I remember getting acquainted with computers in the mid 90’s and discovering this thing called the “Internet”. The idea that you can create and view content on a worldwide network took the world by storm. My family picked up, at the time, a high-end IBM computer with Microsoft Windows 3.1 and signed up for AOL’s dial-up service. Sites would load up slowly, but it was new and exciting so we tolerated it. Fast forward to 2010 and, wow things have really changed.

Now, I have a super fast HP computer, a Google Android phone, an iPod Touch, a laptop and sooner or later, an iPad. We’re a much faster paced society these days. I can sit at Starbucks flip open my Droid and read the latest news, check the weather, etc. Recently, Google announced their endeavor into the entertainment market by releasing Google TV.

In a matter of a few years the Web has changed dramatically. With Google still dominating the global search market you can guarantee that the shifts will continue. This on-the-go society has really complicated the lives of Web developers because we now have to consider the following:

• Standard phones
• Smart phones
• iPad/tablet devices
• Various screen resolutions
• A multitude of operating systems
• And now websites as seen on a televisions

Right now, it’s tough to say where things are going. If I had to guess though, smart phones will eventually dominate the market and the current “standard” phones will be no more. With Apple, Google and others combating against Adobe, it’s safe to say that Flash compatibility will be a non-issue down the road. This means that most W3C compliant websites will load and display correctly on mobile/tablet devices.

Nothing is for certain, but keep a close watch on this in the future. Open source applications and juggernauts like Google will be leading the way for change.