For some reason, when a new year comes around, the psychics come out and make their predictions. People love predictions, but many times they forget to look back and see what came true. With that in mind, I will take the plunge and make some predictions:

1. Google will win the 700mhz frequency (released from tv to cell phones), release its phone (well, the open handset alliance will have phones), and the phone will constantly be in beta.

2. Microsoft will finally admit that Vista really doesn’t work that well and tells everyone just you wait until 2010 when Windows 7 comes out. Actually, the real prediction is that Microsoft will continue to give people the choice of Vista or XP in OEM machines (quietly of course so they don’t have to actually say the first sentence).

3. Solar energy will finally get some loving and will become the “in” energy.

4. Ethanol will lose some of the loving it has been getting lately as people take a closer look at it and realize that higher food prices may not be the trade off they were looking for. Or, maybe they will go to something else like a grass.

5. NetWorks Resource Library will double in size.

6. With less pressure from AMD, Intel will release chips at a slower rate and the innovation will drop off. This will allow AMD to surpass Intel’s chips and the chip wars will be back on.

7. With the adoption of teaching electronics with the whole systems approach developed by ESyst, technical programs will see an increase in enrollments (this really happens in 2009 as students tell their friends how much fun they are having). Fewer students will drop out of such programs.

8. We will have a new president in the United States!

My crystal ball is getting cloudy now (if you can’t tell by the last prediction). Is there anything you foresee happening? What predictions would you make?