What are the hot technologies today? Java seems still to be in, and .Net is perhaps a bit out. (Microsoft has to start pushing .Net to developers soon...). However, XML seems to be the hottest thing. There are myriads of XML-related technologies: MathML, ChemML, RSS, SOAP etc.

Basing co-operation on open standards is certainly a welcome trend. I hope the users and developers can agree on the common formats, without a company defining what can be done and what not.

But what about the live media formats: Flash, Real, Microsoft, Quicktime? There seems to be a lot of fighting going on in this area, but the real decisions are made in the media companies. Will Microsoft find allies or not? It probably will.