2008 the same as usual, I should think

Predictions for 2008? Highlights of 2007? I’m sitting in Brighton, speculating about this. Candles are lit, the Christmas tree is still OK, although the needles are starting to moult quite rapidly. And it has roots, so we hope to plant it out in a forest somewhere. That is if we can find a forest where we are allowed to do that. UK is one of the more overregulated countries.

Am listening to Mandoza and Freshlyground while outside the fireworks are starting to increase in volume. It will be a crescendo in a while. Kind of nice duet. In Australia they are already sleeping off the hangovers. Even in SA, the first drunk drivers will be heading home and the sober ones will be wondering whether they will make it home in one piece. Will it ever change?

So what will be heading towards us? I have already predicted that 2008 will be the year of the cellphone. Yes again. And maybe marketers will finally be able to persuade cellphone service providers that there is a lot of money available to throw at cellphone users. We will see.

Then there are myriad other techie predictions, by far more knowledgeable people than I am, that all sound fabulous. There is the first PC by HP that has some kind of touch-screen feature. Open source is supposed to get bigger this coming year. The end of software as we know it has been predicted, what with computer users being able to do everything via the browser, even when offline. Google is certainly trying to find its space in that bit of sunshine.

Computers will get faster, Apple will bring out a super-thin laptop in two weeks, plus some very fast hand-held gadget. An update to the iPhone is also on the cards at Macworld. And so it goes on. However, personally, I would put the real money on the company that could find some solution to end the endless unwanted emails I get on enlarged body parts, mostly one which I don’t have, and performance-enhancing drugs. It’s about 220 so far today.

Besides that the details of my company credit card have just been stolen, including the pin, and same is being used at an ATM near you if you live in Canada. Never mind the trolls that lurk around in cyberspace ready to pounce, leaving horribly abusive and personal attacking comments on blogs or anywhere else where they can leave their mark.

Besides the techie world, there will be some changes in the world. Some changes will be horribly abrupt ones and inflicted by the nasties of this world. Others will come slowly. One thing is for certain, the ordinary folk will again have to cope with the rubbish that most of the politicians dish up.

But then there will be the great bits as well. The marriages, wedding anniversaries, the new babies, personal victories such as graduating from a college or learning a new skill. The human spirit will somehow again overcome all sorts of hardships. There will be some ordinary folk again showing that we all can be heroes, just because it was required at that moment in time.

It’s not all bad! People are actually incredibly amazing! So happy New Year to all those humans who celebrate that now. And happy wishes, just because, to anybody who doesn’t.