2010 is upon us and we thought we’d help ring in the new year by looking at what lays ahead for the year in trends, technology and goodies and gadgets that we at Cloud are crushing on (read: want for our birthdays). Our top ten:
10. Livescribe. While this computer in an ink pen has been on the market for a while now, we thing it’s glory days lie ahead. This pen can actually create interactivity using ink and a sheet of paper. Here’s the demo.
9. QR Code: To say this code which can be read by mobile devices and contain any content you chose is a game-changer for retailers, advertisers, transit systems and beyond, is grossly understating things.
8. La-di-da
Last year Apple bought lala.com and we think that in 2010 we’ll see the-ahem-fruits of the purchase. Streaming through iTunes.? We likie.
7. Square Space
Somewhere between a custom built CMS and Wordpress lies Square Space a website building tool for those without any website building know-how. It’s the CMS equivalent of modular pre-fab homes. Now we can all unleash our inner architect.
6. OLED TV
These TVs do not use a backlight, instead each pixel is lit. ‘So what?’ you say… Well, that means that when the data on the screen is dark so is the space around it. Now imagine you are watching Evil Dead when that dude is being chased through the woods by the spirit (I actually have no idea what happened in the movie, my eyes were shut the whole time) and your den is as dark as night….
5. 3D TV
‘member what I was saying about being chased in the forest by the mean spirit?
4. Vroom, vroom.
Electric cars are cool. Really, really cool.
3. The pocket projector.
Is that a projector in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Heh heh.
2. Warm white LEDs
Have you ever mistakenly referred to your living room as ‘aisle 9’? Do you sit in your dining room and have flashbacks of your root canal? Or do you live in not-so-secret shame and use the baddie bulbs in your home? (I do.) Well, for the de-saturated and delinquents among us, a proper warm white LED light bulb is finally here!
1. iTablet
We, like the rest of world, are spazing out about the iTablet, even though nary a one of us can articulate what about makes it so special…is it a small computer sans-server or is it a giant iPhone? We dunno, but we want it anyway.
While we are thrilled with the way things are advancing around us, we do have a few gripes.
Below, the things that we think should totally exist by now, but don’t.
1. The Jet Pack
2. The Orgasmatron
3. The Lightsaber
4. Exoskeletons
5. Hoverboards
6. Conveyor belt alarm clock/showerer/dresser/breakfast maker.
Post by Christina Brown, Jan 5th
All I want is the lightsaber, so call me when it becomes the reality it should be!
Yay number 7!
I built my first site in the mid-90s using Frontpage (hosted on Geocities: RIP) and my second site in the mid-2000s with Yahoo’s Sitebuilder. Using either was only an ever-so-slightly better experience than getting a root canal, and I remember also thinking “a better tool should totally exist by now.” Luckily by my third site, I was using Squarespace.
It’s so engaging to use, it makes building sites addictive (and only the cost of the SaaS keeps the urge to build yet another one at bay). The handling of different user types and secure areas is intuitive, the architecture is easy to fiddle with and the style editor is just plain rainbows and lollipops. Also, the detailed view of the stats are well-presented (showing IP addresses, which GA doesn’t out of so-called user privacy protection) and their form-builder is actually fun.
That and FreshBooks are the two web-based software products about which I wax most poetic.
Nowadays I’m mostly using Wordpress and a proprietary CMS, but Squarespace still holds a special place in my heart.
As for gripes, can we get a Large Hadron Collider that breaks down less often than a vintage Skoda, already? Sadly, the lightsaber may precede it…
Square Space is really exciting! There’s been a demand for an out-of-box CMS that’s more designer-friendly and more easily customizable. The fact that they don’t offer a free option will probably keep it from competing with wordpress, but may keep it more professional.