Computer trends 2019

Here are some ICT trends for year 2019 picked from various sources (linked to sources) and edited by me:

General: From AI to Moore’s Law, the entire industry is deep in the throes of massive changes. The future will be characterized by smart devices delivering increasingly insightful digital services everywhere. While CPUs continue to evolve, performance is no longer limited to a single processor type or process geometry.

Business: There seems to be a clear evidence from this research that businesses are adopting and looking to capitalise on the benefits of Big Data, the Internet Of Things and Sensor technology for their mobile workforces.

Open source: 2019 Will Be the Year of Open Source in software and even in hardware. We saw more activity in open source than ever before in 2018. And the momentum isn’t likely to slow down in 2019.

Web is mobile: According to the statistics of FICORA, Ofcom, the PC has lost its place as the first device and platform for web browsing. Almost half of the web browses the web with a smart phone, which places a requirement on all online services from shops to news sites.

Multiple devices: As the number of different IT devices continues to grow, there are more and more devices in use at the same time.
 Situations and tasks that utilize and use multiple devices together have become commonplace. We need to think how how user interfaces could better support multi-device sharing.

Artificial intelligence: It seems that AI Market Ramps Everywhere. The AI term creates hope for some, fear for others, and confusion for all. Artificial intelligence (AI) is what the Internet of Things was two years ago – overhyped and not very well understood. The obvious shift is the infusion of AI (and its subcategories, machine learning and deep learning) into different markets. It seems that you don’t need to be artificial intelligence wizard anymore to use some AI – at best, implementation can be picked up by GitHub without really understanding anything. AI Still Has Trust Issues for many. There are also views that now hot artificial intelligence is the bubble that broke out last in the 1990s because at present, artificial intelligence and man form a bad cyborg. You need to separate AI Hype From Reality because it seems to be a miraculous thing where almost nobody knows what it is.

AI chips: While GPUs are well-positioned in machine learning, data type flexibility and power efficiency are making FPGAs increasingly attractive. Today, selling custom chips for artificial intelligence is still a small business. Intel, the largest manufacturer of computer processors, has appraised the current market at $2.5 billion, one half of one percent of the estimated value of the 2018 global semiconductor market. At a press event at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show, Intel announced the Nervana Neural Network Processor (NNP-I), an AI chip for inference-based workloads that fits into a GPU-like form factor. Google and NXP advance artificial intelligence with the Edge TPU.

AI-driven development: AI-driven development looks at tools, technologies and best practices for embedding AI into applications and using AI to create AI-powered tools for the development process.

Huge data: It seems that It’s All About The Data. Data creation, management and processing always have been a winning business formula. It takes lots of data to train AI systems and IoT systems generate a lot of data.Data scientists now have increasing amounts of data to prepare, analyze and group — and from which to draw conclusions. The entire tech industry has changed in several fundamental ways over the past year due to the massive growth in data. Many data science tasks will be automated. Hardware and software are no longer the starting points for technology design. It’s now about data processing, flow and throughput.

Digital twins: A digital twin is a digital representation that mirrors a real-life object, process or system. Digital twins can also be linked to create twins of larger systems, such as a power plant or city. The idea of a digital twin is not new but is has become hot when AI and IoT were added to the mix.

Edge computing: Edge computing is a topology where information processing and content collection and delivery are placed closer to the sources of the information, with the idea that keeping traffic local will reduce latency. Currently, much of the focus of this technology is a result of the need for IoT systems to deliver disconnected or distributed capabilities into the embedded IoT world.

Power consumption: Globally, ICT today consumes 8% of all electricity and doubles every year. I think we needs new semiconductor technologies and maybe also more optimized software that does more but consumes less power.

Memories: DRAM market growth stops in 2019. GDDR6 and HBM2 impacts system design. There is disparity between the different types of DRAM, from GDDR to HBM.

Faster storage: Apacer has CFexpress card, which supports PCIe and the new NVMe 1.3 protocol, transfers data at a rate of two gigabytes per second.

Heterogeneous architectures: Need for increased computing power requires new multi-processor architectures (hybrid processors). Heterogeneous design is changing the starting point for chip design so that integration is now more the real challenge rather than the processor core. Many ARM processors already use hybrid architecture. Intel has unveiled a new Foveros architecture that addresses the challenge of Arm processors.

Immersive technologies: Users can interact with the world with immersive technologies such as augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) and virtual reality (VR). AR brings new possibilities. A smart space is a physical or digital environment in which humans and technology-enabled systems interact in increasingly open, connected, coordinated and intelligent ecosystems.

Open hardware: Can RISC-V – Linux of Microprocessors – Start an Open Hardware Renaissance? RISC-V is an open source processor command set that can be used with the same principles as Linux code. RISCV is now being firmly linked to Linux as the Linux Foundation and the RISC-V Foundation have agreed to work together to promote open code development and RISC-V deployment. For the first time, Arm architecture will be a serious challenger in millions, even billions of embedded devices. Companies like Hi-Five, NVIDIA and WDplan to release product with RISC-V in them. This year RISC-V does not compete with traditional CPUs on PCs. Also MIPS hardware architecture is opening up.

Containers: Is Kubernetes the new application server? If you thought there was a lot of chatter about Kubernetes in 2018, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

Software robotics: Software robotics becomes widely available. Robot Framework will be important on this.

Intel processors: Intel Announces Faster Processors Patched for Meltdown and Spectre, New Intel Architectures and Technologies Target Expanded Market Opportunities. Intel Demonstrates 10nm-based PCs, Data Center and Networking Systems, Next-Gen ‘Sunny Cove’ Architecture with AI and Crypto Acceleration, and 3D Logic Chip Packaging Technology. 5 Observations From Intel’s Event article says that mysterious locations, codenames and process delays are on the top of the list. Intel’s Foveros Lakefield technology for making smaller chips.

AMD processors: Ryzen mobile processors would begin showing up in ultrathin and gaming laptops by the end of the first quarterAMD starts to use 7nm technology: Radeon VII GPU will be available and it is promised to be 27% to 62% faster, third-generation Ryzen desktop processor and second-generation EPYC server processor will be available starting later this year. AMD is challenging Intel in Chromebooks with A-Series CPUs and launching Ryzen Mobile 3000-Series chips with 2nd-generation Ryzen Mobile parts.

ARM processors: Taking aim at Intel, Qualcomm launches chip for business PCs. The Snapdragon 8cx series is Qualcomm’s first chip specifically designed for computersQualcomm’s pitch is that laptops using its chips will go days without needing to be plugged in, and will always be connected to the internet via cellular networks. The Snapdragon 8cx is also the world’s first 7-nanometer PC processor platform and promises superior performance for laptop. Intel’s position on laptops is very strong and Qualcomm has a big hill to get up if it really wants to challenge Intel’s PC side. Huawei Rolls 7nm ARM Server CPU Kunpeng 920 that is said to outperform ThunderX2, Ampere by 25%. Rumors are circulating that Apple will obsolete x86-based computers in favor of its own SoC-powered successors.

NVIDIA: RTX 2060 GPU was introduced. GeForce RTX™ graphics cards are powered by the Turing GPU architecture and the all-new RTX platform. This promises to give you up to 6X the performance of previous-generation graphics cards and brings the power of real-time ray tracing and AI to your favorite games. GeForce RTX 20 Series GPUs to gaming laptops.

Microsoft hardware: Microsoft reportedly working on Xbox and Windows webcams for 2019.

Windows security: Microsoft officially announces ‘Windows Sandbox’ for running applications in isolation.Microsoft’s coming ‘Windows Sandbox’ feature is a lightweight virtual machine that allow users to run potentially suspicious software in isolation. It could debut in Windows 10 19H1,

Storage: NVMe Hits a Tipping Point. A show dedicated to NVM Express (NVMe) next month solidifies an industry-wide sentiment that the host controller interface and storage protocol hit a tipping point in the last year. It is expected that we’re going to see the majority of new products coming out with NVMe. There are already relatively young NVM Express Over Fabrics (NVMe-oF) specification and even some hard disk enclosures using NVMe.

Fibre channel: Broadcom Nudges Fibre Channel to 64G using 64G optical modules (just starting to sample) and PCIe Gen 4 connections that are not yet generally available on x86 servers.

Faster PCIe:PCIe 4.0 is ready. The PCISIG organization has completed the new 4.0 version of the PCIe bus, and now the technology is expected to be deployed on the devices. It is possible to to get the full PCIe 4.0 speed with both copper and fiber. It seems that this year PCIe 4.0 comes to wider us for x86 servers.

FPGA: FPGA Graduates To First-Tier Status because FPGAs are better for certain types of computation than CPUs or GPUs.While GPUs are well-positioned in machine learning, data type flexibility and power efficiency are making FPGAs increasingly attractive.

Enterprise software:Legacy enterprise applications and software systems have a reputation for being clunky, expensive, and almost impossible to keep up to date. Rethink your enterprise software systems and consider whether cloud-based options like SaaS may better serve your needs. Office 365 is massively successful. AWS services are running the backend of thousands of major companies now. As internet connections and speeds increase, the cloud becomes more and more viable as it is more cost effective to centralize computer hardware reducing costs for companies and employee overhead.

Windows 10: Microsoft is building a Chromium-powered web browser that will replace Edge on Windows 10. Microsoft could be preparing to ditch the EdgeHTML layout engine of its unloved Edge browser in Windows 10 in favour of Chromium. Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is improved. Microsoft new Windows 10 reserves ~7GB of disk space for updates, apps, and more to ensure critical OS functions always have space.

Light Windows: Microsoft is working on Windows Lite, a super lightweight, instant on, always connected OS that runs only PWAs and UWP apps, to challenge Chrome OS. Microsoft’s ‘Centaurus’ device is yet another potential piece of its Chromebook-compete strategy.

Coding for Windows: Microsoft has released a public preview of Visual Studio 2019 for Windows and Mac. Microsoft open sources its most popular Windows UX frameworks and says the first preview of .NET Core 3.0 is now available — Microsoft is open sourcing WPF, Windows Forms and Win UI via GitHub.

Quantum computing: Quantum computing is a type of nonclassical computing that is based on the quantum state of subatomic particles that represent information as elements denoted as quantum bits or “qubits.” Quantum computers are an exponentially scalable and highly parallel computing model. They can work well on some specific tasks suitable for them, but are not suitable for most generic computing tasks we are used to.

Blockchain: Blockchain is a type of distributed ledger, an expanding chronologically ordered list of cryptographically signed, irrevocable transactional records shared by all participants in a network. It can work with untrusted parties without the need for a centralized party (i.e., a bank). Businesses should begin evaluating the technology to see if it fits their business or not. You need to separate Blockchain hype from Reality because it seems to be a potentially miraculous thing where almost nobody knows exactly what it is to what it is good for. Check this related Dilbert comic.

Related predictions and trends articles:

Gartner Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2019

Virtual reality implementation: observations and predictions

5 IT job trends to watch in 2019 – because success starts with talent
Digital transformation reality check: 10 trends

These are the 15 best US tech companies to work for in 2019, according to Glassdoor

Kubernetes in 2019: 6 developments to expect

What to expect from CES 2019

786 Comments

  1. Tomi Engdahl says:

    A Code Glitch May Have Caused Errors In More Than 100 Published Studies
    https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/zmjwda/a-code-glitch-may-have-caused-errors-in-more-than-100-published-studies

    The discovery is a reminder that science is collaborative and ideally self-correcting, but that nothing can be taken for granted.

    Reply
  2. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Open Source Alternative
    for Zapier/tray.io
    (Apache 2.0 with Commons Clause)
    https://n8n.io/

    Reply
  3. Tomi Engdahl says:

    The Slope of Enlightenment: Monitoring the Cloud After the Hype
    https://blog.paessler.com/monitoring-the-cloud-after-the-hype-cycle

    Reply
  4. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Most Popular Programming Languages 1965 – 2019
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og847HVwRSI

    Timeline of the most popular programming languages since 1965 to 2019. So far the most intense ranking I’ve ever done :)

    Reply
  5. Tomi Engdahl says:

    CPU Hierarchy 2019: Intel and AMD Processors Ranked
    https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-hierarchy,4312.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=meetedgar&utm_content=automated

    Your CPU has a huge effect on overall performance and, to many, is a computer’s most important component. However, when it comes time to buy a CPU for your desktop, you’ll find a dizzying morass of model numbers and specs from both Intel and AMD. We’ve listed our the best CPUs for gaming and best processors for applications in other articles, but if you want to know how each chip stacks up against all the others, this CPU Hierarchy is for you.

    Reply
  6. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Former Oracle co-CEO Mark Hurd has passed away
    https://tcrn.ch/2pzWva2

    Reply
  7. Tomi Engdahl says:

    10 problems of a website project you can’t blame on the CMS

    https://enonic.com/blog/10-problems-of-a-website-project-you-can-t-blame-on-the-cms

    ÅDiscover the most common website project problems and how to fix them (spoiler: none of them involve your CMS).

    Reply
  8. Tomi Engdahl says:

    PyOxidizer Can Turn Python Code Into Apps For Windows, MacOS, Linux
    https://fossbytes.com/pyoxidizer-can-turn-python-code-apps-for-windows-macos-linux/

    Mozilla developer, Gregory Szorc, has created a tool called PyOxidizer that will make it easier for programmers to create applications in Python. And the best part is that it can be used by non-programmers too. The tool supports Windows, Mac, and Linux systems.

    PyOxidizer is a free utility that can turn Python code into a single executable file to be run on different operating systems like Windows, Mac, and Linux.

    Szorc says that an average computer user will be able to run the application without having to download the correct software libraries. This is because PyOxidizer produces binaries that embed Python. Hence users don’t need to install or know the language.

    Reply
  9. Tomi Engdahl says:

    https://www.mamedev.org/
    MAME is a multi-purpose emulation framework.

    MAME’s purpose is to preserve decades of software history. As electronic technology continues to rush forward, MAME prevents this important “vintage” software from being lost and forgotten. This is achieved by documenting the hardware and how it functions.

    MakeCode Arcade: Retro Gaming, Modern Programming

    https://makecode.com/blog/arcade/01-18-2019

    Reply
  10. Tomi Engdahl says:

    DOWNLOAD ABANDONWARES,
    FROM 1978 TO 2018
    https://www.myabandonware.com/

    Reply
  11. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Paged Out! is a new experimental (one article == one page) free magazine about programming (especially programming tricks!), hacking, security hacking, retro computers, modern computers, electronics, demoscene, and other similar topics.

    https://pagedout.institute/?page=issues.php

    Reply
  12. Tomi Engdahl says:

    BERLIN CODE OF CONDUCT
    A CODE OF CONDUCT FOR ALL USER GROUPS AND CONFERENCES
    https://berlincodeofconduct.org/

    Reply
  13. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Test a new operating system
    Welcome to DistroTest.net
    https://distrotest.net/

    On our website you will find many operating systems,
    which you can test directly online without a installation.

    Reply
  14. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Goodbye, Motherboard. Hello, Silicon-Interconnect Fabric
    https://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/hardware/goodbye-motherboard-hello-siliconinterconnect-fabric

    Our research shows that the printed circuit board could be replaced with the same material that makes up the chips that are attached to it, namely silicon. Such a move would lead to smaller, lighter-weight systems for wearables and other size-constrained gadgets, and also to incredibly powerful high-performance computers that would pack dozens of servers’ worth of computing capability onto a dinner-plate-size wafer of silicon.

    Microsize Lens Pushes Photonics Closer to an On-Chip Future
    https://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoclast/semiconductors/optoelectronics/microsize-lens-pushes-photonics-closer-to-an-onchip-future

    Reply
  15. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Facebook, Google and Amazon Pour Money into Policy Shops As Breakup Debates Rage
    https://maplight.org/story/facebook-google-and-amazon-pour-money-into-policy-shops-as-breakup-debates-rage/

    With calls for big tech companies to be broken up growing louder, Silicon Valley is flooding think tanks and nonprofits in the nation’s capital with cash.

    Tech giants Amazon, Facebook and Google have spent $33 million on Washington lobbying efforts so far this year, and their political action committees have donated $900,000 to federal candidates this election cycle.

    Reply
  16. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Linus Torvalds: “Git proved I could be more than a one-hit wonder.”
    https://www.techrepublic.com/article/linus-torvalds-git-proved-i-could-be-more-than-a-one-hit-wonder/

    Commentary: The world rightly lauds Linus Torvalds for Linux, but Git will arguably have a bigger impact.

    Reply
  17. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Add Scripting To Your C++ Programs With ChaiScript
    https://hackaday.com/2019/07/26/add-scripting-to-your-c-programs-with-chaiscript/

    If you are writing a program that has a technical user base, it is a nice touch to make the program scriptable. In fact, you might want to do the hard work in a programming language and then use your scripting language to build out features. In theory, this should be easy. There are plenty of embedded scripting libraries and they provide some way for your code to access script resources and for script resources to access selected host variables and functions. If you use C++, one of the easier ways to do this is with ChaiScript.

    ChaiScript is BSD licensed and — assuming your compiler supports C++ 14 — it is as easy as including a header file and making a few calls.

    http://chaiscript.com/

    Reply
  18. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Windows 10 Goes To Shell
    https://hackaday.com/2019/06/10/windows-10-goes-to-shell/

    What’s New?

    So what’s new? According to Microsoft, they’ve improved the call interface to make the following things work correctly (along with “many others”):

    Core tools: apt, sed, grep, awk, top, tmux, ssh, scp, etc.
    Shells: Bash, zsh, fish, etc.
    Dev tools: vim, emacs, nano, git, gdb, etc.
    Languages & platforms: Node.js & npm, Ruby & Gems, Java & Maven, Python & Pip, C/C++, C# &
    .NET Core & Nuget, Go, Rust, Haskell, Elixir/Erlang, etc.
    Systems & Services: sshd, Apache, lighttpd, nginx, MySQL, PostgreSQL

    The changes to the console are mostly surrounding escape sequences, colors, and mouse support. The API changes included things like allowing certain non-administrative users to create symlinks

    Reply
  19. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Experiments In 3D Graphics Via Excel
    https://hackaday.com/2019/08/29/experiments-in-3d-graphics-via-excel/

    3D graphics were once the domain of university research groups and large, specialized computing systems. Eventually, they were tamed and became mainstream. Your phone, tablet, and home computer are all perfectly capable of generating moving 3D graphics. Incidentally, so is Microsoft Excel.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFOL9kantXA

    Reply
  20. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Approximately 20,000 employees will be jobless out of Indian IT Industry soon, thanks to Infosys and Cognizant
    https://techtudor.blogspot.com/2019/11/approximately-20000-employees-will-be.html?m=1

    Some of the worst fears about the Indian IT industry are coming true. While Infosys was already reeling under pressure due to whistleblower complaint to SEC since last several weeks, Cognizant CEO has spoken and made it clear that they are sacking about 7,000 techies. And now, Infosys has also confirmed that they are going to lay off about 12,000 employees in mid and senior level positions.

    Reply
  21. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Visual Studio Online
    Cloud-powered dev environments accessible from anywhere
    Sign up for the public preview
    https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/services/visual-studio-online/

    Reply
  22. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Intel Cuts Prices to Upcoming Core i9 Chips By 40 to 50 Percent
    BY MICHAEL KAN 2 OCT 2019, 1 A.M.

    https://uk.pcmag.com/intel-core-i9-9980xe-extreme-edition/122860/intel-cuts-prices-to-upcoming-core-i9-chips-by-40-to-50-percent

    Pressure from AMD’s Ryzen and Threadripper chips appear to have prompted Intel to dramatically cut prices on its ‘Cascade Lake-X’ Core i9 processors, which will arrive next month.

    Reply
  23. Tomi Engdahl says:

    AWS, Salesforce join forces with Linux Foundation on Cloud Information Model
    https://tcrn.ch/2Kl6M1f

    Last year, Adobe, SAP and Microsoft came together and formed the Open Data Initiative. Not to be outdone, this week, AWS, Salesforce and Genesys, in partnership with The Linux Foundation, announced the Cloud Information Model.

    The two competing data models have a lot in common. They are both about bringing together data and applying a common open model to it. The idea is to allow for data interoperability across products in the partnership without a lot of heavy lifting, a common problem for users of these big companies’ software.

    Reply
  24. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Waterproof laptop status?
    Like this claims to be
    https://youtu.be/0KxA3IMntRg

    But reality does not seem to be there yet
    https://reactual.com/portable-electronics/toughest-laptop.html

    Reply
  25. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Emma Newburger / CNBC:
    HP board unanimously rejects Xerox’s ~$33B cash and stock offer to acquire the company
    https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/17/hp-board-unanimously-rejects-xeroxs-bid-to-acquire-the-company.html

    Xerox had offered HP $22 per share in its takeover bid for the company. The bid consists of 77% cash and 23% stock, or $17 in cash and 0.137 Xerox share for each HP share.
    HP announced in October that it will cut between 7,000 and 9,000 jobs by the end of fiscal 2022 as part of a broader restructuring plan that it estimates will save $1 billion a year.

    Reply
  26. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Hi, just a heads up but if anyone is interested Intel are ditching all their old BIOS updates. Now would be a good time to back them all up befire they vanish forever. [https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/11/18/intel_ditching_dusty_drivers_and_bios/](https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/11/18/intel_ditching_dusty_drivers_and_bios/)

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*