Blu-ray

Blu-ray may not be found in many digital homes in 2013 unless vendors act quickly. According to Forrester Research's James McQuivey, adoption rates of the format are extremely low. The HD format suffers from a slew of issues: Media prices are too high, the Blu-ray players are expensive, movies can't be transferred, and HD downloads are right around the corner.

Even though Blu-ray succeeded in beating HD DVD, it still needs to compete with the wrinkled old man in the room: DVD, which has a huge installed base and billions of discs in circulation. And if broadband speeds increase to a more suitable level, Blu-ray may be skipped in favor of downloads and streaming entertainment. Can you say, LaserDisc?

Desktop PCs

Desktop PCs have been around for decades, but in recent years, notebooks have taken over. Providing comparable processing and storage power, but far better mobility, notebooks PCs have quickly become the cornerstone of many digital homes. And while PC gaming has kept the desktop market alive, even that stronghold is threatened by more powerful notebooks and next-gen consoles that can keep up with desktop graphics capabilities.

According to recent data, desktop PC sales continue to dwindle as notebooks gain more market share. And if sales continue to decline and touchscreen technology improves, desktops may become a rarity five years from now.

Slow mobile networks

As anyone with a first-generation iPhone knows, slow mobile networks like EDGE are unbearable if you're trying to do some browsing on the go. But luckily for you, most carriers are responding to consumers' need for speed, and have installed 3G networks all over the country. And with 4G just around the corner, 2G to 2.75G's days may be numbered. Phew!

Even better, 3G technology could be on the way out in five years as long as telcos and vendors make serious inroads with 4G.

Locally stored files

Sure, it might be a long shot, but there's significant evidence to show that you may not be storing files locally in your digital home in 2013.

As Web applications continue to evolve and online storage becomes less costly, more consumers will start moving toward online storage as a way to store important data and maybe even backup data prior to a disaster. Microsoft and AOL have both publicly said that they want to lead the charge in online storage. Amazon also has a strong foothold with its S3 storage service. It allows users to store large files, but reliability issues and even the cost of storing information -- $0.15 per GB -- makes them a less than ideal option right now.

Desktop operating systems

Although Windows 7 will be installed locally and the next iteration of the Mac OS will be too, it's only a matter of time before the traditional operating system gives way to the Internet.

Already, Adobe has said that the online component will be an integral part of its applications going forward. Companies like Google have also done quite well at designing and launching office applications that depend on a Web browser. And as online applications catch up to desktop software in terms of functionality and reliability, the desktop will quickly lose ground as people become more inclined to choose the online world over the offline. In essence, the browser will become the new OS.

Table of contents from the Industry Standard special feature, Ten Technologies from the Digital Home of 2013:

• Introduction: What your future really looks like: The Digital Home of 2013
• 1. The Digital Home of 2013: High-speed telecommunications
• 2. The Digital Home of 2013: It's
  
  12next ›last »