IBM has unveiled its annual "IBM Five in Five" list in which the company details some of the most striking innovations which it thinks has the potential to change the way we live in the next five years. This is the third edition.

The 2008 list has the following technologies which, according to IBM, will radically change the way we live, work and play in the next five years.

Solar technology to become ubiquitous

With energy-saving technology a prime concern in the days of the current economic downtrend, the future looks bright for alternative energy sources. The IBM report predicts that, in the next five years, we will see an increasing adoption of alternate sources of energy; primarily Solar power.

The report predicts that we could be seeing the price of solar panels going southward with the rapid advances being made in the field of "thin film" solar cells, a new technology which can revolutionize solar power by reducing the price of the panels. These cells are 100 times smaller than standard solar cells and play a vital role in reducing the size of the panels.

Future solar panels would be smaller, efficient and cheaper and can be "printed" on to buildings, paint and even asphalt. This will result in widespread adoption of the technology and could help lift the burden off fossil fuels.

Medical soothsayers galore!

For less than $200, you will be able to predict your medical future. Now, how does it sound if your doctor will be able to predict how your continuous obsession with tandoori chicken will affect you in the future? Or how it might not affect at all? This would all be possible in the near future - thanks to the breakthrough achieved in making it possible to map the entire human genome.

After the successful completion of the Human Genome Project, it has opened up hitherto-unheard-of techniques that can analyze our genes and predict health traits. It will also help predict how we may end up in the future if we continue to follow the health routine being currently followed.

This technology can go a long way in dramatically altering our lifestyles!

Converse with the web in voice

The World Wide Web contains trillions of text articles that remain inaccessible to a large number of people who are unable to read or write. While this is an unimaginable situation for most of us, it is a fact that there are millions of people out there who are bereft of information only because they are unable to read.

In India too, we have a large percentile of the population who have the resources to "go online", but without actually making any use because they don't understand what they see. This is where the concept of "talking" to the web comes to aid.

The next five years, according to IBM, will see a rise in the number of "voice sites". Even for people who CAN read or write, such sites will mean you can reply to emails and IMs just by speaking out.

Coming (very) soon: Digital Shopping Assistants

To start, this is not about the mundane, currently very un-interactive online shopping experience you're used to.

Even though purchasing things online will remain a viable option, there is nothing like actually going out and finding stuff that's right for you. However, this does not always go as planned and could often result in wrong choices and unforgettable experiences. Oh, and you might have to deal with the occasional bad salesperson.

The shopping experience of the future is all set to undergo a makeover with the arrival of what is known as personal shopping assistants. No, these are not humanoid robots that will accompany you in the mall but information kiosks with touch-screen and voice-enabled communication techniques that could help you "personalize" your experience.

These assistants are designed to recommend you products, and will also alert a sales associate once you have completed shopping. These will also come with cameras and recording mechanisms with which you can take a picture of yours and send it to your friends for their opinions and views on your purchase.

Forgot something? Hit Search!

I am sure some of you might have thought how great it would have been if we can keep a record of our day-to-day activities and recall them all at the click of a button. It is just like reading those old chats on Gtalk, which takes you back to that period in time. This is extremely helpful in case you just do not remember something that someone mentioned to you be it a name, a thing or be it just about anything.

In the future, it is possible that our activity will be recorded by cameras and microphones all around us. All these data will be continuously fed to a personal computer, which will keep all our "records" making them available instantly whenever you need it!

The best thing about this is that all these data will act "proactively" and not just sit there waiting for you to explore it. Instead, with advanced GPS technology, cell phones could prompt you to purchase grocery when you pass through the store at a time. This data - regarding the possible purchase, which was stored on your PC - triggers off an alarm, resulting in your cell phone alerting you.

While some of these do sound cool, recording our day-to-day activities does seem to be quite something. Does this mean there is no such thing as privacy in the next few years?