Thursday, January 08, 2009

My technical wish-list for 2009

Talking about the New Year - What do I expect from the technical perspective? Here comes my wish-list which is a blend of my expectations and the trends I see in general for 2009.

  • A better support for effective parallel programming, also with a more implicit approach
  • New solutions to interact with smart devices (cell phones) to overcome tiny keyboards and cumbersome handling
  • A synthesis of a Handheld-GPS and a simple mobile phone to reduce the number of devices in the outdoors (let’s call it a rugged GPS-Phone)
  • Cool applications (and gadgets) making use of the so-called “cloud computing”
  • GPS and RFID in much more tools and gadgets (cameras, mobile phones, bikes…) with the option to switch it off anytime
  • Location Based Services (ez to use, respecting privacy, useful) with real benefits for the user
  • NetBooks for all known OS platforms
  • Home automation for mainstream households; many use cases are conceivable and could help saving energy, this would give the buzzword “Green IT” a very new meaning
  • More awareness of security and privacy issues in a connected world which leads to new options to protect digital information, assets, and people’s privacy
  • E-books based on gadgets and applications that create a new reading experience; don’t get me wrong, I will always stick to real books made of paper but I see E-books as a interesting alternative beyond the advantage to carry a lot of books wedged in a handy device when travelling
  • A new album from my favorite band TOOL
  • Anything to add? Feel free to comment.