Day 2, 2010

It is 'tradition' that everyone who keeps some sort of weblog publishes their predictions and/or resolutions for the coming year. So, keeping with tradition, I will now publish both predictions and resolutions for 2010.

Predictions

1. Apple will produce some interesting new hardware for 2010 (a tablet), and will update most of its existing line, while ending just a very few of its products that no longer excite the masses. And in the process it will make insane amounts of money.


2. Microsoft, to spite its legion of critics, will continue to rake in vast sums of money on Windows and Office. Bing will be marginally successful, just enough to annoy Google's legion of supporters. Microsoft will kill the Zune when they announce the integration of Zune's capabilities with Windows Mobile 7. And XBox 360 will get another platform refresh.


3. Google will discover with Android what Microsoft discovered with Windows Mobile; that letting the handset makers and the wireless providers they sell to dictate the user experience will result in the balkanization of Android. This results in Android becoming as successful as Windows Mobile, while Apple's iPhone continues to widen it's lead in the smartphone market. The Chrome OS will fare no better. Google Wave will fade away. But Google will continue to make mountains of money (at least, for a little while more).


4. Linux... Linux... What can I say? It will still cling to 1% of the desktop space, while the real contenders, Apple, Microsoft and Google, continue to duke it out. Redhat will continue to make a comfortable living, throwing the crumbs of the business side to Novell and Mandriva and the rest of the dreamers. Mark Shuttleworth will finish his complete withdrawal from Ubuntu, declare victory, and kick to the curb spin off Ubuntu to keep from hemorrhaging any more of his fortune.

Resolutions

1. Give up Twitter and Facebook. I've wallowed around in both long enough to know they are complete time wasters. I've achieved 50% of this goal already; I no longer tweet, and I seldom go on Twitter to follow any other tweets. As for Facebook, I deleted the iPhone/iPod Touch Facebook app back in November.


2. Write more in the blog. Because I wasted so much time twitting and facebooking, I had neither time nor motivation to write here. And it showed. Sparse entries, and when they came, poorly written. Which leads to...


3. Learn to write better, and write about subjects that people want to read. Use Kirk Tuck's weblog as a motivational example. Which leads to the next resolution...


4. Shoot more, forum less. This is already partially done; the posters on DPReview's Olympus SLR forum have seen to that. The only forum I post to too often now is the Flickr forum Olympus E-System Community. I won't cut it off completely, but the threshold objective here is no more than one post/month. And absolutely no lurking.


5. Sell the house and move. Even in this Orlando market. Seriously.


6. Travel to England/Scotland with Judy. She's been waiting for this opportunity for nearly 40 years. And I've been promising we'd go "sometime in the future" ever since we got married over 25 years ago. This one is long past due.


7. Take a more balanced attitude towards life. Events over the past six years have pushed me to be more negative, too negative. I don't need to walk around with a relentlessly faux Jokeresque smile on my face, but a more centrist attitude would be appreciated all around.


8. Save more money. Again, this started last year because of the economy. It will continue this year with 'discretionary' spending cut even further.


9. More involvement with the community. I drifted out of that particular area over the years, but last year I got kicked back in with Relay for Life and Science Olympiad. That will continue this year, and I will add one more major volunteer group involvement.

The overall goal is greater involvement and less personal narcissism. That, and the fact that it's hit home that I really am somewhere between 50 and death. Every moment grows more precious. They need to be spent as wisely as possible.