But let's not allow my HPC fixation to obscure the other visions floating in my crystal ball. Try these on for size: Multimedia messaging will overtake plain text. Professionals will require their mobile devices to be able to play back standards-based, rich e-mail and downloadable, packaged, interactive content. Of course, cellular data services will have to keep up, and they'll finally face some competition from other forms of wireless networks.

We will witness the dawn of the disposable computer, if not literally, then practically. And, due to buyer demand, equipment makers will compete more than ever on the basis of environmental factors such as power consumption, heat, noise, and eliminating the use of hazardous materials.

The lovely thing about technology -- such as HPC handed down from the world of academia and science, or multimedia passed up to you from the consumer level -- is that over time, fewer people with fewer specific skills are needed to deploy and maintain it. Standardization, commoditization, and self-determination are on my short list of watch phrases for the coming year. Stop by next week and I'll cast some more runes for you.