Like many people, I like to look forward at the beginning of a brand new year. I don’t have the ambition to look at world politics, but how about my own activities? I am curious what is going to interest me over the next twelve months. Will it be Windows Mobile related? There is a good chance, since we are in the midst of a webcast series that takes a lot of preparation. Another good reason is that this is the time of the year to submit abstracts for conference presentations. Since I like to talk about things I know and have experience with, it makes sense to talk during webcasts and conferences about Windows Mobile and Windows CE related topics. Therefore it is also easy to assume that I will spend a good part of my working time in 2006 with Windows Mobile / Windows CE. I really like developing for Windows Mobile devices. Besides that, the device I am currently using is small enough to be my phone, large enough to be my PDA and the battery lasts long enough to allow me to use it during an entire Trans Atlantic flight, something that is not possible with my laptop computer. Using an external keyboard, it is not even too bad to use the device for document writing purposes. There is really only one thing missing. How about a cool product called “Visual Studio 2005 Mobile”? Similar to Word Mobile, it should be a mobile edition of Visual Studio, with most functionality available and the capability to develop software on the device. This is something that would be cool to see arriving in 2006. Of course it won’t happen, but with full VGA screens available on some devices there should not be a reason not to have a Mobile edition of the development tool. Ah well, maybe there are other reasons like processor power and memory footprint, but thinking about it, I like the idea more and more. Another thing I like to see in 2006 is more emphasis on Windows CE as a great operating system for embedded purposes. Even though lots of companies are using Windows CE right now, I think that there could be lots more if there would be more marketing efforts, specifically towards using Windows CE in the embedded space. Hopefully Microsoft will recognize this as well and hopefully they take some action in this area. The Embedded World Conference would be a great starting point. And what about Windows Vista? I am very curious about that Windows XP successor. Unfortunately, 2005 did not have enough days, so I have some beta versions stacked up, waiting to be installed. Hopefully there is a better chance to play with Windows Vista, but also with Office 12 in 2006. Of course I am curious to find out if 2006 is going to be Windows Vista year. I guess in December, when we are looking back again we will know. I wonder if I am running Windows Vista by that time and I am also wondering if I am still running on the same hardware by that time. I guess there are enough things going on to make this year another exciting year. Make sure to visit DotNETForDevices frequently. I will try to at least share my excitement with you.