Apparently it is fashionable for commentators to make predictions for the next year. So I thought I might try and predict what is in store for Mimtech.

1. In January we have new staff joining us (not a prediction, I have already hired them) so I expect there to be more going on in the office and having to make tea less often
2. We have some training lined up in different WCM platforms for most of the techie guys so I predict a lot more geek speak and jargon being bandied around
3. We will launch a new offering in January but I won't spoil the surprise just yet, we will be getting a lot of attention and new and exciting business in the New Year
4. I will be more tired (my wife is having our second child next week)
5. Obtree users will start to consider their investment a bit more carefully
6. Mimtech will land our first big implementation in New Zealand early next year, this is already at a fairly advanced stage in the sales process
7. Lots of new processes, as we grow this is inevitable if a bit dull
8. Less chatter about Web 2.0 and more real value add development work being done in general
9. More community activity in the WCM space we operate in
10. Software as a service replacing Web  2.0 as the buzz phrase of the moment
11. Uses have more control over the presentation layer
12. Celtic and Rangers striking a deal to become one club - Glasgow United. Or maybe an end to world poverty and conflict. Or Microsoft bringing out some bug free software. Or Apple releasing a product that doesn't start with i. Obese being the new size zero. I appear to have run out of sensible ideas.

He may cry 'Humbug' with considerable frequency but Doug has shown a desire for a simpler life in 2008. While trying to chase down a few tardy payers before the country shuts down for the holidays Doug has been musing on how much easier it would be to be a window cleaner instead of an internet entrepreneur. Just a ladder, a bucket and a sponge.

I don't want to throw cold water on anybody's dream but it would not be a life without its stresses.

• we live in a cold, wet place
• some windows are quite high
• if the Royal Mail sees cats as a big enough threat then window cleaners should beware of birds
• where do you look as you clean the windows?
• ladders or a really big brush? The list goes on.

And what tools are really needed? It's not just a bucket and sponge these days. It's a sophisticated technological solution that's required.

With John off driving a big red tractor at 10 miles an hour round the Edinburgh bypass and Doug up his ladder I can see some new product offerings from the Mimpire in the New Year.

On the journey back up to Edinburgh now, this time on the new Transpennine Express service between Manchester Airport and Edinburgh - operated by First. The blurb on their website teases...

"Look out for a super new catering offer for First Class customers. We have developed a breakfast and an All Day meal that is fully self contained in its own box."

What did I get? A JaffaCake Roll, 2 Carr's Biscuits, 2 Jacob's Crackers, Mini Laughing Cow Spread and some Ardense Pate. Not so much an all day meal, more of a mid-afternoon snack! 

Bloatware? Computing minimalism?

Aren't business buzzwords great? I want the job of thinking up these daft terms instead of the one using them.

That notwithstanding,  I do see value in software being scaled down to provide just the functionality you are likely to use and this does seem to be a trend. Except in WCM software where it appears that, in order to show how proactive they are, vendors are layering fucntionality onto the their out of the box offerings. 

There is a temptation to say 'Great. Extra functionality for no extra cost.' But there is extra cost in performance, training, learning curve etc. etc.

It's like the iPhone. Lots of great functions but not great for making calls. 

I'm on a train, again, heading to Manchester for a meeting. When I tried to book my ticket online yesterday I got as far as the payment gateway and the system crashed. A few phone calls later it turned out that the whole National Rail Booking System had failed and no travel tickets could be issued online, via call centre or at the railway stations.

Now, these things happen but what annoyed me the most was that with the system still down at 23:00 last night I couldn't buy a ticket until I got to Waverley station in Edinburgh this morning - and the price difference? When I was trying to book online a 1st Class Return was showing up at just under £76 whereas this morning at the station it was £230! On the promise of a refund of the difference if I wrote a letter of complaint I purchased the ticket and proceeded to enjoy a rather nice 'Full British' in the restaurant car on my way down to York with National Express East Coast. Things got even better when I returned to my seat after breakfast and started chatting to a fellow passenger who turned out to be a Customer Services Manager with the aforementioned franchisee - to cut a long story short... "Thanks David for sorting things out with my fare!"

And the moral of the story is... automated systems are only as good as the people supporting them!