There is $155 billion to be made in consumer electronics in the US for 2007. That’s more than the 2005 GDP of several former soviet states put together. In less than two weeks of the New Year, society has been led into several more wars which may not result in as many civilian casualties as the mêlée in Iraq. Instead, these wars are present in the more abstract world of consumer technology which directly affects the rest of us, who are geographically fortunate, to a higher degree.

With the CES show and the Macworld Expo overlapping this week, there is no surprise that everyone is discussing connecting multiple gadgets into one platform or system. “Multi-function,” “connected experiences,” or whatever you call ‘em. Yes, for all but our syncopated lives, convergence is the wave of the future. Gates is talking about the digital decade when I’ll be able to connect my toaster to my XBox, while Jobs’ new release of the long awaited iPhone has everyone changing their underwear, but the excitement doesn’t stop there. LG is trying to find a truce to the format Disc Wars while the battle to land us back glued to the boob tube prevails.

The main reason I’m genuinely excited about all of this disruptive technology is because of the way that it’s starting to lead me away from my TV. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like TV could turn me into a neo-con or something (or can it?).

To compare, 2006 was highlighted by giving power back to the people and holding our democracies accountable. Even Time Magazine copped out by naming everyone in the world “Person of the Year”. Regardless, with the continuing saga of PC vs. Mac, and the convergence tidal wave at the forefront of this year, where will we be in January of 2008? Will these technologies bring us greater freedom or greater complicity?

The technological revolution doesn’t come cheaply, and neither does putting all this power back into our hands. The good analysts at the CES report that consumers “get it” and plan on spending $2000 per average household on consumer technology. That’s up from only $1500 last year, and a little bit higher than the cost of three new iPhones. Mp3 players are to hit 41m units as the in-car navigation market hits $1 billion. With all the excitement that converging technology is causing, I guess it’s a relief that we won’t be lost while listening to our playlists on the way to the bank for a loan to afford it all. Now, if only we could electronically fill out those loan apps from the safety of our car. The future just may finally bring us what we’ve always wanted - one high-tech allegorical cave.

- SirJouge