It's 2009 (Happy New Year, everyone!) and that means it's time for predictions for the new year. I've read articles here and there listing what's "in" and what's "out," what kind of changes we can expect, and what kind of technology we will all be using later this year. This is my list of what I see:

Telecommuting and Outsourcing. As the economy drifts from bad to worse, and eventually back again, many businesses will be looking at ways to minimize costs as well as keep the best workers happy when they can't afford to give them big raises. Telecommuting has been growing over the years, and I expect it to continue to grow. But what I also see is that companies will be looking for contracted outsourcing that takes advantage of telecommuting. A contracted worker could provide their own equipment, office space, software, and connection to the Internet, reducing costs overall for the employer to provide these things.

Energy Use Reduction through Virtualization. We all know how IT and our enormous server farms are drains on public power sources. They are also a huge chunk of what is paid in operating expenses at any business. Reducing the amount of servers needed, and desktops needed, through virtualization, could save considerable dollars through the course of a year. I work with two desktops and a laptop on my desk every day, but I'm busily converting my workhorse desktop machine into a multi-functioning, multi-layered computer that runs everything I need in virtualized environments. Many of our training dollars right now are pushed towards virtualization.

More Interns, Fewer New Hires. We have already seen this growing here on our campus. We never utilized interns before, now we have four to six of them on staff at any given time. Empty positions are not being filled due to hiring freezes, and the interns provide a valuable labor pool that costs us nothing but a little training time. It is a win-win situation for both the intern and our institution.

Continued Non-Deployment of Vista. Despite that fact that I use Vista machines (two of them, in fact) and that it's been out for nearly two years, companies and institutions are not buying into it. All are waiting for Windows 7. I am used to it and can navigate through it, even though it annoys me, but I still prefer XP, even after using Vista for better than a year in my daily work. Vista is not for the faint of heart, or for the non-techie market, sad to say. My hopes are pinned on Windows 7, I hope I'm not disappointed.

Smart Phone Deployment. Smart phones are yesterday's PDA's. For some in the workforce, a smart phone may be plenty for what they do. For the techies out there, the smart phone will never replace a computer. I've resisted the smart phone invasion because to me it is just a toy, something to pass time while I'm waiting to get back to my keyboard. Tech workers will need to be able to help clients integrate smart phones into their technology pools.

Decentralization of Technologists' Skill Sets. That's a mouthful. What I mean is that technologists will need to know more than technology. The push is to have more technologists understanding management structures and methods, budget considerations, non-technological solutions to technical problems, and long-term goal setting and forecasting. CIO's and Technology Managers these days are being hired based more on their management skills than on their technical skills. Having a broadbased knowledge and experience will make technologists more hirable in the short- and long-term future.

That's what I see. Did I miss anything?

Apparently overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, many, if not all, first generation Zune 30 gb players froze and refuse to operate. The shutdowns seem to have occurred simultaneously around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, December 31. Zunes that have frozen may or may not start up again, and when they do start up, they freeze again before completely booting.

Microsoft has issued a vague "we're working on the problem" statement on the Zune website.

I have a nearly four year old iPod 60 gb player (gen IV, I think). I've never had one second of a problem with it (I can't say the same for iTunes, however). When I bought MP3 players for everyone in my household for Christmas, I opted for Sony and Sansa players, something without much operating system to go wrong, and with no firmware updates to screw anything up. I'd have bought iPods but they were out of my budget for a family of five.

Since my entire household is now on a New Year's Eve trip to Chicago, and everyone has their headphones in rocking to their own music (I'm catching up on all my podcasts), I'm glad that we don't have a crashed Zune to deal with. I'd have a van full of angry teenagers on my hands if we did!

I hope Microsoft is able to track down the exact problem and get a fix out ASAP. Considering it's the holidays and perhaps half of Microsoft (along with the rest of the U.S.) is away on vacation, I don't anticipate a fix yet today, which is bad for those wishing they could use their Zunes right about now.

Two things in the news today. First, Microsoft has once again, for at least the third time, granted an extension to PC manufacturers who are insisting that they still want to purchase XP. Such manufacturers can now order XP through the end of January, even if they don't want delivery of the software until as late as May. In my recollection, this is definitely the third, and possibly the fourth, reprieve for Microsoft's most-used-to-date operating software.

And in another survey, Microsoft is finding out that 10% or less of corporate environments have deployed Vista. Educational environments are showing a slightly higher rate of adoption, but not much, at about 15%. Corporations and institutions of higher learning are holding onto the more stable and less resource-hoggy (is that a word) XP. If Vista is deployed, it is on individual laptops that are used for travel or other off-corporate-network projects. I know our institution is not deploying Vista except into a limited number of classrooms where the software is being taught. It has not been rolled out to staff or faculty systems except for laptops that are used mostly off-grid.

Microsoft is being pressured to produce on their Windows 7 promises. A release seems likely by late 2009 as customers continue to refuse to upgrade to the Vista platform. Vista has ended up being a dismal and financial failure for Microsoft. Even though I use Vista on several machines, I still defer to my XP machines for most of my day-to-day work. Unless a corporation can afford the massive hardware upgrade that Vista requires, XP is still the way to go, and these corporations are talking with their wallets.

It would be nice to think that Windows 7 will be a more natural progression of Microsoft operating systems than Vista is. What we all wanted and needed was an upgraded XP, not something completely new and different and expensive to deploy. I don't know if I can think that hopefully, but maybe Microsoft has learned a few lessons with Vista.

The RIAA has decided to cease prosecution of file sharers directly, and instead force ISP's to become the new copyright police.

The RIAA wasn't even able to truly determine if people were sharing music, so a ginormous ISP is supposed to be able to figure it out?

I have BitTorrent loaded one one of my machines. I've used it to make large files of my own creation available to people who need it (most notably my work on adaptive technology) and used it to download similar materials. I've also used it to retrieve a working copy of software that I own but that the CD has been damaged.

Is ATT, my ISP, going to know I'm using BitTorrent legitimately, or are they going to assume that because my music library also exists on the same computer that is running BitTorrent, that I must be an illegal music file-sharer?

This isn't helping anyone; the RIAA is just trying to find more effective means to catch people doing what may be legitimate work. It just gets scarier, doesn't it? My BitTorrent machine is offline right now, not because of this, but because we are having new flooring put in the room where it resides. I'm debating on a complete uninstall of BitTorrent before I put that machine back on the network.

Everyone is doing top ten lists for the end of the year. I’d like to publish mine. Below are the ten tech/geek things I do not want to live without.

My 60 gb video iPod. I use this thing every day. It is almost three years old, scratched and dinged, but is still the thing I do not leave the house without. It plugs into my car stereo when I’m driving and keeps me sane at my desk at work with noise-canceling headphones and has saved many a party along the way.

My ergonomic keyboard. Yes, the bulky Microsoft version in that fabulous putty color. I type a lot as a writer and as a geek, and this keyboard has saved me a lot of pain in my shoulders and hands over the years.

Flash/Thumb drives. I’ve had my butt saved more times than I can count because I had something backed up on a flash drive that I was carrying. Everything from programs to presentations to critical files have become easily portable and sharable with the development of the stable flash drive.

My laptop. It doesn’t matter what laptop, as long as I have one. I’m blessed to have three at the moment, all with their own strengths and weaknesses. My favorite by far is my beat up Gateway M275 convertible tablet, which has gone to hell and back on airplanes, in presentations, in cars, on public transit, and in every coffee shop I have ever passed. Its Intel-based wifi is the most seamless and best delivery of wifi I’ve ever had. I’ve used it so much that I’ve worn the letters off the keys (I call it a “security feature”). My shiny new flamingo pink Dell 1525, even with its souped-up innards, can’t compare to that little Gateway when it comes to speed and finding hotspots.

Google. From google search, google desktop, google reader, google groups, google docs, and gmail, I have everything I need right at my fingertips. Stable, reliable, and always useful. “Google is my friend,” I always tell my students.

My widescreen Apple Cinema Display. Although I use four computers regularly, and not all of them have this, the one with the Apple Cinema Display gets all my attention. 22″ of true wide screen gives me all the room I need to have multiple windows open and still see everything I need to see.

My AT&T high-end DSL. We get 6 down and 3.5 mps up on a regular basis, which is good when you have a house full of computers and kids who want to use them. Sometimes I get as much as 8 down, and 4 mps up, especially in the off-hours. For now, we have no bandwidth cap and I hope we don’t ever see one (fat chance of that, but a girl can hope).

Voice-Activated software. Particularly Dragon Naturally Speaking, in my case. I’m facing shoulder surgery later this week and will not be able to use my right arm/hand for two weeks or more. I would be completely out of touch if it weren’t for things like voice activated software. Even Via Voice, as lame as it is, is at least a semblance of useful for people facing short-term disability.

Audio Books. They are a great way to leave the world behind, and to pass the time when traveling or trying to avoid real work. I listen to them in the car, at home, on planes, even in my office when I need a break from all the student angst in the lab (especially during finals).

Facebook and Yahoo Instant Messenger. It’s how I keep up with my kids and husband during the day and when we are separated. I’m blessed to have a flexible job that allows me to have this type of contact with my kids during the day, since they are schooled at home. Facebook lets me see who their friends are and who they are talking to, and YIM gives me instant access to them when they are online. A mother’s dream!

That’s my list. What’s yours?

I hate Microsoft Outlook. Back in the day, when I was teaching people how to use it (Office 95 and then Office 97), it was a wonderful thing. Sharing calendars, preview views, lots of different configurations that could accommodate anyone's needs. Before that there had only been Lotus Notes, and while it was good, it didn't lend itself to all of the iterations that MS Office did. But then there were holes, and I could no longer use some of my most-used functions, like the preview pane, and linking out from emails, because of the holes in both Outlook and Internet Explorer.

Then Office 2007 came out. It was supposed to be bigger and badder and better. But I hated Outlook 2007 from the very first moment I used it. At least it didn't insult me with the whole "ribbon" thing as in the other Office programs, but it has turned into an amazingly slow, earth-pounding, gigantic dinosaur. We are required to use it at work. When I log in in the morning, I've learned to just go get a cup of coffee and come back, and by then maybe it will have loaded and be ready to go.

I timed it one day. It took 7 minutes from the time I started it until it was ready for me to read and answer mail. Worse, while it is loading and doing whatever it is doing, I cannot do anything else on the computer. I can't open any other program, get logged into our ticket server, nothing. I sit and wait for Outlook to get itself pulled together to run so that I can start doing my job.

It's ridiculous. I'm running a fast machine, with minimal start-up programs, and there's no reason for this program to run like this. I can't imagine what it is doing to tie up all of my system resources, but it's starting to get in the way of me doing my job. Some of our tech staff have resorted to leaving their machines running overnight, with Outlook already loaded up, so they don't have a delay in the morning getting to the ticket system or to other things they need to get to.

I never have this trouble with Thunderbird. I can open it, let it do its thing, and go on to other things I need to do. I thought MS Office was supposed to enhance our productivity. Not so much, as I see it.

USAToday is reporting on a high school teacher in San Diego, who has started selling advertisements on his test papers in order to pay for printing costs for his class. He felt it was the only way to subsidize the costs of printing for his classroom; his budget is $300, but his printing costs about $500 per school year.

Most ads, at this point, are pretty innocuous. Inspirational messages from parents top the list of ads, but ads have also been bought by local engineering firms and an orthodontist.

What concerns me about this is that this marketing gives advertisers access to children. Our children are the most vulnerable to advertising, without the maturity and life experience to weed out the obnoxiousness that is advertising. I can block advertising when my kids surf (ad blocker plus for Firefox) and keep the television watching to a minimum, but if my kids are getting advertising at school on their tests and homework papers, I have absolutely no control over that. While I would trust that the teacher would not allow questionable advertising to be printed on his test papers, when it comes to the almighty dollar, often greed trumps good sense.

I can appreciate the teacher's ingenuity, but I think there is probably a better way. If he only needs to make $200, couldn't he have had a small class fundraiser that targeted the parents, who should be supporting their kids' education anyway? I have to think this teacher went too far.

Compelling new research from several universities is suggesting that naps can boost your memory. Our busy, 24/7 world keeps most of us from getting the sleep we need, and even worse, aging, sleep apnea, or just being a parent can rob you of consistent all-night sleeping that repairs your memory in the slow-wave sleep cycle. It turns out that it is not really the length of sleep that is important, but the quality of sleep that matters. Good sleep is better than long fragmented sleeping.

One study taught a group of subjects two-character Chinese words over a several hour period. At the end of that time, half of the group was allowed a 90-minute nap. Afterwards, the entire group was tested using Chinese words they had not learned in the previous learning session. Those who had a nap were able to infer certain characteristics from the characters they learned and actually did well on the tests, while the non-sleeping group failed.

During slow-wave sleep, the hypothalamus is working to repair memory centers that have been used extensively during awake time. This repair process is important in overall memory retention and mental processing.

I'm a huge fan of naps. Because I am a mother with children ranging in age from 6 to 18, I am often awakened in the night. I also suffer from intermittent chronic insomnia that comes in cycles throughout the year. I definitely have fractured sleep patterns. But on the weekends, at least one day, I take a 90 to 120 minute nap in mid-afternoon. I find it critical to do so, but have never been able to explain why.

Turns out that that nap boosts a special type of memory that allows us to see the big picture and gets us creative in solving problems. I have always known I do my best writing on Sunday nights when I've had my two-hour nap. Now I know why.

Susabelle's Prescription: Go take a nap!

Over the last few days, more information has come out about the teen suicide viewed by hundreds of people on Justin.tv. The situation is sad, and was likely avoidable, but I'm going to resist blaming the people watching on the internet for letting it happen.

The young man in question, Abraham Biggs, was obviously troubled, and had more than once threatened to commit suicide, both in his real life and in his online activities. He had even attempted suicide at least twice, but had been stopped both times. The only people who knew for sure what Abraham was going through was his his own family and those that surrounded him in real life.

While it is tragic that this had to happen with an audience, much of the audience in question had heard the same threats from Abraham in the past, and did not believe he was serious about actually committing suicide. When he took pills, his viewers didn't know if it was a handful of relatively harmless tylenol, or something much more sinister. Since there had been such a game of "the boy who cried wolf" about Abraham's activities over the previous 2 years, it is not really all that surprising that people watching his live feed did not believe he was actually going to go through with his threat.

To blame those watching from afar is to misplace our anger. Those who had the most interest and knowledge about Abraham's condition were his own family and close real-life friends. Even they did not realize how serious Abraham was, or he wouldn't have ended up committing suicide in front of hundreds of strangers who only had their online experiences with him as background material.

I agree that it is tragic, and that Abraham should have received the help he needed when he needed it. But to blame an Internet audience pushes it too far, in my opinion. How many times are we hoaxed on the Internet every day, by all manner of pranksters with all manner of intentions? How many articles do we read in any given day that are not accurate? Most of us take the Internet with the proverbial grain of salt; it is only as real as we allow it to be, and most of us don't give it a whole lot of reality in the total scheme of things.

I feel badly for Abraham's family, and his close real-life friends, who now have to grieve this incredible loss. I'm sure the people that were watching, now that they know Abraham went through with his threat, are suffering as well. But to blame anyone in this case is misplaced. Abraham was responsible for his own behavior, and the final blame for his activities have to fall on him and him alone.

All that being said, if someone threatens suicide, please believe them and get them the help they need. There are Life Crisis and Suicide Hotlines all over the United States, and if you have a friend, coworker, acquaintance, or family member who expresses thoughts of suicide, then do your best to attempt to get them help in the quickest way possible. You could save their life.

Every day, it seems, when I boot up my computers, each one wants me to update iTunes and add Safari. It doesn't matter how many times I say no, and click quit, every day the stupid install window keeps coming back up. And there is no way to permanently turn this off. At least, not that I've found.

Java wants to do the same thing. We cannot run the latest Java here at work because it breaks one of our enterprise systems that are critical to business functions. Fortunately, you can remove the Java Updater from the control panel on most machines to make the annoying popup telling you there's a new install of Java not pop up every day. But every once in a while, that updater seems to reinstall itself on my machine and I have to delete it again.

My annoyance today is the Sandisk Cruzer. It comes with the U3 operating system installed, and self-installs on any machine you plug the device into. This tiny operating system then gives you tools you don't need, like copy and paste, explore. On a college campus with locked down computers, these Sandisk Cruzers are the worst for confusing students. Of course, you can remove the U3 operating system, but it takes several steps and a geekish know-how, so not everyone who buys one of these devices knows how to remove the operating system so it works like a normal thumb drive. Worse yet, older Cruzers do not allow removal of the U3 operating system, only the newer ones do. Even a format won't take care of the problem, as the U3 software sits in a hidden file that is difficult to access.

I want software and hardware companies to stop telling me what I need, and trying to automatically install their software into places without my permission. I want them to stop hiding this stuff, make it an option rather than a necessity, and when I say no, it remembers that I said no and never ask me again.

Much of this stuff is a huge waste of time for tech workers that are just trying to get people back up and running as quickly as possible.