In very late 2007, thetechangel.com released a series of predictions that could have happened in 2008.

Here is full review of what was got right, and what (sadly) was wrong.

A full list of the original predictions for 2008 can be found here.

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1. YouTube (and others) will start distributing videos in a widescreen format and also in HD.

This finally happened in December of 2008, a bit close to the end of the year, but it was indeed correct.

The site was first updated to have all videos displayed in widescreen, and then a week later, the option for users to view the video in HD format.

However, the site update was not without controversy, some users complained that they found the non-widescreen videos to be with black bars down the side “distracting”. More info on this can be found here (opens in new window).

2. Apple Mac users will be more heavily targeted with malware, spyware and viruses.

Apple was bit of all over the shop with this issue. In the beginning of December a storm erupted after users pick-up on a support statement on the Apple support site said: “Apple encourages the widespread use of multiple antivirus utilities so that virus programmers have more than one application to circumvent, thus making the whole virus writing process more difficult.”

3 Days later, the page was pulled from the site. Speaking to CNet News.com, Apple spokesperson Bill Evans said the article was removed last night because it was deemed to be “old and inaccurate.”

“The Mac is designed with built-in technologies that provide protection against malicious software and security threats right out of the box,” he said. “However, since no system can be 100 percent immune from every threat, running antivirus software may offer additional protection.”

So, like I said, it is a bit hit-&-miss this prediction, but numbers of threats have increased to Mac users, but there is never any harm in having an extra ring of protection.

3. Security and privacy issues are going to become a serious issue on social networks.

Certainly social networking has never been so popular, but never has there been more reasons for data-harvesters, hackers, and cyber criminals to target users for their personal data.

In May of 2008, the BBC’s flagship technology program Click managed to set-up a fake facebook account (the easy part) and then write a small program which collected other users details – and did it!

Whilst the programme was working on a hypothetical hack, it didn’t actually break the law, only exposed a serious flaw to Facebook and their users. For a quick video click here (opens in new window).

4. iPhone version 2, or possibly 1.5

In June 2008, Apple announced that it wasn’t just revising the iPhone software, but revising the whole model to come-up to 3G technology. The product created a storm for wannabe users and the phone quickly sold out.

5. Battle of HD vs. Blu-Ray

This is something I badly got wrong. In February of 2008, Toshiba announced that it was giving into the format war and allowed Blu-Ray to take to victory. The loosing battle started only in January when Warner Bros. Studios switched sides and went to produce Blu-Ray only media, this move was quickly followed by other studios, and then finally retailers Walmart and NetFlix.

What was thought to be a long, drawn out battle, ended rather quickly in the space of a matter of months.

6. An HDTV arms race between Sky, Virgin Media, and anyone else who can afford to join in.

The HD arms race is still continuing, but a new player arrived on the UK HD TV market in mid-2008 – FreeSat. The real plus for the consumer was that FreeSet offered HD TV without a subscription. At this point, a flash of HD channels arrived on TV screens around the UK, and with many more HD channels coming in early 2009, users are quickly seeing the benefits and adopting the technology for their über-sizes televisions.

Further to this, online players of HD content such as YouTube, the BBC iPlayer and others have started distributing HD (or near HD) media online to users who are either subscribers or licence fee payers.

7. GPS in mobiles as standard

A flurry of GPS enabled mobiles have appeared on the market since the beginning of 2008, and users have been quick to get the devices into their hands, particularly with the 3G iPhone with Google Maps on board.

8. Open wireless networks across cities are becoming commonplace

Shop keepers, coffee shops, train stations, trains, airports, and now even airplanes have got a Wi-Fi free for all. Speeds aren’t always as great as at home, but what do you expect in an environment where masses of others are using the same connection. All in all though, it has it’s uses for businesses, business users, and general users and it costs nothing for us to use when out and about.

9. DRM on music (and maybe video) will be taken away by the big four music companies

Plenty of companies in 2008 started distributing DRM free music files, including Amazon and Play.com, but iTunes has found it hard to budge from the tough spot of DRM free at a reasonable price. Amazon though had proven to make the users very happy with a decent catalogue of music and at variable prices.

10. Home media servers will be the next popular choice in home technologies

This was sadly wishful thinking for the year 2008, but I am still sure that it will be making a much bigger appearance in 2009.

As many users of games consoles  will be quick to say you can share your media from your PC to your console, whilst strictly speaking this is not a dedicated home media server, it is starting to strongly show that there is a market out there for it.

Further to this, users are wanting to take their media with them, or at least be able to access it remotely.

In the States, early users of the technology are raving about it uses and practicalities, but the average user is still waiting to not only discover the technology, but also how much they may appreciate it in their lives.

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So 8 out of 10 for 2008, but what will 2009’s predictions be? Find out very shortly.

Tags: AntiVirus, Apple, Environment, Flash, HD, iTunes, News, Phone, Predictions, Security, Sky, TV, virus