  We review the currrent cosmic parameter determinations of relevance to
inflation using the WMAP-1year, Boomerang, CBI, Acbar and other CMB data. The
basic steps in the pipelines which determine the bandpowers from the raw data
from which these estimations are made are summarized. We forecast how the
precision is likely to improve with more years of WMAP in combination with
future ground-based experiments and with Planck. We address whether the current
data indicates strong breaking from uniform acceleration through the relatively
small region of the inflaton potential that the CMB probes, manifest in the
much-discussed running spectral index or in even more radical braking/breaking
scenarios. Although some weak ``anomalies'' appear in the current data, the
statistical case is not there. However increased precision, at the high
multipole end and with polarization measurements, will significantly curtail
current freedom.
