Newsletter #50 : 2020 Predictions and Resolutions

Andrew Weaver
February 15, 2021

Hey Everyone

CTO Academy wishes you the very best health, wealth and happiness for the year ahead but first …

Welcome to the 50th edition of our ever lovely newsletter, “The 5 Minute Tech Break”.
Enjoy the read.

Andrew Weaver
CTO Academy
[email protected]

25 Tech Predictions for 2020

Nice collection of tech predictions sourced from various US start up CEOs and VCs.

Which could impact your business? 

1. Consumers will demand more privacy
2. Biometric data will power more wearables
3. More investing in quantum tech
4. People will begin recession proofing their credit
5. Publishers will leverage AI more
6. Businesses will maximise opportunities with RevOps
7. Neural interfaces will change the way we think
8. 5G technologies will advance the enterprise
9. Deepfakes will take aim at 2020 US election
10. The cord-cutting trend will reach its apex

Here is the full list with deeper explanation.



But not every prediction comes true …

Courtesy of Forbes
1876: “The Americans have need of the telephone, but we do not.  We have plenty of messenger boys.” — William Preece, British Post Office.
1876: “This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication.” — William Orton, President of Western Union.
1889: “Fooling around with alternating current (AC) is just a waste of time.  Nobody will use it, ever.” — Thomas Edison
1903: “The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty – a fad.” — President of the Michigan Savings Bank advising Henry Ford’s lawyer, Horace Rackham, not to invest in the Ford Motor Company.
1921: “The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value.  Who would pay for a message sent to no one in particular?”
1946: “Television won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months.  People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.” — Darryl Zanuck, 20th Century Fox.
1955: “Nuclear powered vacuum cleaners will probably be a reality within 10 years.” — Alex Lewyt, President of the Lewyt Vacuum Cleaner Company.
1959: “Before man reaches the moon, your mail will be delivered within hours from New York to Australia by guided missiles.  We stand on the threshold of rocket mail.” — Arthur Summerfield, U.S. Postmaster General.
1961: “There is practically no chance communications space satellites will be used to provide better telephone, telegraph, television or radio service inside the United States.” — T.A.M. Craven, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner.
1966: “Remote shopping, while entirely feasible, will flop.” — Time Magazine.
1981: “Cellular phones will absolutely not replace local wire systems.” — Marty Cooper, inventor.
1995: “I predict the Internet will soon go spectacularly supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse.” — Robert Metcalfe, founder of 3Com.
2005: “There’s just not that many videos I want to watch.” — Steve Chen, CTO and co-founder of YouTube expressing concerns about his company’s long term viability.
2006: “Everyone’s always asking me when Apple will come out with a cell phone.  My answer is, ‘Probably never.’” — David Pogue, The New York Times.
2007: “There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share.” — Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO.

Gadget He’s Loving

Some of you might be aware of Tim Ferris but for those who are not, he’s described on Wikipedia as Entrepreneur, Author and Podcaster – which rather understates the phenomenal success he’s had with all 3.

He writes an engaging blog with various recommendations including this one last week;Roost – Adjustable and Portable Laptop Stand. 

On the road, I spotted a coder using one of these in a Starbucks. I crept over and waved to get his attention. Once he’d taken off his headset, I asked him how much he liked the ultralight laptop stand.

He answered with a dead-serious stare and a poker face, “I LOVE this laptop stand.

My posture has immediately improved, and I complete many more actions per minute.” Gotta love engineers… and he was right. This is a fantastic device. I’m using it in combination with the wireless Apple Magic Trackpad 2 and Magic Keyboard. It’s the perfect size for on-the-go work or travel.


How many new year resolutions made it to Day 3?

I’m just about holding onto mine – mainly to do with better diet/more exercise – the normal ones.

This article dives into 50 NYR’s that everyone should be following in 2020.No. 38 is for me … “I will eat better, not less”

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