2012 Tech Predictions

January 5, 2012 //

Last year I made some tech predictions…and I forgot to post them. I promised myself I wouldn’t do the same thing again.
My predictions for 2011 were pretty spot on, but I think time was the true judge of my predictions. The following predictions were originally written on 01/03/11:

Google TV and Chrome OS will merge
iPhone on Verizon in the summer
net neutrality will become a headline issue
there will be the rise of a new social network
iTunes will release a streaming media service
NFC (near field communications) will become more previlant in everyday use
RIM’s market share will continue to dwindle…
more people will attempt to cut cable’s cord, & tv companies will start making deals to stream content
cars will become much more fuel efficient as gas prices continue to rise, the rise of electric cars
facebook will CONTINUE to grow

So here are my predictions for 2012:

T-Mobile FINALLY get the iPhone
Netflix goes under
Android market share begins to decline
Google & Motorola develop Nexus series of devices to put vanilla versions on phones
Nintendo begins bringing titles to iOS

What do you think about about these tech predictions? Do you have anything that you believe is going to happen this year?

Want to leave a comment, head to Google+ for discussion -> Google+ Discussion

Tags Android, Google, iphone, Motorola, Netflix, Nintendo

Categories Tech

Google+ The Most Precious Human Moment

December 30, 2011 //

“…how do you not allow technology to replace the most precious human moment – face to face contact?”

I started reading a new book, “The Leadership Challenge” and I stumbled upon the above quote. I started thinking about all the different ways I use technology. Twitter, e-mail, Facebook, reading news, posting blogs; and for the most part it is all text based. I will write a Facebook status, a person will read it, and if they agree with the contents of it will either write a reply or click a button that states you “like” it. That is all well and good but there is a personal connection that is missing.

Enter Google+, which if you didn’t know or haven’t seen the commercials, is Google’s vision of a social network. There are a lot of similarities between Google+ & Facebook. Status updates, sharing pictures, messenger apps for mobile devices are some similarities between both networks. However, Google+ adds something that isn’t found on Facebook, or any other social network: Google+ Hangouts. Google+ Hangouts brings the social to the network.

Here’s an example of the precious human moment that I referred to in the original quote: I was using Google+ Messenger to instant message my friend that moved to New York. I decided that I wanted to see what he was doing literally. I pressed one button in the app on my phone and I was able to have a face to face convo with my friend. Similar to what’s happening in this Verizon ad for the Galaxy Nexus.

I’m glad Google is advertising this amazing aspect of Google+. Hangouts is so native and simple and isn’t found in such simplicity anywhere else on the web. Nothing may beat meeting up with a friend or a loved one in a coffee shop, but having a cross platform social network solution where face to face conversations can easily occur is a close second.