It is easy to predict that in 2013 there will more mobile devices and more cloud computing. About the cloud: what we today call the cloud has been around for decades in the form of outsourcing or service providers. So cloud is just a new word for what has proven to be an available choice for a long time. For the cloud, new models and new software are needed, and this takes time. Oracle (News – Alert) continues with Sun’s Java, and it says it still will take many months until the Java server software is ready for what is needed in the cloud.

Mobile devices really mean a major shift in how users use IT and the Internet. IT and the public Internet are now a bigger part of our daily lives. For mobile devices, smartphones and tablets, there is already a large collection of apps which can be installed and used. But now there is a new browser model, HTML5 with WebSocket. That mostly means, Web applications can now communicate in full-duplex, in contrast to the half-duplex model used before. Still, not all browsers support HTML5 and WebSocket, especially not the browsers found on Android (News – Alert) and Apple iOS with the iPhone and iPad. I expect the browsers for these mobile devices will support HTML5 and WebSocket soon. HTML5 and WebSocket will mean a solution where an app previously was needed is now possible over HTML5 in the browser.

The entire Web infrastructure will have to migrate to HTML5 and WebSocket; this has not yet been done.

Apple (News – Alert) desktops and laptops with Mac OS X are successful and their market share increases at the expense of Windows. Users claim the GUI and usability of Mac OS X are better than with Windows.

When Apple, with its leader and visionary Steve Jobs (News – Alert), created the GUI for the mobile devices Apple iPod, iPhone and iPad, it did not take the GUI of Mac OS X, it invented something new. The mobile devices from Apple are very successful. Now Microsoft wants to enter the market for tablets with Windows, so they created a hybrid for desktops/laptops and tablets. This is the new Windows 8.

The new Microsoft device, Surface, has been a slow seller until now.

For some months, I have been working with Windows 8. The technology under the hood is excellent, but the GUI and usability are horrible. It is not only that the start button is missing. When I navigate with the mouse and occasionally reach the borders of the screen, the screen switches between the different modes, so the screen flickers.

Microsoft sold Windows 8 very cheaply until January 31st, 2013. What will happen afterward? Will customers ask for Windows 7 as they asked for Windows XP when Windows Vista came out?

I personally think the usability of Windows 8 is worse than that of Windows Vista. Bill Gates (News – Alert) was the visionary of Microsoft until he left the company. Where are the success stories of Microsoft after Bill Gates departure?

Klaus Brandstaetter is the chief executive officer of HOB, a software company that develops and markets innovative, award-winning remote access solutions worldwide.

He studied electrical engineering at the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen in Nuremberg. His main focus was IT, software and programming. With this knowledge and expertise, Mr. Brandstaetter set up the IT department at the company Geobra during his studies. He worked at Nixdorf Computers and later, IBM. Mr. Brandstaetter completed his studies with the degree “Diplom-Ingenieur der Elektrotechnik” which is comparable to a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering. Since 1981 Mr. Brandstaetter has been the managing director of HOB GmbH & Co. KG, mainly focusing on development.