Exclusive: The headlines you WON'T see in 2005

Here we predict the stories which won't - or really shouldn't - appear on the pages of silicon.com over the course of the coming 12 months.

Gates: Longhorn 'bug free and on time'
If there are two certainties in life it's that Microsoft operating systems will launch late and with more than their fair share of bugs and glitches. Longhorn will be no different. The shipping date has already changed more times than David Beckham's hairstyle – expect at least one more false dawn and heightened speculation throughout 2005.

Markets go mad for tech IPOs
A lot is being said about the fact 2004 finally saw some technology IPO activity, but let's not get carried away. Merger and acquisition still looks the far likelier exit strategy for any company in this space.

Spam drops back below 50 per cent mark
All indications suggest the problem of spam email will continue to increase well into 2005. The watershed mark of spam accounting for more than 50 per cent of email was passed in mid-2003 and it's unlikely to dip below that mark again any time soon... if ever.

Indian firm opens Middlesbrough call centre
A lot has been written about the effects of offshoring on the UK job market. The emotive claims of 'jobs to India' often overshadowed the facts. However, while some predict a slowing down in this trend don't expect to see it reversing.

ID cards: Government offers to waive charges...
ID cards have proven to be a controversial issue through 2004 and that will certainly continue into 2005 and beyond to the time they are eventually, inevitably introduced. One issue is the fact the government intends to charge people for what many view as an infringement of their civil liberties, but it's unlikely the Home Secretary will pass up the chances for the scheme to be partially self-funding.

UK police 'well resourced' in fight on cyber-crime
The biggest problem facing the crackdown on virus writers, spammers, scammers and online crooks is the fact the police are as under-resourced to catch them as the judges are unqualified to try them. The authorities are very much playing catch-up in this battle and that situation won't improve in 2005.

Brit: I really did win £10m on Dutch email lotto
People continue to fall for scams such as the Nigerian 419 scam and the Dutch National Lottery emails. Often with the promise of huge fortunes, individuals are asked to pay upfront fees to process their windfall. Such ploys continue to have great success and it's a certainty that 2005 won't see one such email turn out to be genuine.

Mobile giants: 3G spend worth every penny
3G devices are hitting the shops and the marketing machines are really cranking things up but it's unlikely with all the extra cost that entails anybody will ever be too bullish about those incredible licence fees paid almost five years ago.

No oddball lots on eBay this week
Even in the slowest of news weeks there will always be somebody selling an item on eBay that hits the pages of the newspapers. eBay has become the most bizarre bazaar on the web. What crops up for sale in 2005 is anybody's guess.

Sun revenues soar: Wall Street baffled
Until this year Sun had endured an incredible run of falling revenue - racking up 12 consecutive quarters of decline. Although recent signs look more positive, with one-off charges all that dragged the last quarter below the line, 2005 is unlikely to be the year when McNealy and Co. comes back with a bang. In fact questions are more likely to persist about how long McNealy's name remains above the door.

CIO now stands for 'Cherished', 'Important' and 'Odds-on for CEO'
With a lot of talk this year about the uncertain future for the CIO post, it's unlikely there will be a complete U-turn next year which will see the CIO elevated to a higher status. Unloved and undervalued appear more applicable.

Symantec: 'No more acquisitions'
The security market is likely to see continued consolidation – more so than any other sector and expect Symantec to be at the front of the pack throwing around some serious amounts of cash.