Welcome to CNET Top 5, where each time we meet, we count down another hot CNET
list. I'm Tom Merritt.
Every year at this time you get assaulted with predictions for the coming year. But
nobody let's you see how well they did last year.
Let's fix that and count down the Top 5 worst predictions of 2008.
At No. 5, Facebook will release a browser. I had forgotten all about this little gem, until I
started digging into last year's predictions. It cropped up in several Web 2.0 blogs. But
let's give them some credit, they were close. They just guessed the wrong Internet
darling. Google launched a new browser.
Coming in at No. 4, rampant smartphone viruses. There were lots of very accurate
predictions of the rise of smartphones, but along with them were the doomsayers warning
of security nightmares. Cell networks are still so locked down, it makes it hard. They
haven't happened...yet.
Up to No. 3, The high-definition DVD war will continue. Remember the high-definition
DVD war? This prediction didn't last through the first week of the year, as HD-DVD
folded at CES 2008. Now the predictions that nobody would care who won...have proved
accurate.
Sliding in at No. 2.Google to dominate cell phones. The hype around Android plus the
news that Google was bidding on the 700MHz spectrum really fired people's
imaginations. The fact is, Google wasn't interested in owning spectrum and Android has
just barely made it out of the gate. Maybe next year?
Before we get to No. 1, we must be fair and look at the most idiotic predictions I made
last year. What Sony Kool-Aid was I slurping at last years holiday party?
All right, let's get to our No. 1. The worst prediction made by many people about what
would happen in the tech world in 2008.
At No. 1, It's....
The Apple digital camera. Most of these stories dragged out an old picture of an Apple
camera from the 1980s and speculated that photography would be the next market Steve
Jobs would try to dominate. Problem is, the camera is getting subsumed into the
smartphone and Apple's already there. So it's not terribly likely that Apple would ever go
with a standalone digicam anymore than a standalone GPS. Sorry folks. But I don't think
this one's ever coming true.
Well That's it for this edition of CNET Top 5. See our top 5 predictions for 2009 for our
best guess at what will happen this year.
And yes, we'll check on those in a year's time.
I'm Tom Merritt. See you next time
