dynamo london

'Tis the time of year for looking back, and reminiscing. It is also the time for looking forward and predicting. So here are my "9 Things In 2009"

1. Apple releasing some sort of 'Touchscreen-Netbook-Newton-Big iPhone-Thing' There's been talk for quite a while of a full touchscreen MacBook, there were also rumours of a new 'bigger than an iPhone, Newton-like device' which probably also has a full touchscreen. Cap that with a MacBook Nano thing, and it all starts to come into focus. I think that Apple will release all of these things, as one thing. Probably something like an A5 sized iPhone, it will have all of its software managed through app store, like the iPhone. Or wirelessly from another computer with a CD drive (like a MacBook Air). It'll be multicolored and cheap!

2. Growing boredom with Facebook Just like we got bored with myspace and moved over to Facebook, we're all going to get bored of Facebook and move onto something else. Someone will successfully sue Facebook for holding private data and Facebook will be forced to shift its stance of holding information. And it'll crumble. We'll all find new social networks, someone will invent a Cross-Social-Network-Language (CSNL) which will allow us all to use a more niche social networks centred around things of more use (i.e. not SuperWalls). The new CSNL language will make someone very rich, that person wont share any of the money with me.

3. The commercialisation of Wikipedia At the moment wikipedia is solely supported by Wikimedia, a charitable foundation setup by Wikipedia owner Jimmy Wales. It survives entirely on dontations from users, I fear that 2009 will be the breaking point as it becomes a victim of it's own success. Much like YouTube was a virtually unworkable business at the point when Google bought it, Wikipedia will be snapped up and blighted by sponsorship and advertising. On the plus side someone will improve the interface and make it a bit more beautiful, not the dogs dinner it is at the moment.

4. Convergence Technological sooth-sayers will again call 2009 the year when 'convergence really will happen'. Except it wont. People still aren't ready for it, although people will realise that convergence will in fact be 'divergence' as we all buy and 'empty' device which we customise with software (kinda like the iPhone eh?). It wont happen this year, call me in 2011.

5. Internet Explorer The sound of a million webdeveloper's raising eyebrows will ringout around the world as they begin to use IE8 and find it behaving normally! As IE finally embraces web standards, the world of cross browser testing will begin to evaporate. People will sing and dance in the street as they find the internet working normally on all computers! However Microsoft will have the last laugh as IE9 comes out and screws it all up again. I've seen it happen.

6. Accessibility Officers for websites Just as graphic design has stratified into subsections (illustration, typography, art direction) so too will website design undergo further division. Just as we have SEO experts today, there will be Accessibility experts tomorrow. Website have been moving toward better accessibility ever since HTML 2 separated content from design. We're all going to have to get used to designing for screen readers, those with visual impairment, and an infinite range of other considerations. Far from adversely affecting 'normal' users, it will make it better for all of us.

7. Digital Drawing boards In one last statement of decadence before the credit crunch bites hard and we all have to learn suvivalism, Apple will release a iPhone the size of a piece of A3 paper. Multi-touch, gestural, low power LEDs. The works. They'll sell it at a loss for the first couple of months, we'll all get hooked and be asking Santa for one next xmas.

8. Digital paper Digital paper will 'come-and-go' in 2009. Like many bits of new technology, it'll come out, be quite useful, be too expensive, disappear. But for that brief time it'll be everywhere. Expect animated flyers, packaging which has a built in manual, music packaging (download the track, get the artwork to hang on the wall), dashboards, mobile phones, eBook readers, anything that has an LED readout today that doesn't change too often.

9. BBC iPlayer becomes third biggest channel If it hasn't already. As we all get used to watching BBC stuff whenever we want, and as it becomes better integrated into other provider's systems (Virgin Media, Sky etc). more people will watch iPlayer than BBC3, BBC4, and all the other BBC channels. The BBC will then sell this service to the rest of the world as a subsciption service and use it to fund the whole company.

Here's to a happy and productive 2009.