As predicted, several predictions were wrong

I was correct about the greater interest in eBooks this year. There was some effect from the iPad nevertheless with new and less expensive models from the likes of Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Borders, it was the non-Apple devices that drove record numbers from the booksellers. The iPad is more focused on the newspaper and magazine markets at the moment. During some distributors are releasing eBook versions a while afterwards the hardback, others are allowing readers to get them together. I think the reason is that more and more people have readers and will want the eBook version. The danger for publishers who hold back their eBook releases is that the buyer may have moved on to other titles.

I was right about the move to merge video and stills in digital SLRs however not about ASA support in the compact arena. New cameras nevertheless peak out at about 1600 ASA yet they are now as well coming with pursuant to this agreement 100 ASA ratings. For instance, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 supports 80 ASA and will probably be my straightway compact camera. I was as well wrong about the hard drive sizes; 3TB drives are available nevertheless not the 4TB ones I was expecting. The same went for the thumb drives - no 1TB models but and the sweet spot is around the 16-32GB range not 128GB as I thought. I'm guessing the financial crisis impacted on this prediction. Same for monitors - 22-24 and not 26 as predicted. I was right about OLED, all in all; there was not much movement on that innovation at all this year.

Wireless innovation continued to improve and it won't be too long until Wi-Fi dominates as the base communications research.

Windows 7 did really take and I do nevertheless have a Windows 7 based notebook, I also for all that have my XP home PC as my standard machine, nevertheless. I must admit to being impressed with Windows 7 as an OS and it is a lot better than Vista ever was - which isn't hard. Windows Mobile 7 has been delayed so much that it is hard to know if my prediction was correct on that one.

I was correct that Android has taken all the available spaces and has as well started taking ground from other mobile platforms. I was watching a demonstration of the new Samsung Galaxy S mobile and once the prices drop, this will probably be my straightway phone.

The verdict is also for all that out when it comes to the touch screens - in other words, the iPad. The marketing has been spectacular nevertheless there have as well been a lot of giveaways from Apple to encourage people to use the device. Some have found it to be excellent and others have found it to be not that good. The biggest surprise is the current lack of challengers. Samsung is about the only major player to step up with its own Android range of devices. Success will depend on the true tablet versions of such units and not just bigger screen mobile phone functionality. Watch this space.

There was no new battery research for notebooks as I had hoped, and spam and malware continued to be opposed on a piecemeal basis with no real international cooperation. Countries all over the world did continue to build up Internet connectivity and, as expected, Australia went with the wrong model and their plan is starting to collapse.

Skype suffered an outage lasting several hours on Wednesday affecting millions of users of the Internet communications service.