To make predictions for the world of digital technologies - business simple. What direction or coming, the whole essence of future changes, with rare exception, can be expressed in two words: smaller and more powerful

In 2013, the mankind will face some not quantitative, but qualitative trends which threaten to become everyday.

1. Smartphone instead of a purse

Although the Russian space still difficult to find a person using Apple Passbook, or a shop, with NFC scanner to work with Google Wallet, credit card purchases, credit and housing and communal services more often resolved with the help of built-in applications (for example, Visa, WebMoney Wallet), or continues to gain popularity the Internet-banking. Given the increasing interest of the population to the simplification schemes of payment for goods and services in the next 12 months we may see a set of mobile financial instruments. And the development of contactless payments are likely to spur the next iPhone, which simply required to equip the NFC module.

2. Working in the cloud

Apple Cloud, Google Drive, Windows SkyDrive, "Yandeks.disk" - today is to find a service to store data on remote servers easy. Moreover, some companies offer their own solutions - purchased software, for example, can provide access to a free place on the company "the cloud". Until recently, however, the final and irrevocable transition to such services was considered a lot just obsessed with all new innovators. The situation is changing. Today, in addition to the reference Dropbox, you can find a dozen reliable online stores. However, that's not it, and people started to trust "the cloud", and we are witnessing a mass transition to a remote data storage.

3. "Smart" machines

All of 2012 automotive cheerfully reported about all new trends in intelligent personal transport. For example, Nissan has demonstrated a number of developments related to security and automation of the process of driving, Volvo announced the launch of the project "a Car without driver" - naturally, available EN masse, and the ubiquitous Google is rumored to be preparing to launch a delivery of goods on Autonomous vehicles in several American cities. General tendencies - join several systems inside the car that existed separately, in a single whole. Plus the first timid steps towards the unification of all vehicles in a single network, Susumu unprecedented prospects.

4. Year of crowdfunding

Crowdfunding, or "public funding", as a network phenomenon celebrated this year its 15th anniversary in 1997, the fans of the rock band Marillion independently conducted an Internet campaign, through which funds were raised for the pan American tour group. The website Kickstarter, which became the trendsetter on crowdfunding, quite actively developed in 2010-2011. But the most impressive results of a resource has achieved this year, revealing a world of multiple projects, fees, which exceeded the planned amount by ten times. The dynamics of the phenomenon tells us that the principle of "every little helps" in 2013, will develop and will become one of the instruments for financing the most daring projects.

5. The robots are coming

And this is nothing to do. Science fiction somewhat wrong with terms in their forecasts, but in General the development of robotics is going according to plan. Improvement of artificial intelligence, the emergence of revolutionary materials, new engineering approaches and the possibility of computer simulation in the last 2-3 years incredibly accelerated the development of not only industrial, but also domestic robots. Along with scientific centers of the development of mechanical helpers are hundreds and thousands of engineers-enthusiasts. In 2013, we can hardly expect a massive expansion of personal robots, able to replace the work of Housewives, but telepresence device, robotic toys and special robots (vacuum cleaners, caselwiki lawns) will certainly get the widest circulation.

6. My first 3D printer

Opensource project RepRap, the first personal 3D printers MakerBot Replicator and Formlabs Form One, to expand the network of laboratories of rapid prototyping is a three - dimensional printing, previously available only to large companies, gradually winning over the place on office desks. In fact, the devices for the formation of 3D models today are at the same stage as laser printers in the mid-1980s, is cumbersome, expensive and slow. But in the next 3-5 years the transition printers for three-dimensional printing in a category the mass of devices are inevitable. And 2013, judging by the number of projects at various stages of development, will be for this technology is indeed a breakthrough.

7. Media: transition to "figure"

It is hardly necessary to make loud statements from the category of "paper periodicals died" or "tomorrow all will be read on tablets and readers, but the current trend suggests that next year the number of print publications will switch to digital. And including a fairly large percentage of large, well-known media brands. Almost all global publishing houses and media corporations were noted in 2012 parallel digital edition variants of Newspapers and magazines. Someone experiment was successful, some not. But the process can be considered irreversible, and for many publications transition to electronic platform could become the only way of survival.

8. Virtual glasses

Augmented reality (Augmented Reality, AR) slightly slowed down in growth, but qualitative breakthrough in their mass promotion can take place in the coming months. The catalyst of this process will act as a virtual or AR-glasses. Interestingly, the practical realization of the project Google Glass, who has promoted himself Sergey Brin, it seems, is being delayed, but these pioneers, who have mastered the mass market, can become gadgets from Brother, Epson, or virtually unknown in us American company Vuzix. The latter, incidentally, is quite actively promoted its not yet released virtual glasses M100, a kind of hybrid of a Bluetooth headset and microdisplay. The unit is scheduled for launch in the first half of 2013 and will be available at a price less than $500.

9. The Internet of things

Probably the most powerful and inevitable trend 2013, threatening to develop into a true digital tsunami. The ideal is to unite all the physical objects around us, in a single information network that enables them to communicate with each other and the environment. On the one hand, it will fill our lives of this magic, and on the other, can completely destroy all social barriers and lead to big problems related to personal and public safety in all senses of this word. The management of the world around almost fascinated by the power of thought, but the risks associated with the embodiment of the Internet of things, are also great. However, eventually we will plunge into a Matrix years commercials in 10, but for now we are waiting for only the first modest attempts to find out what hides from us the surface of the digital ocean.