One thing I’ve been noticing this weekend – as part of my weekend troll of web sites I just don’t have time to hit during the work week – is the … well, what is not there to notice.

In other words, items that used to get a lot of press/had a lot of promise and either have cooled off or become mainstream.

Examples? Sure, I gots examples!

• Voice-recognition software: You know, computer dictaphones. Who were the players? ViaVoice, Dragon [something or other]? I just don’t read that much about this anymore. I never bought into it – both because of the technological hurdles and the concept of a cube farm full of people talking to their computers instead of typing – but I’ve been wrong many many times before. But I personally don’t know anyone who uses this type of software.
• Writing-recognition software: Still pops up a bit, but basically has settled into the either MS-tablet software or Palm’s Graffiti (sp?). This seems to be a meme that has become mainstream (in Palm-enabled phones, for example) but not the paradigm shift many predicted in the past. Just another useful, yet limited, tool.
• Tablet computers: While there are rumors that Apple is thinking tablet, there’s no real evidence that it is going to do so. I’ve only seen one person using a tablet over the last couple of years in my business contacts (vendors, clients, contractors and so on); that’s a tiny number. On the other hand, tablets seem to have caught on in the medical profession (which I have no exposure to beyond an annual physical). So there it’s become embedded; otherwise, sorta fizzled. Everyone has either a Palm or a laptop (or both); no one has a tablet.

And what’s hot now? (in no special order)

• Blogs/podcasting
• Music sites (iTunes et al)
• Ajax (fancy name for DHTML with HTTPRequest JS; see Google Maps)
• Games/gaming

Leading potentially disruptive technologies (memes that lead to actually paradigm shifts); again, in no particular order:

• VoIP
• Blogs/podcasting
• Downloads/swapping (i.e. BitTorrent), music and video

This last batch of items is interesting in that each item is anything but new. Has computing reached an equilibrium of sorts, where nothing is currently new? No WWW, Java, GUI and so on?

Food for thought.