As the year comes to a close, we’re issuing our Top Ten Predictions for 2010. In the new year, the bulk of innovation will be aimed at the consumer market and the way in which we interact with computers. How and when we experience them will change dramatically over the course of next year.
So without further ado, here’s our Top Ten for 2010:
Cloud is the next killer app–those without it will be killed. 2010 is the year that Office Web Apps and Google’s Chrome OS launch. Both platforms will accelerate the shift to Web-centric computing. Apple just acquired Lala Media, which points to Apple moving iTunes (and the App Store) into the cloud. Smartphone penetration will accelerate the shift as consumers demand mobile access to content. As more devices proliferate and as Internet becomes ubiquitous, demand for cloud-based access will become the norm.
Twitter led the way and soon real-time will be an expected feature throughout the Web. Real-time resonates with people, and it has a multitude of uses–as folks like Google, Facebook and Foursquare are proving. Google jumped on the real-time search bandwagon in early December. Smartphone adoption will accelerate real-time’s relevance big time in 2010.
Apple showed us the utility behind having navigation capabilities with us at all times with the launch of the iPhone. Now services such as Foursquare, Gowalla and Google Latitude are catching on and an array of products will increasingly leverage sophisticated location-based services in a variety of new ways. E-commerce and advertising are not far behind. Location-based services will be a part of social media (Twitter), a part of mobility (Android) and a part of an increasing number of diverse interactions on the Web.
Standalone GPS devices will finally die (with the exception of specialized, niche markets) and so will stand-alone mass market cameras/video cameras. The Kindle and other e-readers will not be that far behind as screens improve and functional multipurpose devices come to market (aka the Apple media pad). The iPhone has e-reader capabilities via the App Store already. A larger-screened device will show the world that stand-alone products–be they Garmin GPS devices, Flip Video Cameras or Kindles - are feature sets, not sustainable franchises.
Privacy will continue to erode at a dizzying rate. Consumers will voice concerns, but ultimately the value of the new products will outweigh the loss of privacy.
People are not bullish enough on mobility. Penetration will accelerate in 2010 and the number of mobile Internet devices sold will be significantly greater than the pundits at Gartner and elsewhere suggest. This, in turn, will drive location-based services, cloud computing, real-time products and services, advertising, and e-commerce. Mobile payment systems will also become the defacto norm.
The Web and its consumers are constantly overrun by information (content) overload. Algorithms only solve for so much and become more difficult to solve for as content becomes real-time. But the convergence of algorithms, location-based services and social media enables real-time, relevant, personalized filtering. Context is King.
2010 will mark the inflection point for television, movie and music content becoming accessible anywhere, at anytime. It’ll happen in 2010, and Apple’s Lala acquisition will prove to be the catalyst that leads the way.
Mobility and search by image combine to yield a digitized physical world. Links to the virtual world appear in the real world. Think of the bar codes appearing in restaurant windows as a first step - scan them with your phone, and they link to a review on Google or Yelp. When you have robust search by image, each object becomes its own bar code.
The cloud makes operating systems less relevant and leaves Microsoft’s core business exposed on a number of fronts. The brand is increasingly tarnished in the consumer’s eye and no longer holds the sway it once did over developers. The mobile offerings so far have been woefully inadequate, leaving the company out in the cold as mobility takes off.
Today, Microsoft’s market capitalization is $265 billion, and its enterprise value is $237 billion. This compares with Apple at $172 billion and $152 billion and Google at $187 billion and $165 billion. During 2010, Apple and Google will further narrow the gap in value and both will begin to eclipse Microsoft’s enterprise value by year end.
o Enterprise demand will improve–this is the only trend we see that is outsized bullish for Microsoft.
o China will become an increasingly important technology buyer–no longer just a producer of parts and consumer of cheap electronics, premium products are finding a market among Chinese end-users.
o Tech M&A will continue, led by software and services deals as suppliers position themselves for cloud and contextual computing paradigms. Expect a big acquisition out of IBM by the end of next year.
o User interfaces with computing devices undergo the first major shift in decades. In mobile, expect more use of gestures, tilt and accelerometers. On the desktop, Apple’s magic mouse and HP’s touchscreen computer point to a new paradigm for computing. Touchscreens and gestures will dominate.
Adopted and adapted from Rebecca Runkle (Managing Director of Technology Forbes Magazine)’s article at Forbes Magazine
The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, based on the revolutions of the Moon. The Muslim New Year is celebrated on the first day of Muharram, which is the first month of the Islamic calendar. New Year’s Day is used to remind Muslims of the Hiraj or migration, of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina. It is a known fact that the actual migration did not take place on the first day of Muharram. It probably took place in the third Islamic month. The Islamic calendar itself was instituted after the actual migration. As a result of the association of the Islamic calendar with Hijrah, New Year’s Day is important to remember the significance of the Prophet’s migration.
Jumbo large wall calendar 2010
Many Muslims use the day to remember the significance of this month, and the Hijra, or migration, Islamic prophet Muhammad made to the city now known as Medina. Recently, in many areas of Muslim population, people have begun exchanging cards and gifts on this day, though this is not commonly done. For Shia Muslims, Muharram is the month grief and sorrow because they mourn the death of Imam Hussain and his companions on the Day of Ashura.
Since the Islamic lunar calendar year is 11 to 12 days shorter than the solar year, Muharram migrates throughout the seasons. The estimated start dates for Muharram are as follows (all future dates are estimates and depend on sightings of the new moon), though strictly speaking the month starts at sunset on previous day:
The way the Muslims celebrate New Year’s Day is very different from other such celebrations. They gather in mosques and offer special prayers and listen to special readings from the Koran. An important part of the prayer service is the narration of the Hegira or the flight of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina. Muslims are supposed to reflect on their life, the manner in which they are leading their life and about their own mortality. The day is spent in prayer and on reflecting on how one is leading one’s life. There are no celebrations that we normally associate with New Year’s Day. The New Year is known as Maal Hijra among the Muslims. Recently a number of Muslims have started sending greeting cards to each other on their New Year’s Day.
The most recent trend of exchanging New Year cards and gifts have been witnessed in many Muslim communities. However, Shia Muslims do not take part in New Year activities. They commemorate the Battle of Karbala and observe it as a month of mourning. This commemoration ends on the tenth day of Muharram called Ashurah.
Remembrance of Muharram has become an important day for the Shias. People enact the scenes of the Battle of Karbala in mosques. At some places, people clad in black dresses. They recite sorrowful poems in the memory of the martyrdom of Imran Hussain. Many males beat their chests or walk barefoot over the burning coal to remember the sufferings of Hussain. Loud cries of congregation can be heard which reflects their inability to save Hussain from the torture and brutalities.
Later, food and other things of survival are distributed to the poor. The first nine days of Muharram are spent in making an exact copy of martyr’s tomb with bamboo and paper. On the tenth day, Ashura, processions are carried out through the streets with the beautifully embellished tombs (also called taziyas).
Jumbo large print wall calendar 2010
New Years
The New Year is the day that marks the end of one year and the beginning of the next year, and is the day on which the year count is incremented. In many culture, the event is celebrated in some manner.
In countries which use the Gregorian calendar, New Year is usually celebrated on January 1st.
Traditionally, the Roman calendar began the first day of March. However, it was in January (the eleventh month) when the consuls of ancient Rome assumed the government. Julius Caesar, in 47 BC, changed the system, creating the Julian calendar. It was modified in the time of Mark Antony consul in 44 BC, again by the emperor Augustus Caesar in 8 BC and finally by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, which brought the calendar to its present day form. This year begins on January 1. Subsequently, this day was marked with a religious significance during the Middle Ages and later centuries.
With the expansion of Western culture to the rest of the world during the twentieth century, the January 1 date became universal in nature, even in countries with their own New Year celebrations in examples China, India even Melayu.
At present, the celebration of New Year is a major celebration worldwide. Many large-scale events are held in major cities around the world New Year’s Eve (New Year’s Eve for the December 31), being accompanied by the largest fireworks events.
The Islamic New Year is a cultural event which Muslim observe on the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic Calendar. Many Muslims use the day to remember the significance of this month, and the Hijra, or migration, Islamic prophet Muhammad made to the city now known as Medina. Recently, in many areas of Muslim population, people have begun exchanging cards and gifts on this day, though this is not commonly done
Chinese New Year popularly mentioned Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is often called the Chinese Lunar New Year, especially by people in mainland China and Taiwan. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month in the Chinese Calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festival. In the Gregorian calendar, Chinese New Year falls on different dates each year, a date between January 21 and February 20.
Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Lunar Calendar. The origin of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions. Ancient Chinese New Year is a reflection on how the people behaved and what they believed in the most.
