2015 Predictions Recap
3 min read
It’s that time of year where I go over my 2015 predictions I made this time last year. You can read the full article of my 2015 predictions here where I go into my reasons behind my future visions. As I am preparing my predictions for 2016 I have to see how I did for this year first. The list of the predictions are below and ones in Red I call a miss and ones in Green I call a win.
1) Apple Watch Will Be ‘Meh’ – I will call this accurate event though I have purchased two, one for myself and one for Mrs. Binary. The watch itself is a fantastic extension of your phone and brings new data points into the picture but I could very easily do without one. In the pool of smart watches the Apple Watch is the best out there but the whole genre is a niche corner.
2) 3D Printing Enters The Home – This is another correct prediction. 3D printing has entered the home and will continue to grow. The biggest breakthrough is the M3D printer that was crowdsourced and brought a small, affordable 3D printer into the home.
3) Re-Emergence Of Home Audio Systems – I will call this a win although not entirely as I predicted it. Although the hard core audiophile resurgence of receivers, big speakers didn’t happen and doesn’t look like it will there has been an explosion of home audio. The difference is to adapt to the mobile nature of our habits now. We no longer have groups of people sitting around a sound system listening to a record. Instead we have portable, high quality speakers, Wi-Fi enabled audio devices for streaming and a direction of sound to allow us to bring our music with us to be enjoyed anywhere.
4) AppleTV Finally Gets An Upgrade – Another win but this was a gimme. It was only a matter of time for Apple to update and advance the AppleTV.
5) Major Movies Will Release Online Before Theaters – This was tried a few times but I don’t think we will see this practice take hold. The mutual relationship between theaters and movie studios are too tight to shift the revenue streams. As a consumer I would like to see more up to date movies that I am on the fence about at home but there are always big ticket movies that I will always go see in IMAX.
6) HIPAA Hacking Takes The Stage – Unfortunately another win. HIPAA is a joke when it comes to building a security practice for organizations. Compare it to any financial regulation for data protection, PCI, FFIEC, etc… and you will see the shortcomings in HIPAA.
7) Netflix is acquired – This didn’t happen. The opposite occurred. Instead of Netflix struggling and looking for a suitor, they became a powerhouse that is making ‘traditional’ broadcast TV and Hollywood very nervous.
8) Multi-factor authentication becomes mainstream – I will call this inaccurate. Although most sites are now offering and heavily encouraging users to turn on multi-factor options, none are forcing it. I will call this mainstream when sites truly band together and forbid the old username and password authentication method.
9) Wireless charging – Not quite as I envisioned it. Not yet. There are ‘wireless’ charging options but they are not quite truly wireless.
10) Spotify buys Pandora – Nope. I don’t see this happening anymore. With the inclusion of Apple Music, Beats Radio, Tidal and a few other new online streaming services Spotify and Pandora are no longer alone. Instead the strategy will be to compete the others out of business. However, I do see Pandora’s music genome integration to be worth something to somebody. Shazam?
There you go. My 2015 predictions. Not bad. A few hits, a few misses. Either way it’s fun to sit and think about the future. My 2016 predictions coming soon….
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Binary Blogger has spent 20 years in the Information Security space currently providing security solutions and evangelism to clients. From early web application programming, system administration, senior management to enterprise consulting I provide practical security analysis and solutions to help companies and individuals figure out HOW to be secure every day.
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