http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/10-tech-trends-to-watch-for-in-2012-1050007

1. Windows 8 revolution

This is the biggie, and not just because of Microsoft's enormous user base: Windows 8 is a dramatically different version of the world's most popular OS, with particular emphasis on tablets.

2. Really good tablets

If 2011 was when the tablet market learned to walk, 2012 is when it'll learn to run.

3. Big names in big trouble

Some of tech's biggest firms face a rocky ride in the coming year: the Financial Times reports that the EU "plans to slam Google with a 400-plus page" statement of anti-trust objections before possibly embarking on legal action, while in the US the Federal Trade Commission has ordered Facebook to behave itself or face action. The EU's sniffing around Facebook too, with German regulators being a particular thorn in the social network's side.

4. TV continues to change

The lines between TV and PC will continue to blur in 2012. 

5. Voice input

We're loath to call this voice recognition, because it's bigger than that: natural language systems such as Apple's Siri are closer to virtual assistants or intelligent software agents than traditional computer voice recognition, not least because you're taking advantage of enormously powerful servers rather than the processing power of your device.

6. More and more Ultrabooks

We like ultrabooks, the super-thin and super-portable Apple-inspired notebooks from the likes of Acer, Asus and Toshiba. We're not so keen on their prices, though, so it's good to see DigiTimes predicting that prices will fall by as much as 10% in early 2012, bringing Ultrabooks into the sub-$1000 price bracket. We're expecting to see as many as fifty new Ultrabooks at January's CES extravaganza, not to mention new, slimline MacBook Pros from Apple later in the year.

7. The end of boxed software

We predicted this one last year, but Windows 8 didn't arrive as early as we'd hoped: Windows 8 brings the app store model to the majority of the world's desktops, and between it and Apple's Mac App Store (not to mention the mobile app stores on iOS, Android and on Android forks such as Amazon's Kindle Fire) we're looking at the end of shrink-wrapped software boxes.

8. Everything in the cloud

The rise of mobile devices means that we expect to get our stuff on any device, anywhere we happen to be - and more often than not, that means storing our stuff in the cloud.

9. Mobile payments

There's more to mobile payments than near field communications (NFC) chips, although that's where most of the hype is currently focused. Ebay tells us that 10% of its UK payments are now made via mobile phones, while a recent survey by KPMG found that some 24% of people worldwide are making phone-based payments. Factor in the arrival of NFC chips in mobiles and NFC readers in more high street shops and it's clear that mobile money is going to be a big deal in 2012.

10. Censorship

While ISPs won't - and can't, under EU law - be forced to monitor everybody's online activities, demands for per-site censorship will soundtrack 2012. The BPI is already asking ISPs to block The Pirate Bay, while in the US the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act could result in entire sites being blocked by ISPs, search engines, payment providers and advertising networks as a result of a few users' bad behaviour.

Such US legislation could have global effects, because most of the world's websites are registered in the US: while SOPA is opposed by the tech industry's biggest names, it's widely expected to become law in time for the New Year.

Not really much to look forward too then ...

^^I disagree, I think 2012 looks to be pretty interesting

Doubt much will change for me in 2012., everything I use and how I use them, will still stay pretty much the same for another 2 years at least.

Apart from voice input, I personally don't think many of those will be widely perceived as really important trends in 2012.

Aren't they just saying they expect an Apple LED TV, with internet connection, app & itunes store, cloud saving, siri voice commands.. all in 1 device

I have the sneaking suspicion that Windows 8 is not going to be revolutionary. I really hope it is but I just don't see it happening. It's full of intriguing ideas but I don't think that's where the market is going. Still, I hope for the best. Microsoft needs a shot in the arm but I fear that they're in a permanent state of stagnation (outside of the Xbox division, their one truly great venture of the past 15 years).

That path forward for television is streaming and cloud services, like the Roku or Apple TV. I bought an Apple TV on a lark (for $85, it was worth a shot). I fell in love with the stupid thing and proceeded to buy another for the downstairs television. And the Apple TV/Roku is just scratching the surface of the tech available to these devices. Give it another year or two and one of these companies is going to completely change how we think about television (and right now, my money is on Apple with Siri integration).

Cable-related companies are in for a world of hurt over the coming years. The market is going to quickly begin to move away from anything that is a pay service but not 100% on-demand.

It should also be noted that Microsoft is (for once) in a great position to take advantage of this burgeoning market. The Xbox is a prime contender for the living room space and for the first time in years, Microsoft showed real foresight by getting into the market ten years ago.

Boxed software will never die entirely but it's going to become more and more marginalized over time. I haven't bought a piece of boxed software (PC-related) in years. My last purchase was probably a copy of Windows 7 about two years ago.

I agree that their point was overly dramatic but the general sentiment is correct. The next generation of consoles will strongly push full-length game downloads. Steam and app stores are already very strong in the PC segment. Dedicated handhelds will move in that direction someday.

It won't entirely spell the death of boxed software in 2012 but it's been happening for years and the trend will continue.