With the new year here, and Macworld San Francisco just a few days away, I'm gazing into my crystal ball to make a few predictions for 2006 and offer a few thoughts on the year just past.

For two years I've been saying that iChat A/V would be a big thing. Inside the tech community, it already is a big thing. Within my family, it's a big thing, too -- I get to chat with my 5-year-old niece who lives in another state. However, it does seem that the technology has yet to catch on among the general public. I remain expectant that it will.

For 2006, I think Apple will find a way to further integrate its wildly popular iPod line with TV and the home media center -- perhaps with a Tivo-like personal video recorder that sports a video iPod dock. The company might even release video iPod with a bigger screen, include some form of camera, add a wireless connection and make it all work with some variant of iChat A/V.

Do you get the sense that the combinations and possibilities here are endless?

Any such systems would be dependent on Wi-Fi for connectivity, since the bandwidth necessary to deliver true mobile broadband over cellular isn't readily available to the mobile providers. Perhaps in a few years, they will be able to outbid the television stations for leftover spectrum.