The PC Will Become The Next Typewriter, Says One Of Its Inventors

[Jagi]

IBM exec says PC is 'going the way of the typewriter,' kills our birthday buzz
By Amar Toor posted Aug 12th 2011 1:31PM


Well, this is awkward. As the IBM PC celebrates its 30th birthday today, one of its original designers is already mulling the end of its reign. In a blog post penned this week, Mark Dean, IBM's CTO for the Middle East and Africa, reflected on the dawn of the desktop era and looked forward to its seemingly inevitable demise.

"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."

Dean added that he's glad his company sold its PC business to Lenovo in 2005, as part of a move that, according to him, allowed IBM to position itself at the forefront of the "post-PC" era. No word yet on when the funeral rites will be held, but you can read the full post at the source link, below.

 

[Chitownheadbusa]

is that a good idea to be so dependent on that type of technology?

 

[keone]

Sure; but all I'm saying is that what you're describing will still be a personal computer, just smaller...but still hooked up to a full size screen/keyboard; so personal computers won't be obsolete, just really small, and people will still prefer big screens/keyboards for a lot of tasks. So I think if anything, there will be a merge with pc's scaling down incredibly in size, and smartphones becoming personal computers with phone capabilities, not people giving up one for the other. Maybe that's what he was getting at and maybe I read into it wrong.

 

[Blu Diablo]

The word processor was the next typewriter. The PC's run will end eventually but like another poster said it'll probably just be smaller and integrated with phone capabilities.

 

[The Ghost of Steve Jobs]

This discussion has given me an erection that I have been unable to subside.

 

[redemption]

there are SO many things a desktop or laptop can do that a mobile device CANNOT do...mainly in business and industry.

the size of a phone limits its interface capability.

to write you need a keyboard. for art, design, layout, etc you need a large touch screen or mouse.

for social stuff or quick buys/sales, a phone would be fine.

for the REAL ish?

NO.

You gotta think bigger dude. All those things you mentioned, people were doing them on tiny ass screens well before there were LCD monitors, touch screens, laptops, etc. The software is the main driving point in these circumstances. If the software provides an experience that is not hindered by the form factor, you can pretty much do anything + you have added portability.

5 years from now, tablets and phones will be doing things you wouldn't imagine were possible today, mark my words. These things get better and more capable with time, and their portability will increase as components, and batteries get smaller.

But don't get me wrong, desktops will still be around. I'm hoping virtualization will take off though. So instead of you having desktops, laptops, tablets, etc. littered throughout your house. You have one tower (server) feeding the OS/software to the screens you have throughout your house

 

[S_a_b_o_q]

God damn nerds!!!!

Stay outta my garden!!!!

Diggin up my radishes and onions!!!!