Every year in December and January, there are a number of articles,
reports, whitepapers, and presentations published that provide lists
of the top trends forecasted for the Information Technology industry. 
 The titles of these lists are varied  (examples you might find "Top
Emerging Trends". "Top 10 List", "2004 Issues for IT Vendors").

I am looking for a wide variety of lists that cover all of IT, so I am
interested in lists of trends in 5 categories 1)IT Hardware,
2)Software, 3) Services 4) Consumer, and 5) General Trends (a catch
all category).  I am mainly interested in IT trends as it relates to
the Business IT market, so please spend most of your time in
categories 1-3.  Use # 5 as a general category if you can't seem to
fit it into the categories described above.

A complete answer to this question will contain a a list of URLs
broken down by the categories mentioned above.  This list of URLs will
point me to these reports, articles, lists, presentations, white
papers, etc. that have been published in the last 3 months.  I am more
interested in a complete answer than I am a quick one.  A 5-star
answer will get a generous tip.

Hello Wim58,
I believe I have exhausted all possible lists of trends for 2004 that
can be found at this time, and so I present them below. I've done my
best to see that each list will fit into the right category, though it
may differ from what you've originally expected.


General Trends:
Article - Top Internet Trends for 2004 - WebTalk Radio
http://www.webtalkguys.com/10604.shtml

BW Online | December 30, 2003 | Tech's Top Trends for 2004
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2003/tc20031230_9935.htm

BitTorrent, 'Gi-Fi,' and Other Trends in 2004
http://news.earthweb.com/ent-news/article.php/3294271

IDC predicts top trends in 2004
http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2003/1204idctrends.html

Trendsetters.com - 07-Jan-04 :: Top 2004 Trends, Wireless TV, South Korea
http://www.trendsetters.com/issue/9001,1,0104,07,1.html



IT Hardware:
Forbes.com: 2004's Top Technology Trends
http://www.forbes.com/2004/01/02/102techtrendspinnacor_ii.html

Trends 2004 - Simmtester.com
http://www.simmtester.com/page/news/showpubnews.asp?num=102

CEOnetworking's Top Ten 2004 Business Trends
By Mitchell Levy
http://ceonetworking.com/businesstrends/2004Top10withQuotes.pdf

Gartner's top 10 technologies in 2004: ZDNet Australia: IT Manager: Trends
http://www.zdnet.com.au/itmanager/trends/0,2000061043,20280077,00.htm

Byte and Switch - The Global Site For Storage Networking
http://www.byteandswitch.com/document.asp?doc_id=45189

CNN.com - CES: The gadgets of 2004 - Jan. 8, 2004
http://us.cnn.com/2004/TECH/ptech/01/08/bus2.ptech.gadgets.ces/
- Not exactly a list of trends per se, but it lists technologies that
might become in demand in 2004.

Mercury News | 01/01/2004 | 10 tech trends for 2004
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/7612468.htm

PM.Zone 2004 Consumer Electronics Show Trends Report
http://popularmechanics.com/technology/computers/2004/1/2004_ces_wrapup/



IT service:
Fortune.com - Fast Forward - Tech Trends to Watch in 2004
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/fastforward/0,15704,569767,00.html
- I included this in service since it shows how companies would be behaving.

Hardware Today: Looking Ahead, Our Top 10 List for 2004:
http://www.serverwatch.com/hreviews/article.php/3293501
- Though it says 'hardware', the items seem to show what is more like
behavior of institutions.

Forrester Releases Top Technology Trends For 2004; Predictions Include
IT Growth In Several (printable version)
http://www.hostingtech.com/news/2004/1/8/Print/St_Nitf_Forrester_Releases_Top_Technol_b0107033.6sw.html

Five Big Tech Trends to Watch in 2004
http://www.thestreet.com/pf/funds/jubak/10134463.html

Top 14 development integration trends for 2004: ZDNet Australia
http://web.zdnet.com.au/builder/manage/business/story/0,2000035090,20279132,00.htm

IT Trends 2004: Service-Level Management and Business
Services Management Technologies
Thomas Mendel (PDF document)
http://www.bmc.com/USA/Corporate/BSM/attachments/slm_and_bsm_thomas_mendel.pdf



IT consumers:
Technology News: Trends: Five E-Commerce Trends To Watch
http://www.technewsworld.com/perl/story/16967.html

Trends 2004 - Consumer and marketing trends for 2004 and beyond, 20 Jan. 2004
http://www.trends2004.com/trends/articles.html

eOneNet.com Forecasts Top 10 Internet Trends in 2004, Jan 14, 2004
http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/11727.html



IT software:
Internet Time Blog: Top Trends for 2004
http://www.internettime.com/blog/archives/001104.html
- I put this in software since the items typify things that happen to software.

Trends in the Software Industry
http://stylusinc.com/india/Trends%20_in%20_the%20_Software%20_Industry.htm
- Though not a strictly 'trends for 2004' list, it does give points
about software that are certain to be trends in 2004.

IDC - Trends in Software and Mobile markets
http://hitech.suomi.net/oske/docs/library/public/trendsprn.pdf 

SEM Predictions for 2004 (The SEM CEO's View)
http://www.clickz.com/search/results/article.php/3293131


Google search terms used:
top 10 computer trends 2004
top tech trends 2004
consumer tech trends 2004
top computer consumer trends 2004
top information technology trends 2004
top software trends 2004
top tech consumer behavior trends 2004
software development trends 2004
top information technology consumer behavior predictions 2004
top software industry trends 2004
software market trends 2004
computer consumer trends 2004
e-commerce consumer trends 2004

I hope this has been a most helpful answer. If you need anything else,
or have a problem with the answer, do please post a Request for
Clarification before rating and I shall respond as soon as I can.
Thank you.

---

Request for Answer Clarification by wim58-ga on 19 Jan 2004 14:36 PST

Your note says that you have "have exhausted all possible lists of
trends for 2004 that can be found at this time".  My question says
specifically that I am more interested in a complete answer than a
quick one.

A quick 5 minute search by me turned up twow that you missed, like
 
http://www.redherring.com/Top10Trends.aspx 

http://www.analystviews.com/JSP/AnalystContent/SummitStrategies/2004SummitSeven.pdf

If I could find two in 5 minutes, then I do not think you have "have
exhausted all possible lists of trends for 2004 that can be found at
this time".  I am not looking for ALL possible lists...but I was
looking for more than you gave me.  Could you try again?  Thanks.

---

Clarification of Answer by techtor-ga on 20 Jan 2004 04:34 PST

Wim58 Hello,
Yes, I believe I have exhausted everything on the word 'trends', but
as Gnagle said below, other words can be used and I am in the process
of getting more web pages with such trends and predictions now. I will
post my new findings shortly.

I did see the Redherring.com page, but I must have excluded it from my
answer by some inadvertent error. I will try to include as much as
possible now.

---

Clarification of Answer by techtor-ga on 20 Jan 2004 09:54 PST

Hello again Wim58,
I've looked around for more websites and I found these. I hope you
don't find the new arrangement too confusing, as I found it hard to
classify each webpage squarely, and some have a mix of each category,
though I tried to make each category more or less grouped together:

Neeley.org - Assorted Predictions for 2004
http://www.neeley.org/ap2004.html
(General)
- Contains links to various predictions for 2004 all over the Net. 

PBS - I, Cringely . Archived Column
http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20040101.html
(General)

Where Is i-Technology Going in 2004? (LinuxWorld):
http://www.linuxworld.com/story/38681.htm?DE=1
(General)

Enterprise Systems - Ten Technology Predictions for 2004
http://www.esj.com/enterprise/article.asp?EditorialsID=797
(General)

10 predictions for 2004
http://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/2004/0105edit.html
(General, but seems to have some on services)

Marty Nemko's Web site - My 2004 Predictions
http://www.martynemko.com/pub/articles/2004predictions.shtm
(General)

Tech, business possibilities for 2004: a multiple-choice predictions quiz
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/business/technology/7605215.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
(General)

CNN.com - Tech predictions for 2004 - Jan. 1, 2004
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/ptech/01/01/bus2.feat.tech.predictions/
(General)

My First Mine: Tech Predictions: 2004
http://blog.airdrop.org/archives/000493.html
(General)

SearchNetworking.com | Puneet Mehta's 2004 industry predictions
http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid7_gci942643,00.html
(General)

SearchNetworking.com - Carrie Higbie's 2004 industry predictions
http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid7_gci942646,00.html
(General)

NZOOM - ONE News - Technology
http://onenews.nzoom.com/onenews_detail/0,1227,246697-1-454,00.html
(General, but has much on hardware)

Slashdot - Tech Predictions for 2004
http://slashdot.org/articles/04/01/01/1335231.shtml?tid=126
(General, rather humorous list)

Top 10 Technology Predictions for 2004
http://www.nucleusresearch.com/research/d139.pdf
(General)

Tech Predictions for 2004 @ Java Oracle WiFi Security Hardware News by
Christoph C. Cemper
http://weblog.cemper.com/a/200401/01-tech-predictions-for-2004.php
- A weblog which lists various predictions from many general sources.
(General)

Darrell Norton's Blog
Agile Software Development
http://dotnetjunkies.com/weblog/darrell.norton/posts/4827.aspx
(General)

Forbes.com: Information Technology
http://www.forbes.com/2003/12/15/sp04_it.html
(General)
- Comments from different editors of Forbes.

PCWorld.com - Is It Time for a Technology Comeback?
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,113775,00.asp
(General, but has something on consumers)

TechBiz: Predictions for 2004 - Dec. 29, 2003
http://money.cnn.com/2003/12/29/technology/techinvestor/hellweg/?cnn=yes
(General)

Tallán, Inc. - Press Releases: Tallán Technology Predictions 2004: Another Up Year?
http://www.tallan.com/news/press_releases/2003/2003_12_01.shtml
(General)

Freedom to Tinker: Predictions for 2004
http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/archives/000493.html
(General)

IEEE Spectrum Careers: Technology Trends 2004
By Ashton Applewhite & Jean Kumagai
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/careers/careerstemplate.jsp?ArticleId=n010104
(General)

SlashNOT - ForwardSlash: 2004 Predictions
http://www.slashnot.com/article.php3?story_id=346
(General)

Tech 'resurrection' predicted for 2004
http://www.computerweekly.com/Article127041.htm
(General)

JDJ Exclusive: Scott McNealy's 2004 Predictions (LinuxWorld)
http://www.linuxworld.com/story/38670.htm?DE=1
(General, but with something on consumers)

PocketFactory - Personal Technology News & Reviews: My 2004 Predictions
http://www.pocketfactory.com/archives/000173.php?comments=7
(General)

DouglasWhitehead.com: Salkever's 2004 Predictions
http://douglaswhitehead.com/blog/archives/000129.php
(General)

SearchCIO.com | Predictions for 2004: IT moves up and out
http://searchcio.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid19_gci943025,00.html
(General)

SearchDomino.com | Expert predictions: 2004 is the year of collaboration
http://searchdomino.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid4_gci943026,00.html
(General, but I believe it has something on software and services)

ItSeemstoMe: 12 Predictions for 2004
http://seems2shel.typepad.com/itseemstome/2003/11/12_predictions_.html
(General)

TCS: Tech Central Station - A Shocking Prediction for 2004
http://www.techcentralstation.com/010504F.html
(General)

Ten tech predictions to shake your world - TechRepublic
http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-6296-1054116.html
- 2-page article
(General)

IDC predicts 'tech resurrection' in 2004 : HindustanTimes.com
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_496213,00030001.htm
(General)

Peripherals Predictions 2004 - About.com
http://peripherals.about.com/cs/cddvdcdwriters/a/aa010604a.htm
(Hardware)
- 1st of 3 pages about hardware predictions for 2004

The year ahead: Tech predictions for 2004 - theage.com.au
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/01/06/1073268003600.html?from=storyrhs
(Hardware)

Key technology predictions: 2003 to 2012
http://radio.weblogs.com/0105910/2003/02/15.html
(Hardware)

Tech Digest: Predictions for 2004
http://techdigestuk.typepad.com/tech_digest/2004/01/predictions_for.html
(Hardware)

CNN.com - 10 technologies to watch in 2004 - Dec. 25, 2003
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/12/23/bus2.feat.tech.towatch/index.html
(Hardware)

Analyst Views Hot Topics - 2004 Predictions
http://www.analystviews.com/data/web/av/JSP/HotTopics/2004Predictions.jsp
- Another web page collecting links to analysts' predictions for 2004.
(General)

USATODAY.com - Some completely serious predictions for tech world in 2004
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/kevinmaney/2003-12-16-maney_x.htm
(Services)

PCWorld.com - Security Worries for 2004:
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,114058,pg,1,00.asp
(Services)

SearchWebServices.com | Web services expert predictions 2004
http://searchwebservices.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid26_gci939989,00.html
(Services)
- Click on the other names to get the others' opinions. 

Tech Predictions For 2004 | Mac Forums
http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/topic/53280-1.html
(Services)

Westbridge Technology | News
http://www.westbridgetech.com/news62.html
(Services)

Predictions for 2004: Carriers finally get serious about mobility
http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/mobile/2004/0112mobile2.html
(Services)

Technology -predictions: Tomorrow's world
http://www.computerweekly.com/Article118449.htm
(More on Services, a bit on Hardware)

inCode Releases Top 10 Predictions for Wireless Carriers in 2004
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031118/cgtu001_1.html
(Services)

Web Content Management Predictions for 2004
http://www.skali.com/index.php?ac=231&ch=3&pg=264
(Services)

Predictions for Mobile and Wireless in 2004 - Gartner's Predictions
for the year ahead
http://www4.gartner.com/research/spotlight/asset_55593_895.jsp
(Services)

Ask the Experts - SearchStorage.com, the source for news and tips on
enterprise storage, SAN, NAS and backup
http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/ateQuestionNResponse/0,289625,sid5_cid566887_tax294861,00.html
(Services)

JDJ Exclusive: Scott McNealy's 2004 Predictions
http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/media/features/jdj_mcnealy.html
(Some Consumer, some Services)

Smart Mobs - What are your Smartmobby predictions for 2004?
http://www.smartmobs.com/archives/002287.html
(Consumer)

Predictions for 2004 | drupal.org
http://www.drupal.org/node/view/4877
(Software)

IT Trends 2004: Operating System Security
http://www.gigaweb.com/content_display/popup/1,,PubID=RIB-122003-00072.html
(Software)

Microsoft: What's in Store for 2004?
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,4248,1425984,00.asp
(Software)


Something for the future (year 2012):
Mercury News | 11/30/2002 | Mike Langberg: Bold technology predictions for 2012
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/4635704.htm


Google Search terms used:
technology predictions 2004
tech predictions 2004
technology industry predictions 2004
tech consumer predictions 2004
software predictions 2004

I hope the number of results I've presented is satisfactory. Thank you.

Techtor-ga:  Thanks for your interest in this assignment and your
desire to make me happy after your first answer did not hit the level
of answer I was looking for.  While I have not explored all of the
URLs you have given me, I can see by the number of them that you have
covered the landscape of categories and sources that will help me
understand a broad view of the trends in 2004 that will impact IT.  
The extra searching on 'predictions' did the trick.  Thanks again.

Use synonyms for trends.

Techtor-ga:  Appreciate your interest in trying to make me happy.  Thanks.

Techtor-ga:  Thanks for the extra work.  I need some time to work
through the extra URLs, but at first glance, I believe I am happy with
the answer.

FYI...  In checking the original list I found one article that dates
back to 2002.  "Technology News: Trends: Five E-Commerce Trends To
Watch"
http://www.technewsworld.com/perl/story/16967.html

Techtor-ga:  Found another old article.  This appears to be one year
old:  Trends in the Software Industry
http://stylusinc.com/india/Trends%20_in%20_the%20_Software%20_Industry.htm

Wim58,
I myself am thankful for the chance you gave me, the great rating and
the tip. I am happy to have served you despite my initial
shortcomings. Thank you again and keep coming back!