As you might know, if you know me, or link to what I'm listening to, I like the stupid humour of Jonathan Ross. There's a link over on the right-hand side down the page a bit.
Russell Brand is also a funny bloke who makes me laugh. He recently started pod-casting his Saturday night radio shows. Try one out. You can get it here.
'Tis the season for silly predictions so I thought I would add mine.
Technology
1. Mobile operators won't change this year. Why should they? They have a cash cow and until they are forced by competition they won't do anything. Things that will force them to change are the services from companies like JAJAH (I work for JAJAH) and Truphone.
2. Dual-Mode handsets will proliferate but nobody will be able to use them because everyone is still looking at this issue from a technical perspective. What I mean is that until the industry begins to coordinate and cooperate nothing much will happen. You might have a Nokia E61 with Truphone running on it but that's pretty much useless if you walk into a hotspot and Truphone doesn't have a roaming/authentication agreement with the hotspot operator. The strength of GSM is all in the roaming framework. Until this is replicated in the SIP/Wi-Fi world we won't really see the sheer disruptive power of this service combination. I'm not expecting it in 2007. As a result item 1 above will remain true.
3. Because of item #2 Femtocells might get a look in. Many people have been talking about these but I have to state for the record that it was my good friend Michael Kuhlmann who first touted such an idea about 3-4 years ago. I won't disclose the full details of his idea but it would make a lovely complement to JAJAH's service.
4. Some entity will make a move on Research in Motion. It could be Private Equity and it could be Nokia but this is a great company and it's turning into a nice little cash-generating beast and I think with the Pearl they are onto something.
5. Apple will announce the... integrated home entertainment system. You might have thought I was going to say iPhone but although I'm in the wireless world I don't really care that much about it. It doesn't ease any pain I have. I'm actually quite happy with the innovative products that Nokia keeps bringing to the market. What I want, no *need*, is an integrated home entertainment system. The full shabang. Internet access, TV, movies, photos, music... all from the one box and all with one remote. I have to be able to use this thing without taking a 3 year degree. There is only one company that can do it -- Apple. It should be called the Fuji.
The World
1. Bush! I have no hope whatsoever for the man. This year means that it's one year closer to the next presidential election. I'm not sure who said this but it remains true: "...the US Presidency is just too important to only allow Americans to vote. We all need to get a vote this time around."
2. Gordon Brown becomes the UK Prime Minister and announces a troop withdrawal from Iraq. Otherwise he doesn't stand much of a chance in the next UK elections.
3. Warmest year on record yet again? What d'ya think? Global warming, is it for real? What a bloody stupid question that is. Of course it's for real. I guess it won't be until Miami is under six feet of water that people will seriously start recycling their Pellegrino bottles. Do you think Al Gore will run?
4. Valverde wins the Tour in 2007 and Man. U win the Champions League.
5. I'll actually get my kitchen reno finished ;-)
I'm back in the UK today. I'm off to Barcelona tomorrow to attend the ETRE conference followed by an MVNO conference. What's JAJAH up to?
Anyway, while I'm in Europe I get The Guardian everyday. What a dream. Great journalism, beautiful design and I love the new berliner format -- perfect on the plane, perfect on the train. I also discovered today that there is a Guardian blog that is highly acclaimed.
I'm writing this from the Surf and Sip hotspot at the Caffe Nero in Paddington. Surf and Sip is run by my great friend Rick Ehrlinspiel. If you need a hotspot try and use a Surf and Sip hotspot.
