Top Five Tech Developments to Watch

While the summer months are typically a slow time for significant technology announcements, the last several months brought some interesting, and key developments, in the tech arena. Some of the larger tech players jockeyed for position with new operating systems, search engines, smart phones, and ultracheap video cameras, all of which will get attention through the end of the year and beyond.

01: New operating system war. The July announcement of Google’s operating system, Chrome OS, sent some nervous chatter through Redmond. Chrome OS is targeted to run on low-cost portable computers known as netbooks, but Google says it will also run on PCs. The operating system is set to be released in 2010. In the Apple sphere, it released its Snow Leopard, a faster version of its operating system.

02: Ultracheap camcorders. Networking giant Cisco acquired Pure Digital Technologies, the maker of Flip Video, in March. Researchers at Cisco predict that video will account for 80% of Internet data traffic within four years–44 exabytes per month, the equivalent of 11 billion DVDs; thus, Cisco is anxious to control what it sees as an enormous market. But they are not without significant competition. Smartphones, including the Apple 3GS, includes video capabilities, and companies like Creative and Kodak have a line of pocket video cameras. Expect increasing noise in this area.

03: Decision engines. As search engine makers look for the next evolutionary step in the market, Microsoft unveiled Bing, its “decision engine,” to good reviews and public interest. Also, some smaller outfits released decision engines, most notably Hunch.com and Wolfram’s Alpha.

04: Smartphones. A lot of the technology news during the summer centered on smartphones: Apple released an updated one, Palm came out with the Pre, and new phones using the Android operating system have received attention. By the end of the year there will be 18 phones based on Google’s Android operating system on the market.

05: The return of original content? Much was made of the graying of FaceBook and how it has lost its cool factor, apparently. The newspaper and magazine industry continued to struggle as they try and best figure how to package and sell (or give away) content. Meanwhile, as local papers perish, bigger outlets are seeing an opportunity and muscling into regional markets. ESPN has a site dedicated to local sports in Chicago, and more cities will be on-line in the future. And The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal announced that it would publish local editions in San Francisco. AOL and Yahoo have made inroads by creating original content instead of simply aggregating news. Perhaps media companies are realizing that original content is important because it creates value and brand loyalty.