My Hopes for 2023
We're a little over a week into 2023 now and I thought I'd take some time to write about my technology hopes for 2023. So here they are (in no particular order).
More Programs Built for Linux
2022 was quite the year for Linux and open-source. The Steam Deck, running SteamOS with KDE, has been a tremendous success. Mastodon gave Twitter a run for their money there (albeit, for a few weeks). In 2023 I hope to see more applications, companies, and developers begin to gear their products towards Linux. Valve has done great work with WINE and Proton to bring gaming to the Linux world and I could see companies like Adobe and Microsoft begin to look at Linux seriously and bring their software to the Linux world too.
Do I think that we'll have Adobe Creative Cloud or Microsoft Office versions for Linux by the end of the year? Maybe not. But with the advancements of Flatpak, Snap, and AppImage, I could see one of these major players in the software space building on the back of what Valve has done and begin to make real strides towards including Linux versions in their builds.
The Movement Away from Social Media
The end of 2022 saw Elon Musk by Twitter and, if I can be frank, damn near kill the thing by way of stupid, off-the-cuff decision-making. This lead to the rise of Mastodon and people beginning to think about social media differently. I hope this continues.
I don't know if Mastodon will suddenly take over the world as the dominant social media platform but I do see people making an effort to be more mindful of how they use social media and I could even see some people doing what I've done in recent years and leave most of the platforms altogether.
The other thing I could see along these lines is more legislation regulating "big data" and some legislation that protects digital privacy more. California and the EU are my main hopes to pass some of these things and even though I don't live in either of those places, they're strong enough legislatively and economically, that the rest of the world will benefit from their privacy-focused actions.
The World Continues to Get Back To Normal...Hopefully
Although there still are surges and variants, I hope the world gets closer to pre-COVID norms. People are going out more, not just in their communities but also traveling to other places around the world. I hope that as this continues people will rediscover the human on the other side of their phone texts, or instant messages or whatever and have more face-to-face conversations without computer screens in the way. This will lead to stronger connections with others and hopefully a greater sense of community with the people closest to you.
Your Turn
What are your hopes for 2023? Do you agree or disagree with my thoughts above? Reach out to me on Mastodon and let me know!