The world of tech writers has been busy naming Top 10 tech stories of the year or decade. I thought that I would join the bandwagon by looking back at a few predictions fulfilled and/or gone awry -- and then glancing forward. I'll also weigh in on policy issues here and there.

Ubiquitous Broadband and Mobile Devices -- A decade ago, a lot of us we're still dialing into Internet connections, and our mobile phones were, well, just phones. I remember discussions of the idea of connectivity anywhere and of phones capable of more sophisticated computing tasks. This has come to pass, sort of, with some bumps in the road. WiMax is available in some metropolitan areas, but is still limited. And citywide municipal Wi-Fi projects fell apart, for the most part. One issue that stands out is the "digital divide." We used to hear more about making computing accessible to everyone -- and indeed computers have become ubiquitous (in the developed world). Some nation's economic stimulus programs, including the U.S.'s, include broadband expansion provisions. But what about the financial digital divide when it comes to mobile data? Can competition and innovation bring down prices or will the threshold to mobile data access remain $1,000 a year (in the U.S.)?

SPAM -- Earlier in the decade, there were debates filled with sound and fury about addressing SPAM. We have the CAN-SPAM Act, which has led to some prosecutions. And of course anti-SPAM technology has improved, hitting unwanted email at various points along the email path. But SPAM still seems like a chronic illness -- under control and managed, but still costly and intrusive. I still have good email blocked and SPAM in my inboxes. SPAM also contributes to service slow downs from mail hosts. Should we be satisfied with the SPAM status quo?

Social Networks -- I don't remember the prevalence of social networks being predicted a decade ago, and of course Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, et al didn't exist a decade ago. In 1999, you might've predicted that Yahoo and AOL would be the source of leading social networks. It didn't happen. Instead, we saw in IT that good ideas, starting from scratch, can become billion dollar companies. I don't dare predict how social networks will evolve.

And looking forward...

Gov 2.0 (3.0, 4.0, etc.) -- We have clearly heard a lot of talk from governments and the IT industry about the need for improving government use of IT to better serve citizens and control costs. The experiments that I've seen in wikis, online policy-making, and such have only been marginally successful. As much as we want government agencies to have more friendly UIs and better end-user tools, the real work -- or at least initial work -- needs to and will be conducted deeper at the enterprise level. Making raw data accessible is only one part of the story.

Health IT -- Better health data management must and will come. This is an easy prediction, but the bigger story is why isn't it already here. This week I again heard a story of an inaccessible patient record resulting in someone going to urgent care, a duplication of paperwork, a three-hour wait, etc., etc. And that is for simple medicine. Meanwhile, by contrast, a world of personal financial information and services -- bank accounts, IRAs, credit card balances -- is securely at our fingertips. Why can't medicine be like finance?

Mobile -- Microsoft will make another big mobile push in 2010 with Windows Mobile 7. Meanwhile, Google appears poised to launch its own phone. Nokia is fighting back, with a Microsoft alliance. And on and on. This is a highly competitive space and will continue to be so. Now if only we can see more choice and lower pricing in service plans (see above).

That's it from me for the decade. Have a happy, healthy, and safe New Year.