2004 Predictions - hot and not

The clock spins again and these are the predictions coming down the line for the year ahead -- the year where the digital hub becomes a reality

1. -- a slew of extreme wi-fi and bluetooth devices will allow users to stream music, video and photographs from a central server in the house to the television, a music center or individual computers.

2. Early adopters run Linux [or Mac] servers in their homes to facilitate this.

3. Grid computing starts to happen - three, four or five computers in a home are harnessed to number crunch.

4. Several portals will emerge streaming engaging content - be it imagery, video or text, which changes regularly - almost like a tv channel. Think meta refresh on steroids. These engaging portals will not require direct interaction from the user to navigate. Voice navigation will emerge [hello Macromedia Central].

5. NASDAQ ends the year above 2750 - 35% plus

6. A video i-Pod - the v-Pod? appears.

7. Ireland will be well on the way to a change of Government.

8. Personal spaces become so much more important

9. UK sees video via 3G - Ireland still waits

10. I get my Canon 10d digital camera!