Technology predictions for 2012

2012 will be a big year for TV, voice recognition and Amazon.com.

Strategic News Service publisher Mark Anderson has issued his list of top 10 technology predictions for 2012.  He shares some of the highlights on The Digital Future with KPLU's Dave Meyer. 

Integrating everything

A lot of interesting technologies have been developed in recent years, and 2012 will see many of these technologies working better together. TV is a prime example.

TV becomes the new center of gravity in the tech universe 

TV may be "old media", but the ubiquitous widescreen flat panel is becoming the electronic hub of the home, with various devices finding their niches in the TV galaxy. Examples: controlling your TV with smartphones, tablets and Microsoft's Kinect.

Open the pod bay door, HAL

This will be the year that voice recognition applications go mainstream. Apple's Siri app for iPhones leads the way. The time has finally come for computers and humans to talk to each other.

Amazon gets it all

CEO Jeff Bezos has been making huge investments in the company's future, developing e-readers, online streaming, grocery deliveries, etc. These investments should pay off well in 2012.

You can find Mark's complete list of predictions for 2012 at his blog, A Bright Fire.

“The Digital Future” is a monthly interview with technology expert Mark Anderson covering the online world and all things digital. The feature is published here on the last Tuesday of every month and airs on KPLU 88.5 during Morning Edition and All Things Considered.