2006 tech trends (series1)

[ottawax]

This is an article by TYLER HAMILTON
What's next in 2006?
Jan. 3, 2006.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/
I found it interesting and hope to share with you. you can read the article on the above link, or just one topic a time as I shall cut and paste here.

Video downloads to go mainstream, and legit. Apple's decision last year to make popular TV shows available for download through iTunes will have an enormous impact on the TV broadcast industry. It may not be available in Canada just yet, but south of the border you can spend $2 (U.S.) to download episodes of Law and Order, Lost, and a number of other programs from a growing list that includes NBC, ABC and Disney.

Whether played on your video iPod, computer, or plasma TV set, easily downloadable television shows are yet another threat to the broadcasting world, which must also contend with video-capable mobile phones, video on demand and digital video recorders. You can thank the near-ubiquity of broadband access for that.

The good news is that, unlike the music industry, the networks and other broadcasters are moving early to strike licensing deals that will help mitigate the effect of online file trading. And unlike music, you can still insert commercials in TV downloads or go aggressive with product placement. Sigh.

 

[ottawax]

2006 tech trends (series2)

Public Wi-Fi will gain ground in Canada. We've all heard about how Philadelphia, New Orleans and San Francisco are trying to roll out citywide Wi-Fi mesh networks to provide cheap broadband access to all citizens. But public Wi-Fi access, aside from its free availability in the odd coffee shop or hotel lobby, has been slow to take hold north of the border ― with the exception maybe of Fredericton and parts of Ottawa.

"We believe that municipal Wi-Fi will become much more prevalent in Canada in 2006," according to a year-end report from the Seaboard Group, a telecom consultancy in Toronto and Montreal. "We heard that Toronto Hydro Telecom may be contemplating such an initiative (in Toronto)."

Seaboard said the emergence of municipal Wi-Fi in Canada is likely to shake up the wireless phone carriers, which have struggled to make money from their own Wi-Fi initiatives and are now investing significantly to upgrade their mobile phone networks to reach broadband speeds. With free public Wi-Fi possibly on the horizon and new Wi-Max technology still in its infancy, the carriers will be forced to offer significantly higher wireless speeds to justify charging any premium for their services.

 

[ottawax]

2006 tech trends (series3)

VoIP-ing" goes mainstream. After endless hype, the big cable companies entered the telephone market last year with Internet protocol services that run over their cable infrastructure. Mind you, Rogers Cable, Shaw Cable and others were quite conservative with their efforts, with Montreal-based Vidéotron standing out as the exception for its aggressive pricing and growth.

Seaboard Group predicts VoIP subscribers in Canada will reach 1.1 million by the end of 2006, mostly through cable offerings but also through pure plays such as Vonage. This will mean Rogers and Shaw will have to pick up their marketing efforts, keeping in mind that Bell Canada has launched its own impressive VoIP product and is intent on defending its core market.

The bottom line is that VoIP, while it arrived in 2005 with bells and whistles, will truly begin to prove its value to mainstream consumers throughout 2006 as Bell, Rogers and others step up marketing efforts and begin promoting the flexibility, ease of use and Web interface features of their competing VoIP products.

 

[dingw]

thanks for sharing