2010 saw major upheavals in science and technology from step cell cultivation, 3G spectrum, smart phones and tablets were a few milestones of the decade. On the other hand Wikileaks, attacks on countries' official websites and online privacy issue gave nightmares to government agencies worldwide. Here is a pick of the issues that are expected to create a storm in the coming decade:
Online privacy issues
2010 saw a lot of cases of breach of internet privacy, one of the biggest examples have been the revelations made by Wikileaks.
The publishing of official communications between the US embassy and the US govt shook the very foundation of US diplomacy. The fact that these 'secure' communications could be leaked in such a public manner raised the level of awareness of how easy it is to access every little detail of a person and his life- from the internet.
This is also a reason why Facebook users raised the banner of revolt against its CEO, Mark Zuclerberg and his idea of online privacy.
Apart from this we stood witness to making hacking attempt on countries official websites. The reports of China hacking into India’s sensitive data, the attack on India’s official CWG website, were important incidents in this regard.
Social Networking:
Social networking has changed the way people communicate. A common platform to interact with friends who are far away may be the crux of the matter; however it's popularity shows that people want to be heard. From posting their most inane, embarrassing moments to their moods to their daily mundane habits, Facebook has become the fastest and most productive attention-seeking tactic.
Twitter has become a forum for the people to put their point across to a large number of viewers. Celebrities now don’t need the press for announcements. A simple tweet does the trick; short, simple and very effective.
Liz Hurley announced her break-up on twitter, Paris Hilton alerted her followers on Twitter about an attempted robbery at her home, Kaynes revealed his love for orange juice on twitter. These are some of the few celebs who are using twitter as a platform to connect to their fans.
The Radia tapes which were not broadcasted by the mainstream, leading media houses, created ripples on the web.
Radio proved faster than print; television raised the bar further and now the web is leaving the TV behind. Social networking is fast becoming an alternative for mainstream media in the next decade
In UK, a tabloid, using the Freedom to Information Act, has found out that there have been more than 100,000 crimes linked to Facebook in UK in the last five years. According to it, callers have alerted officers to alleged acts of terrorism, sudden deaths, frauds, sexual offences and hate crimes.
Closer home, the social networking site has also led to heinous crimes. Recently, a girl’s Facebook friend raped her when she met him in Delhi.
But, social networking has proved to be a boon too. Many social issues have been raised through this platform.
Now even the Indian police are creating accounts on the Facebook to get connected to the people. They are trying to spread awareness about the rules and other programmes run by them for the benefit of the people.
Commercial space travel
Sir Richard Branson's space tourism company, Virgin Galactic, is banking on SpaceShipTwo to carry up to six passengers at a time on a 2 1 /2-hour trip to the edge of outer space. According to the company, more than 370 wannabe astronauts have put down deposits toward the $200,000 ticket to secure a seat on a future flight.
Some of the other players that have entered the market of commercial space travel are Kawasaki Heavy Industries from Japan, Copenhagen Suborbitals a Danish non-profit rocket group, Excalibur Almaz and Orbital Sciences Corporation.
India’s moon mission and Chandrayaan
After the success of Chandrayaan 1 in 2009 Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) seeks to send the first Indian to the moon by 2015.
If it succeeds, it would beat China in the moon race as their mission is to send its first astronaut by 2017. ISRO is now awaiting the Centre’s approval and as soon as its gets the green signal, it will change gears to launch a full throttle mission to send Indian astronauts on the moon.
ISRO twice failed in its attempt to launch its heavier rocket GSLV and its INSAT-4B satellite failed 50 per cent due to a power glitch.
Next big thing:
Over the years science and technology has developed and given something new to the future generation.
Standing at the threshold of a new decade we look ahead to some big ideas that India plans to venture into 4G and 5G spectrum after the successful launch of 2G and 3G spectrum.
Smartphones revolutionised the mobile industry, now, world awaits the next level of the mobile technology.
The new developments in stem cell research have opened new avenues for the scientists in the field.
Gadgets
Gadgets and communication technology: What can be expected in the near future?

The decade saw some of the most innovative and mind-boggling technological inventions. The new gizmos has completely revolutionised the gadget world in the 21st century

Wireless data transfer is said to be the fastest developing technology in the world. The communication technology which will define the next decade, 4G, is all set to be launched in the coming year. Almost all the new gadgets use wireless data transfer technology (3G, WiFi etc.) or at least are compatible to it. This is quite evident if one looks at the recently launched gadgets.

3G/4G/5G

While in India we are still trying to expand the reach of 3G technology, Europe and America have already begun testing 4G. 2011 is the year when the 4G will see real expansion, internationally. 5G launch is expected to take another decade.

3G and 4G are short forms for third and fourth generation wireless communication technologies. Communication technology takes a quantum leap every 10 years. The 2G and 3G were launched around 1992 and 2002 respectively.

Tablets

Technologically, these are said to be placed between Smartphones and Notebooks, having the most popular features of both the gadgets. Companies like Dell, Toshiba and Samsung launched their devices in the market after Apple came up with the revolutionary I Pad. Other companies cannot be too far behind. This is one gadget which will most probably find a big market in the coming year.

Smart phones

Smartphones have a better and powerful processor, software, memory and screen. Some companies, like Samsung, have already launched such phones and it can be expected that similar phones will be launched in 2011 by other companies as well. This is another device which has tremendous scope for expansion.

Internet TV

It is one technology which has not caught up big time, especially in India, most probably due to slow internet speed. Another big issue is the availability of live prime entertainment channels on the internet. With the increasing reach and affordability of 3G, internet TV may or may not catch up in 2011, depending upon customer reaction.