Don't forget SpaceX will be putting the Falcon 9 rockets into use as well as beginning testing of the Dragon capsule. 2009 looks to be the year in aerospace where everyone is testing and developing, getting ready for their full operations to start in 2010-2012. Well... aerospace companies that is. NASA isn't doin jack... they can't even afford their shuttles from the 70's.

I disagree with the thought on Next-Gen consoles. Yes, it's at the proper point chronologically when compared to past data, yet the current consoles are still popular enough and selling enough that there is little incentive for the companies to move ahead and produce the next. Nintendo systems in particular cannot stay in stock, nor can PSPs (in my area) or the less expensive models of the XBox 360. Until sales begin to die down on these products, I don't see there being more than continued rumours about the following generation of consoles. I expect mid-late 2010 for the first official information with any detail more than "it's in the works."

Great list ID, but I have to disagree with you on your #1. Traditionally, the moment that news leaks from Microsoft about the release of a new version of Windows the hype machines move into overdrive and unrealistic predictions of when it will be generally available begin to get touted about.

Now, I don't blame Microsoft for this, they want people talking about their "real soon now" new product. But time after time, overzealous industry pundits will have the masses thinking that it is just around the corner, when in reality there is a long cycle of betas and release candidates ahead.

I predict that actual RTM to be summer 2010 for the hardware VARs, with actual SKUs on the shelf for Christmas that year.

Windows 7 will become a flop just like Vista is. Even if it is good, it is arriving in the wrong economic climate where consumers are not eager to upgrade their computers to run the latest and greatest. I see no large movements in the Mac world. Linux vendors will do good business because of cost saving efforts in the industry.

I expect 2009 will be the year we move to 64-bit. By the end of this year all new computers will be equiped with 64-bit operating systems and software vendors will jump on the opportunity to provide 64-bit versions of their software.

I'm expecting Dec 09 to get in before the holidays/to hopefully take advantage of Xmas spending.

Furthermore, given that Windows 7 is based on Vista's coding, etc, and that much work on the new features was well underway prior to Vista going 'gold', it is safe to assume that it is more advanced than Vista at the same stage of development and less likely that its release will be delayed in same way, as often as its predecessors were.

Yep, they have to all at least show their next gen consoles, since current ones are getting very.... crusty. Any serious gamer knows PCs are currently WAY better than consoles as far as graphics and other techs. Consoles, due to their infrequent releases, follow more of a stairstep graph as far as their technology goes... PCs due to constant upgradable parts releases are more of an even line. Consoles are behind now, and will continue to be behind in technology until a new console release, when they become much more cost effective than PCs... for awhile at least.

The way I see it two of the three companies, Sony and Microsoft, want a monopoly over home entertainment. Both companies lose large amounts of money creating and selling their systems, primarily because they hope the other side will give in and leave them with a monopoly. Each side must come out with their new next gen console, and at around the same time, to stay in the game and keep their competitor out of a monopoly.

Don't think we'll see that. I don't think a next-gen console will be coming out before 2012 at the earliest.

There's really nothing a next gen console could bring at this point.

I sure hope Windows 7 arrives.  It's going to work well with touch-sensitive screens and the next .Net Framework will have a Touch API.  I am so looking forward to one of my programs throwing a "bad touch" error!    

What about OLED TVs?  Any chance sanely priced versions could start showing up in 2009?

Whenever the next-next gen consoles drop, Microsoft would shoot themselves in the foot by not making a blu-ray drive standard. The only other option would be yet another console-unique format, which would hand Sony the advantage yet again. Putting a DVD drive in there is not an option - they already held back their exclusive games (and the console industry in general) to ridiculous extremes by limiting developers to their tiny DVDs (and no harddrives but that's another story).

Rumor has it it'll be called Wii HD. A far more reasonable name - which is probably why Nintendo won't call it that. Their naming department is batshit loco. (see Revolution-Wii)

At the very least, it'll fix the biggest issues with Vista.

Hard to say exactly what that really means. Apple isn't really transparent about why exactly this stuff is happening.

Yeah - I'm not the biggest fan, but it'll likely happen in some form. I really do wish they don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, though - even if stuff goes online, I'd like the software turn a bit hybrid and still work offline if need be. I really don't like the idea of being totally useless if the Internet goes down.

Very true. When they first came out, they were really great - but the same thing that plagued them in the past will always continue to plague them: They're static machines. Technology moved on, and it doesn't even take a large PC anymore to outmuscle the 360.

Hard to say. They never realy excited me that much in the first place.

Not quite. Say what you want, but Nintendo's portable platforms have always been #1, even without pushing technology to the limits. Sure, we can list a gazillion alternatives that are superior and have even sold pretty well, but Nintendo has proven that their audeince is far larger than just the core gamers, and that casual gamers are not to be underestimated. The Wii proved that's true even for non-portable systems.

Agreed, and remember most 32 bit software runs fine on 64 bit OSes, so software isn't really going to be any sort of credible barrier for most people. With a lot of new computers coming standard with 64 bit Vista already, I'd say most people won't even notice that the move has taken place. It'll just happen as they buy new computers.

Perhaps, but in my opinion the jury is still out on that one. At least there is agreement on which format "won" right now. But you're right, downloads are getting more popular. If Sony doesn't do something big with Blu-Ray now, they could be in a world of hurt. The format war was a big mistake by far, no matter who won. Just fighting it that long was the biggest mistake, ever. A lot of people are either sticking with DVD or moving to downloads. They're voting with their wallets that they are not interested in going down that path again. Ever.

But then again, who knows? It wasn't like it was a total loss, and as I understand it's still a profitable product. I think that it's entirely possible that Microsoft could include support for it.

Nintendo is unlikely to make the switch, though. They've been pretty focused on using proprietary disk formats. It may be possible that some of the same technology may be used, but it won't be made compatible.

I don't think the next-gen consoles will actually appear, but some will be at least semi-officially anounced. 

Oh please.

That's not going to happen until 2012, at least.

Also, for what it's worth, I don't see how that qualifies as a tech prediction.