This one really caught my eye. It seems that one of the original designers of the PC thinks the answer is “Yes.”
The engineer who thinks so is none less that IBM’s Middle East and Africa’s CTO, Mark Dean. He was one of the magic twelve who designed IBM’s PC
thirty years ago.
“PCs are being replaced at the center of computing not by another type of device — though there’s plenty of excitement about smartphones and tablets — but by new ideas about the role that computing can play in progress. These days, it’s becoming clear that innovation flourishes best not on devices but in the social spaces between them, where people and ideas meet and interact. It is there that computing can have the most powerful impact on economy, society and people’s lives.” - Mark Dean
He himself states he rarely sits plunked down at his desk in front of a box and here’s where he really sheds some light on his feeling:
“I, personally, have moved beyond the PC as well. My primary computer now is a tablet. When I helped design the PC, I didn’t think I’d live long enough to witness its decline. But, while PCs will continue to be much-used devices, they’re no longer at the leading edge of computing. They’re going the way of the vacuum tube, typewriter, vinyl records, CRT and incandescent light bulbs.” – Ibid
I echo this. I never thought I’d use one a Pad. I chided Island Dog (who I hope is laughing heartily at my hubris). I now use it all the time, as it’s my favorite reader. In the past, I never thought I’d use a laptop nor a smart phone. Guess what.
The fact is, that our gadget horizon has expanded radically, and portability is a super must, along with vertical and horizontal integration for business/productivity as well as social networking, and entertainment. Being a Luddite won’t gain you a thing. There are many advantages (and some disadvantages) to these new platforms.
Our tech is revolutionizing our culture. No one can deny this after watching the Middle East upheavals and the London riots.
I’d like to see more ‘real’ contact between people as opposed to ‘virtual’ but face it, distances are still real.
That’s why this Community is so important and why WinCustomize is our hub.
My personal feeling is that skinning needs to be more relevant to this new world as well. I feel Stardock’s apps have to infiltrate the business and social worlds even more strongly despite Windows 7 and because of the coming Windows 8.
Windows XP is still very prevalent in the business world, but that will start declining in the near future. Wallpapers need to include mobile/pad sizes. There needs to be a miniWB for smart phones and Windows pads, as well as skinned app-tiles to defeat the horrendous “Metro” monocolored rectangles.
Since Windows 8 will have a choice (we believe) of task bar or Metro, then both these should be addressed…. and the female market should be addressed.
What are your thoughts?
Source: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/hiner/engineer-of-original-ibm-pc-declares-end-of-pc-era/8924?tag=nl.e101