Obvious Diversion

The OS Wars Are Back with
Mac OS X 10.5 vs. Windows Vista

The OS wars will come back this year after being dormant for over a decade.

Microsoft will be releasing Windows Vista while Apple is sure to have another Mac OS X update on the way. It will more than likely be the story of the year because of the giant PR push Microsoft will put into Vista and the nostalgia of these two old foes going at it again.

Steve Jobs is setting up the Apple so that every time Vista is mentioned, it’s compared to OS X 10.5.

Too make the prediction even spicier, OS X 10.5 will support the majority of Windows applications out of the box.

Card-Carrying Nerds Will Ditch Mobiles for Wifi Phones

Nerds will continue to live a few years into the future as they ditch their mobile phones for the first set of half-decent wifi phones, a harbinger of mainstream things to come. It’ll scare the crap out of the price gouging mobile companies, as it should.

Google to Be Seen As Chaotic, but Healthy

Google will spend this year looking less like a monolithic empire and more like a disorganized hydra, and that’s just fine. I don’t consider this a bad thing for them at all, although others will.

Online Video Options Will Be Everywhere, But the Warm Arms of iTunes Will Feel Like Home

This will be the year of insane online video delivery models. Will people buy videos through iTunes or through Google’s web-based interface or rent them through an online rental service set up by the likes of Starz or order videos through your cable box? The answer to all of these questions is “yes”, but Apple will come out ahead due to a solid headstart, a refined store and device experience and the extra tanks of liquid cool they have in reserve. Everyone else will end up fighting for leftovers.

“High Speed” Broadband in the USA Will Be Far Too Slow, Will Hurt Growth of National Economy

This will also be the same year that people in the United States realize their “high-speed” broadband internet connection is too damn slow when it takes more than ten minutes to download the movie they just bought. The lack of investment in high speed internet in the US as well as allowing the local monopoly data access systems to choke any real competition will hurt the emerging digital economy. South Korea will laugh at us as they move smoothly ahead.

The Battle for the Digital Living Room Begins (Finally!)

The battle for the digital living room will actually begin this year after years of endless talk but no action. The contenders will be Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s Playstation 3, Apple’s Yet-To-Be-Unveiled Mystery Device and Nintendo’s Revolution.

No winners will be declared of course, but I do predict that Microsoft and Sony will find themselves being financially drained by the battle while Apple and Nintendo gain both marketshare and profits.

Multi-Year Prediction: Nintendo is About to Take Back the #1 Spot in Gaming

Here’s my way out, long-term technology prediction. When the dust settles five years from now on Xbox 360 vs. Sony PS3 vs. Nintendo Revolution, Nintendo will take first place in gaming systems sold as well as profits worldwide.

Agree? Disagree? Think I’m not getting enough protein in my diet? Let me know.