Titles on these NOMBIOs might read:

America Awakens from its Stupor to Reclaim Freedom!

The big surprise will be the updating/expansion of Windows XP into a full Vista look-alike, with a subsequent withdrawal of the pure Vista engine. If it doesn't happen, it should.

2008 will probably bring me a loss of employment and no means of replacing the antique computer that I'm barely getting by with.

I think two tech areas will have potential for real impact.

One, this will be the year that broadcast television starts to die. A local TV news director told me that he thought over-the-air TV had cornered the 'trailer park' market and when the advertisers figured out viewers couldn't afford their products, the game was up. The Internet, (wireless and fixed) will begin to take over delivery of entertainment programming - watch whatever whenever.

The second area with potential impact is the Stanford breakthrough in silicon nanowire lithium ion batteries. If it holds up in testing, A 10x improvement in energy storage that can be recharged in minutes is a 'world class' game changer. That would make the battery electric car a hands down winner. Portable electronics will never be the same. Combined with solar and wind energy, that kind of energy storage can change the world. The 2008 impact will be seen in how the auto industry changes their plans for future automobiles.

I, the Cruzan Sailor (nothing to do with religion, but being from StCroix, USVI) freely predict, that all the good members of the CNET forum will send me all of their personal information, such as Bank account numbers, PIN numbers, all of their credit card data, including that funny little 3 digit number on the back, all the passwords, answers to secret questions, such as, what is your mothers IUD size, maiden name, your grand fathers occupation etc etc etc...You get the picture. All of this information will only be used in strictest confidence, by my associates in St Petersburg, Russia, as well as their associates from Bank Leumi in Tel Aviv, to veryfy all that information, and then you will receive 10.000.000 US Dollars that my wife, a petroleum engineer in Nigeria was paid in cash, but unfortunately she passed away before she could turn it into blood diamonds, and little childrens Kidneys and Livers. So please send all that info in total confidence to me. TRUST ME! Why would I lie to you? I don't even know you! Please do it now, before this once in a lifetime offer expires. If you act now, I will even throw in some Viagra, Let you buy full copies of Photoshop CS3 for $50, some hacked copied of Windows Vista Business, and let you look at some of my exclusive porn. Reply now to cruzansailor@gmail.com .
Dog Bless you!

I've upload this story on below my blog the other day.

http://asia.cnet.com/member/kalmo/blog/?v=post&id=63001661

Please check out the post and drop me a your opinions!

cheers,
Kev

Contrary to previous comments, I believe that wireless for handhelds is going to drop. Why you ask? Look at what a handheld can do, and I mean in the fact of the user not having access to a laptop at all or using the handheld for a teathered modem: email, phone, and in some cases GPS. Beyond that, useless. Show me one salesperson who can honestly say he can, like the commercials, do all of his/her editing of presentations/spreadsheets/word processing on a handheld without the use of a handheld -- again nothing. What I predict that we will see is laptops and tablets merging. What I mean by that is simply the laptop becoming thinner, allowing the screen to simply slide inside (no flip top cover stuff), quad core with more memory and drive space, and wireless-N by default. Unless handhelds can be produced that remove the screen and keyboard, giving more room for larger memory/storage/speed, and in place project the screen and project the keyboard (as there are projecting keyboards on ThinkGeek and 3D prototype screens created already), the handheld will be nothing more than an overbloated keyboard. For other technology:

- Plasma shelved since LCDs are cheaper to produce and comparable
- Desktops all but eliminated (go to the large corporations out there, and you're hard pressed to find someone using a desktop instead of a laptop)
- Memory replacing mass storage (conserve power, increase speed of file transfer/paging)
- Microsoft/Apple offering Windows Mobile / IPod combinations on devices, to compete with Research In Motion for the corporate side and Nokia/Motorola for the consumer side
- Nintendo to offer wider range of controllers/games that use glove/shoe devices, marketing their game stations as replacements for personal trainers and cardio gym memberships (don't laugh, senior citizen homes are already purchasing Wii's to help keep their residents healthy and in shape, and it's working well)
- cable/dsl technologies to fade within two years, with residential services done via fiber optics for half the current costs of dsl/cable, billed/controlled as local city services.
- For the US, if Democrats win all internet traffic fully monitored for any and all traffic (Hollywood are the Democrats friend -- still think they'd let you do peer-to-peer in private) and if Republicans win service will remain the same as now but voice over IP (VOIP) all routed through Homeland Security offices (being it's data so no problems to capture and save all conversations, including all the details of originator/destination) if it isn't already the case
- With the oil over $100/barrel now, China about to import cars selling for less than $10,000, India about to import cars selling for less than $2500 (don't believe me, do a search) and the Big Three fighting to keep afloat, will succumb to use of hydrogen cars (hydrogen in -- water out, no reliance OPEC, nice big banner to show industrialized West is being much more caring of environment over import nations, etc), and though realizing cars may break down less, know green factor will sell much more cars to those currently taking public transit.

So, in a nutshell, healthy/powerful products in, underpowered/polluters out, and either way on the election will mean privacy lost one way or another.

Happy 2008 to all.

I will get off this mail list.

I predict that we will see many small developments and relatively few large ones. I bought a new Vista machine several months ago and it really was a JUNK, unreliable, frustrating, freeze-up prone, GPF (remember those from Windows 95?) producing, piece of garbage. I eventually had to upgrade to XP to have a functioning computer. I recently bought another Vista machine which is a completely different animal. Though it is still a step backward from XP (which garners no medals itself), the updates since the early days seem to have smoothed out many of the bumps. I read somewhere that SP1 will make Vista more compatible with many older programs that it will currently not run properly. My prediction No.1 is that SP1 coupled with continuing updates will put Vista "on the map" in 2008.

#2: Solid state mass storage devices (remember the phrase, "solid state"?) will make inroads to replacing conventional hard drives in portable as well as desktop computers. 2008 will be the year that this transition really gets underway.

#3 Online applications will become commonplace and quite popular in 2008. Zoho, as well as some other applications are making ripples in that direction now.

#4 Home Servers will become a buzzword in 2008 as more and more home networks sample the conveniences that a home server network provides.

Creative come out with the first 32Gb flash player, eat your heart out apple. The portaple xbox fith the us of high capasity flash cards, not mini dvds like the psp uses. Were talking 16-32 GB Flash card games like wat the DS uses currently. Sometime in 2010 the Portable Xbox will be released. For this and next CES expext to see more of Microsoft zune grow up to the Zune phone in 2008.

My 2008 pediction is that someone will invent jumper cables for my prostrate, so I may piss in a short period of time.

1. VOIP will re-invent the PABX, NOT kill it!
2. Terminal Services usage will grow exponentially.
3. In Austalia, Telcos/Carriers will have to start justifying their existance!
4. Broadband in Australia will still be less than Third World, while Bureaucrats twiddle their thumbs!