So, it’s now time to move into writing 202x… well, at least for the next ten years. So what has been and gone and what has arrived in the last ten years? This is part one of a two part blog… in this I will focus on what has been and gone.
Naff Wearables / Smartwatch
Ok, so I don’t really think this bubble has burst yet, but I do think that the naff versions of wearables has now passed us. We have had to put up with a market trying to find a problem to solve for many years. Fitbit was probably the only one that has managed to persist success… the poor Pebble was the first to enter into the space and show true traction but had a slow painful death, with some dedicated followers genuinely sad to see it’s passing. Samsung, Huawei and Microsoft also entered into the space with only partial success. Garmin has been involved for years, and of course the silent assassin that is Apple who ‘watch’ everything that happens, and then release there own one based on the other failures… all of the have been rubbish. I don’t care what anyone says, all wearables to date are rubbish and solve problems that we never had.
3D TV
I was one of the very few people that went all in for 3D. I have a 3D camcorder, I have a 3D TV, and a 3DS and for a short time, I even had a 3D phone. It all worked pretty well, I recall watching the 2012 London Olympics in 3D on the TV… but it has been and gone now. Curved televisions quickly followed, but they soon bit the dust. We are now well and truly in 4K and even 8K. Will they take hold? Depends on the home download speeds and 5G … but given that you DON’T need to wear some heavy clumsy glasses that flash constantly whenever there is any soft of natural light, my guess is they are likely to last a LOT longer! 3D has gone, but I don’t think many people care.
Windows Phone / Zune / Microsoft Band
Microsoft has been increasing the focus on a smaller set of offers (specifically improving its services and products) over the last few years and this has included a huge change, mostly in dropping things… the Microsoft phone was excellent, but so few people developed apps for it, so it was dropped. The Microsoft Band was Microsofts attempt to get into the Wareables arena, and was more akin to a “gift” you would get if you were let out of a high walled building with metal bars. Product was ok, execution was bad. The ZUNE software and hardware was again something that missed the mark. They were late to the party and therefore was always playing catch up. Never took off… I liked the Windows phone, they keyboard hardware and Window Continnum was brilliant, but Zune and MS Band I could quite happily leave in the past.
Apple iPOD / Blackberry / Nokia
Who would have thought that the thing to kill the iPOD was its son/daughter. The iPOD was a creative and innovative product AND service which made it easy for most to conclude music like never before. When Napster et al were all trying to stop court cases, Apple just stepped in (Google McCarty Apple Corps vs Apple Computer for a small Easter egg that few people know about). Although you had to pay a premium the device wiped the floor with everyone else… With the advent of the iPhone the iPOD started to slowly become a device that was unesscesary. The iPhone caused the biggest revolution in the Cell / Mobile phone industry and single handily took out some big players like Nokia and Blackberry, as well as its father the iPOD. Long live the iPhone…
Digital Cameras
Yes, although we probably take more photos than any time in the history of the Human race, we have now seen the demise of the physical and digital camera. Still used by professionals for weddings et al, but it is now confined to enthusiasts. Shame, as we now seem more focused on the self promotion of ourselves that actually taking quality images and creating memories.
Drones
So I think it’s fair to say that drones have partially been and gone, but I feel will come back again. It wont be too long before they (as well as other autonomous vehicles) are wandering around like stray cats in a baron land. I suspect we will look back one day and try to recall an empty sky of drones delivering things we have purchased online. The drone is gone, but for Amazon and, I suspect, the armies of the world, definitely not forgotten.
PCs / Laptops
The PC has had its day. I know of very few people that use a PC nowadays and I mean a REAL PC. You know, the thing that keeps your leg warm when working or playing games. I would argue that Laptops are now starting to show their age. Unless we start to see a real revolution in the way we interact and work with laptops, I suspect that we will move a lot more towards tablets. I am an early adopter, and I am fortunate enough to work with people who are also early adopters. With the significant improvements in online speed (4G / 5G) as well as online software (the latest MS Office suite is pretty good for casual users) I can see us catching up with what Google originally intended with the Chrome book. It wont take long for the laptop to be overtaken… mark my words.
Windows OS
Bit odd to put this one in there, but yes, in reality the Windows operating system, as it was known, is now dead. Windows 10 is and will be the last Windows operating system… if this remains to be true is going to be interesting, but never the less, it can be said that the mega flop that was Windows 8 (and not to mention Windows RT on devices like the Nokia 1520) is well and truly past them and Microsoft are now fully onto the Windows 10 train / road. I, again, was one of the few people who actually didn’t mind Windows 8 (but less so Windows 8.1) – if you could cope with the fact that this was a truly ‘tablet way of working’ then you could get on with it quite well… but most of the enterprise world isn’t interested in that (not yet anyway) so Windows 8 died, and died quickly and ungracefully. Several exists from the Windows world (due to the purchase of Nokia as well) were pretty swift.
There were many more things that have been and gone over the last ten years. Google Glasses, Palm, HD-DVD, Friends Reunited, Google+, MSN, etc… some will fondly be looked as part of the era of the social medial explosion.