In 2013, you can forget about the cable guy running coax cable through your home or your Wi-Fi signal petering out in the master bedroom. By then, you’ll have high-speed Internet access anywhere you go, regardless of whether you’re chillin’ on the deck out back or surfing upstairs in your pajamas. Constant access to the Internet will be provided by technologies like WiMAX and 4G.
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) and 4G are the future of mobile broadband access. Instead of being tied down to a cable or a wireless router in a certain part of the house, the digital home in 2013 will be capable of utilizing 4G and WiMAX technologies in every room, and outside the home. Not only are the technologies wireless, but also they are far more powerful than the cellular, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi technologies used in devices today.
WiMAX is designed to provide high-speed Internet access over wide areas through mobile cellular access. The technology can carry signals much further than current Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) networks. Vendors claim WiMAX can reach clients approximately 50 miles from the receiver and can maintain speeds of about 50Mbit/s at that range. While still the best Wi-Fi technology right now, can only maintain a high-speed connection for 300 feet, at most. And while WiMAX is not as fast as certain types of wired networks, it could be a viable alternative to broadband connections.
4G is the next evolution in wireless communication. Designed to replace 3G — a high-speed cellular broadband technology now being expanded in the U.S. and other countries — 4G can theoretically provide access speeds of about 100Mbit/second while the client is moving, which is noticeably better than WiMAX.
In 2013, these emerging wireless technologies will easily eclipse the slow, short-range connections that currently drive most home wireless networks. With faster speeds and better range, the way you browse the Web at home will change drastically. Even 3G networks will start to fall by the wayside, meaning Steve Jobs’ “one more thing” introduction for the iPhone 6.0 should be really interesting!
What’s better than sitting on the couch in the family room while stuffing your mouth with popcorn as you watch the latest episode of House” on your new 50-inch HDTV? Nothing? Well, what if you could live in a home where HD isn’t found in just the living room, but all over the place? Now that is what I call living!
Once considered a niche industry, now gaming has become one of the most profitable and important facets of the digital home. But as gaming continues its rise in popularity and more people grow up in a world where thumb sticks and button-mashing reign supreme, it’s only a matter of time before gaming takes center stage in the digital home. Just don’t expect your sore thumbs to be happy about it.
The digital home in 2013 will see a new breed of consoles that go beyond the Xbox 360/PS3/Wii experience. And although some say that game graphics have little room for improvement, the consoles being fired up in living rooms of the future will certainly feature titles that are far more life-like than ever imagined. As graphics approach photorealism, PC gaming could feel the greatest impact of all.
In 2013, gaming consoles will be the focal point of many digital homes. Aside from their ability to outshine PC games by then, they will offer HD movie playback and downloads in an attempt to become the centerpiece of any living room.
Some laptops already use biometric finger scans to access data or locked devices. But the real growth area is screen-based touch technology to navigate data, applications, and functions. Touch has quickly become an important frontier in the tech industry and there are no signs of it slowing down.
The touchscreen market is split into two areas: single-touch and multi-touch. Generally speaking, single-touch technology only allows you to interact with the screen in one area at a time. Most commonly found in smartphones like the Palm Treo, it’s unlikely that single touch will be the dominant touch technology in the digital home of 2013.
On the other hand, multi-touch technology is quickly becoming the most popular touchscreen implementation on the market. Unlike single touch, multi-touch allows you to interact with multiple points on a device at the same time and offers much greater flexibility and usability. Multi-touch will sneak its way into your digital home before you know it.
And the light… flipping a light switch is so last century! The digital home in 2013 will provide residents with exciting new ways to control their houses, devices, and appliances, while saving energy. And who isn’t happy about helping out ol’ Mother Earth?
The technology is known as automated home control. Companies like Control4 have established businesses revolving around your desire to do as little as possible when you get home. Automated home control allows for one-touch home theater control, multi-room music, smart lighting that comes on when you use the room and immediately turns off when you’re gone, and advanced temperature controls to increase energy efficiency while still keeping residents comfortable at all times. The systems often use a single remote. And, as if that’s not enough, automated home security allows you to know the status and security of your home at all times via mobile phones and the Web.
Although the technology is available now, most homes aren’t automated. But as more technologies enter the digital home and the cost of automation drops, automated home control will become far more common. With any luck, it’ll even do your laundry while you’re at work.
The green trend is undeniable. More and more high-tech companies are becoming aware of their collective obligation to the environment. Right now, companies including Apple, and HP provide safe recycling of computers, while small manufacturers like Green Machine Shop in Michigan are promising more environmentally friendly computing gear.
According to its a latest report , General Electric, a company that stands at the forefront of environmental R&D, witnessed a 15 percent increase in revenue for green products in the past year alone. It has decided to increase funding in its Ecomagination project, which is designed to aid the company in producing goods like dishwashers and gas-powered water heaters that conserve energy and natural resources. More importantly, the company expects demand for green-related products to jump by 2010.
But the green tech won’t only be found in your living room. That gas-guzzler sitting in your garage will soon be replaced by hybrid vehicles, which have become extremely popular as of late and should continue to sell well, The new Tesla Roadster, the world’s first electric sports car, is now available. Clearly, the garage of 2013 is more likely to be filled with hybrids and other green vehicles than SUVs.
top what you’re doing and take a quick look around your desk. Chances are, you’re looking at a media server, an external hard drive, a couple of flash drives, and maybe even an old Zip drive from the 90′s . To make matters worse, your shelves are inundated with boxes of shrink-wrapped software packages.
But things are about to change. As broadband penetration expands, the idea of accessing data storage, software, and even extra processing power is becoming more attractive. And if you play your cards right, your digital home in 2013 will not only be free from clutter, but it might be in a serious relationship with the Web. Hey, everyone needs some lovin’ every now and then!
Although some believe that “online computing” allows users to simply interact with applications on the Internet, the concept is far more advanced than that. Doing all of your work on the Internet allows for greater storage flexibility, access to specialized services, and even greater computing power for people engaged in certain tasks, such as rendering 3D artwork. In the commercial sense, it’s very much a discussion that companies like Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft want to have as the desktop slowly gives way to the cloud.
Today, the average person performs a variety of tasks offline that by 2013 may be performed online. And although the idea of using Office online may be daunting to some, programs like Google Docs have shown that it’s not only possible, but offers advantages ranging from convenience to lower costs.
And while you may want to keep that old Zip drive for the memories (hey, it’s a classic!), the rest of the physical storage media — along with the old software boxes and cases lining your shelves — will likely be banished from the digital home of 2013.
Already, sites like Hulu.com have shown that people are more than willing to watch television programs online. Services like iTunes and Amazon’s Unbox also let viewers watch movies online using set-top boxes and computers. Still, there’s no convenient way to bring a show from the computer to your HDTV. In 2013, that will change.
With broadband penetration spreading, and people becoming more receptive to online television programming, the prime-time television block and other schedule-based viewing habits could fall by the wayside. After all, if it’s possible to watch 24 at anytime it’s convenient instead of at a set time when you’d rather be sleeping, wouldn’t you pick the former? According to a recent survey, the answer is a resounding yes.
Because of the success of Hulu more broadcast networks and even cable stations will jump on the online bandwagon and find ways to make it much easier for you to take those shows from the Internet to your high-definition television. Even better, homeowners will be streaming shows from one room to another. This means you won’t be restricted to the living room for your HD fix, and popcorn will finally be lost in other couches throughout your home.
Collaborating via email is, well, outdated. In the future, you won’t need to wait for an email with an updated file attachment, and you certainly won’t need to send off documents through FedEx. Instead, you will be using services like Google Docs to share documents in real-time, and using next-generation conferencing and messaging services to collaborate. Sharing is the key to the future, and as your mother once told you, sharing is good for you.
Online collaboration allows for people from disparate parts of the globe to work together in achieving a set goal. In the digital home, that could mean that telecommuting becomes easier and you will have the tools available to you to allow you to get your job done in the comfort of your own home office.
That said, shared online workspaces are still a relatively new idea. Just recently, Microsoft announced its Office Live program. Google Docs has collaboration functionality built-in to its online word processor.Adobe has even hinted that most of its products will be used online and with Photoshop Express already available on the Web, the ability to work with a partner editing photos and videos may eventually be a reality. Neat, huh?
According to Google, collaboration is the next big step in online applications and the company is intent on making it a key component of its strategy to ensure that working together becomes an important facet in the digital home of 2013. And as the popularity of social networks continues to rise in tandem with telecommuting, collaboration between geographically dispersed people — including those working from home, or remote offices — will be the norm.
Blu-ray may not be found in many digital homes in 2013 unless vendors act quickly. According to Forrester Research’s James McQuivey, adoption rates of the format are extremely low. The HD format suffers from a slew of issues: Media prices are too high, the Blu-ray players are expensive movies can’t be transferred, and HD downloads are right around the corner.
Even though Blu-ray succeeded in beating HD DVD, it still needs to compete with the wrinkled old man in the room: DVD, which has a huge installed base and billions of discs in circulation And if broadband speeds increase to a more suitable level, Blu-ray may be skipped in favor of downloads and streaming entertainment. Can you say, LaserDisc?
And finally the IPAD…
The iPhone was the first phone that everyone could figure out in seconds and a hacker could tinker around with for endless hours. In an analogous way the iPad is going to be the computer a toddler can play games with and learn, and the same computer your grandma uses to send e-mails, browse the web and edit photos.
If you think about how a computer like this will impact people sociologically, suddenly the iPad is far more than a larger iPod Touch, as many have described it. It’s the computer for everyone: an idea Apple has been working toward for years.
That doesn’t mean the iPad will be the only computer for everyone and destroy every PC on the market, because that’s not even remotely likely. But it will introduce a significant new category.
Say what you will about Apple, but Steve Jobs’ company is a market shaper, and the iPad is the only tablet that could shove the computing world in a new direction.
Apple has shipped over 75 million iPhones, and the iPhone OS continues to dominate we b traffic Meanwhile, the App Store has served 3 billion downloads and claimed 99.4% of the mobile web market.
Content developers need to see these kinds of numbers to have faith in investing in a new platform. At this rate, we’re all heading with Apple into the future of computing, and it’s looking quite bright.
