

Tech Trends 2014 - cpeterso
http://www.frogdesign.com/techtrends2014/

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caprad
These all seem a bit ridiculous for 2014, maybe 2024. There are so many
hurdles to overcome to get self driving cars, or private drones.

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dkuntz2
Some of them don't seem entirely ridiculous. Anonymity going mainstream could
likely happen due to everything that happened in 2013. Similarly, Drones got
really big towards the end of 2013, seeing them get even bigger doesn't seem
all that unlikely.

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tlrobinson
No mention of virtual reality (not augmented reality) or cryptocurrencies?
Those would be my picks for 2014.

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kimburgess
Interesting to see where the likely/not likely voting scales are. It would be
great to see this data in a few weeks.

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cpeterso
Your comment reminded me of this cool interactive NY Times article from 2011:

    
    
      Predicting the Future of Computing
    
      Since no supercomputer can yet predict the future, we need your help. Readers are
      invited to make predictions and collaboratively edit this timeline, which is divided
      into three sections: a sampling of past advances, future predictions that you can push
      forward or backward in time (but not, of course, into the past), and a form for making
      and voting on predictions. The most prescient prophet might receive an iPad 2 in 2050.
      But if the past is any guide, this prediction will almost surely be wrong.
    

[http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/06/science/201112...](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/06/science/20111206-technology-
timeline.html)

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cromwellian
I wonder if the "innovators" listed on each point are Frog clients? :)

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snogglethorpe
Seriously, none of the companies mentioned by name are particularly innovative
or ahead of the curve (e.g. WeChat, which has tons of competitors with similar
feature sets, user numbers, and prospects).

I can't really see any reason to mention them at all unless there's a bit of
back-scratchin' going on...

[Moreover, given the generally random nature of the other "predictions" (some
are just stupid, and are no way going to happen, and others are just repeating
common wisdom) and I wonder if the purpose of the entire list is to push those
companies....]

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girvo
Faraday Zones are a neat idea! I've already got one by accident (sort of) in
my home office, we extended the house and have our huge steel balcony _inside_
our house[0] now, and it (along with huge steel struts through the house)
means that wifi refuses to make it to the office.

Wonder how you'd be able to create a space like that on purpose?

[0] [http://instagram.com/p/i-oDm7sv8o/](http://instagram.com/p/i-oDm7sv8o/)

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amjaeger
I think they are getting ahead of themselves, especially with drones, and
autonomous cars. Also that company "personal" that they list, I looked at the
site and they run an auto-fill app for online "personal info" forms. Chrome
already does that... doesn't it? I liked their "Faraday Zones" I thought that
was a cool concept. Will it happen, I don't know.

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warble
No mention of flying cars, interesting.

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dkuntz2
Or HoverBoards, or even giant 3D projections of JAWS 19 eating you.

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nemothekid
WeChat / Chinese Tech giants are interesting. Does a Chinese / Non-US player
stand a chance on potentially accessing the goldmine that is the American
consumer data? And how will the NSA react? Or the American advertising
industry?

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greyman
They forgot Bitcoin, imho.

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bitcuration
The number of application based on block chain is booming, its significance as
a technology goes way beyond monetary.

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greyman
Do you have some overview like which ones are the most promising, etc.?

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bryan_rasmussen
What was that about the sky's the limit for great design, was there a
prediction there? I expect predictions to at least some quantifiable component
about them.

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l33tbro
Love these design and tech trend articles. Such an invaluable way to know
where the crowd is going, so we can break away and go somewhere else.

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pcurve
that's how we stay l33t,bro.

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l33tbro
Yessir, my tounge-in-cheek username has been crafted for optimum douche-
bagginess. The lulz are all yours friend.

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_sabe_
Looking at movies from the 80's and even the 90's it's kind of painful to see
the perception of technology. Not because the technology is obsolete today and
that in some way is hilariously funny, but because you can feel the hubris at
that time as people thought of them self as being at the forefront.

Now I used to think that we the humanity grown out of that hubris. That our
kids will never be able to mock us because of the old technology we once
perceived as cutting edge, simply because we gotten more distanced to our self
no longer perceiving our self as being on the forefront in a world that's
always changing.

But right now I feel like we're back in the hubris of the 80's. We will tell
our kids about the time when every one was supposed to have a 3d printer at
home. The material was super expensive, the material didn't hold up to
anything, and who is going to have time to manufacture stuff at home when we
don't even make our own food any more? And our kids will laugh at us for ever
getting so out of touch with reality.

