Articles RSS2009 in Technology
The Alligator's Michael Webb makes his predictions for technology in 2009, for Oxford and the rest of the world.
1. People will discover the 'Remove from Friends' button on Facebook
Some Oxford students who aren't Union hacks will see the number of their Facebook friends climb into the 1000s. They will decide it's time to say goodbye to all the people they've never met, those friends of friends they met once at a party, and anybody with more than seventeen applications on their profile.
2. Smartphone apps will explode...
...making some people very rich. Since Apple's App store opened in July iPhone owners have made more than 300 million downloads, and they're showing no sign of slowing down. "Some kid in his bedroom can literally make a million bucks just by writing a little app," says Brian Greenstone, whose small software company made $5m this year from iPhone games. Who will be the first Oxford success story?
3. Goodbye, hard drives
Solid state storage will get so good that we'll dispense with hard drives altogether: computers will become more rugged, and their shelf life will double. (Play.com is already offering 64GB USB sticks. Yes, gigabyte.)
4. Hello, e-democracy
After the fun of OUSU's online elections, many Oxford societies and JCRs will give it a go, with varying success. The Union will try it. There will be a tribunal.
5. Small will be beautiful
The market share of netbooks (ultra-cheap, portable laptops) will skyrocket in 2009. Some manufacturers will embed mobile broadband into their products, and sell them with a contract.
6. Facebook will beat Groupspaces
Students will get fed up of signing up to every society twice, once on Facebook and once on Groupspaces, and receiving lots of duplicate emails. Facebook will improve its Groups feature, and win.
7. (HD) video will arrive
Google has added video chat to Gmail, Facebook video has gone HD, and more and more people have access to high-speed internet. HD camcorders are available for £150 or less, and everyone's phone can record these days. It will only get bigger.
8. The OxStu won't relaunch its website
The Oxford Student's website was last updated two years ago. The homepage still says 'We're looking for designers and coders'. The odds don't look great.
9. 'Call home!'
Voice recognition will finally come of age in 2009. It's been around for a while, but in 2008 it was still sometimes painful to use: Google's voice search interpreted a Scotsman's query for 'iPhone' as 'sex' then 'sledding', and a Welshman's as 'gorillas' and 'kitchen sink'. That aside, the technology is nearing perfection.
10. All Oxford lectures will be made available to students as podcasts...
...and the author will eat his hat.
Happy 2009!
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