"I hope" Microsoft complete their work on a new standards-supporting, bug free browser where design choices are made on the basis of standards and not backward compatibility."

"I suspect that" it'll be a pile of festering smeg just like IE7 and IE6 where it will only work if the entire web development community jumps though Microsoft-shaped hoops and effectively build two websites: one for standards-based browsers, one for Microsoft. So no change then.

Could we have an icon for "I'll eat my hat if they do that".

I hope;

* America looses the international domination of technology they've had in recent years as a result of the coming economic depression

* The UK actually starts to invest in science & technology rather than just talking about it

I suspect that;

* America will prop up their economy with more wars led by economic and materialistic needs

* Microsoft will push the release dates back of their service packs and still release them before they're ready for market

* Apple's desktop share will increase

* Linux desktop share will increase

* Microsoft's market share on desktop OS's will decrease

* Someone will invite ballmer to an empty conference room full of neat rows of chairs and announce to him the bad news that microsoft is no longer on top followed by "The furniture is already paid for, knock yourself out"