John Kirk, a writer for Tech.pinions, started 2013 off with a list of his big predictions for the coming year, but of course, it remains to be seen if he is correct. Kirk identified four trends that he sees for the coming year, and wrote out five predictions as well.

Though all of his conjectures are interesting, his feelings on the difference between a notebook and tablet - and by extension, the "hybrid" devices that have sprung up, are particularly intriguing.

Separate and incompatible

According to Kirk, touch-based interfaces, such as those popularized by the Apple iOS system, are incompatible with those that depend on a hard surface to work - including desktop and notebook computers. The author called the systems "separate and incompatible."

One of Kirk's boldest assertions was that the notebook/ tablet hybrid - popularized by many Windows 8 devices - won't work. Because the nature of these devices is different, Kirk says, attempting to combine them will be futile. Instead, he thinks that touch-screen tablets, such as the Apple iPad and iPad mini, will be even bigger than we think.

Of course, such bold statements can sometimes turn out to be incredibly wrong. John Gruber, who writes a tech blog called Daring Fireball, recently reminded everyone of a 2001 Wall Street Journal article claiming that the Apple Store would fail miserably. Will Kirk's feelings about the future go the same way? Only time will tell.

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