The television set is getting some significant interface enhancements. 3D televisions were the big story at the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and some TVs are starting to integrate key applications such as Skype. Looking forward, MIT is working on screens that can detect 3D gesture input from viewers.

2010 will be a pivotal year for mobile computing. Now is when the key players for the decade will be defined, just as the PC industry was shaped in the early 1980's. Smartphones continue to surge in popularity, and Google's Nexus One and Apple's forthcoming iTablet/iSlate are some of the most-watched products in the industry.

The key question is whether Windows Mobile 7 will be able to restart Microsoft's lagging momentum in mobile computing when it finally ships, possibly as early as next month. Windows Mobile is certainly holding its own against the iPhone with IT managers in corporate computing. However, Wired argues that it was just this focus on corporate applications that may have cost Microsoft the mobile consumer market.

Meanwhile, some developers are focusing on applications for simple cell phones (i.e. non-Smartphones), which many users are quite happy with. Also, everyone seems to have an app store these days, so why shouldn't there be an app store for smart pens? Finally, has Second Life become an adults-only playground?