It's easy to analyse past events in technology, but rather difficult to predict future events. In just ten years technological achievements have been incredible.

We've seen games consoles launch a whole new market, sometimes making similar amounts of money as popular international films. We've seen computers go from being rare in homes to become as common and widespread as televisions; now being regarded as an essential ornament in the home by many. However, I am not writing this post to discuss the past, only the future. So what does the future really hold for Digital Cultures?

Well, I believe personal surveillance by governments is going to be a big issue in the future; with the amount of information they could potentially know about us being a frightening prospect. I also believe the keyboard and mouse may be consigned to the bin, with touch screens being widely adopted by many manufacturers. It wouldn't surprise me if laptops, desktops and mobile phones all use some form of touch screen elements in ten years time.

Device storage and processors could also progress to have unprecedented specifications. Traditional hard drives will be phased out and replaced by solid state alternatives. Dual Core and Quad Core processors will be regarded as slow, with six and eight core implementations becoming the industry standard. Whether Microsoft will hold such a high market share will also be interesting. I would like to see Apple's Macintosh brand accelerate in growth, and not just be regarded as good for video, music and design and nothing else - after all people can't use the no right click argument anymore!

"It's a peculiar feature of this technology that by making things smaller everything gets better. The transistors get faster, you can put more of a system on a chip."
Dr Gordon Moore (Inventor of Moore's Law)

So, judging my Moore's Law, the future of Digital Cultures looks positive. However, if people abuse the power of advancements in technology, such as Governments, then the consequences could be a very scary prospect indeed.