Is the end of the PC in sight?
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| the birth of the
PC |
It is around 25 years since IBM launched
the machine that brought a semblance of order to the chaotic
world of microcomputers. Companies like Apple, Commodore, Osborne
and Tandy had demonstrated that computers could be affordable.
It took a major player lke IBM to guarantee the standardisation
and market penetration that encouraged developers to produce
software for the new platform.
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| the strength of
independence |
Standardisation also meant that
people were able to exchange information easily and enjoy an
ever-widening choice of suppliers making compatible products.
At that time, data communications was a slow, primitive and
unreliable affair (anyone remember acoustic modems?) and the
driving force behind the PC was it's ability to liberate users
from the tyranny of giant mainframe data centres that dominated
the industry. Having the power and versatility to work 'standalone'
was the key PC breakthrough and it set the design on the course
of striving for ever-greater performance and sophistication
that it has followed ever since.
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| sledgehammer to crack a nut |
But the computing landscape
has change out of all recognition in the last 20 years. Now
nearly all PC users work via some kind of network and, increasingly,
this is dominated by remote internet -based services. In this
environment the power of a PC is irrelevant. The complexity
is a clear liability that costs the owner dearly. the flexibility
is a nightmare in a corporate world where standardisation is
essential to manage the IT environment. Users have too many
options, malware has too many loopholes to exploit. It all seems
like a sledgehammer to crack a nut. |
| The future is dumb |
So will fashion
eventually turn full circle and return us to the good old
days of 'dumb' terminals hanging off big centralised computing
facilities. Well yes but like all fashions, it follow a spiral
rather than a circle and you come round to something slightly
different. The host is no longer the massive mainframe server,
it is a whole universe of interconnected servers offering
a range of competing services that would have been unimaginable
20 years ago. All we need to tap into this vast resource is
a half-decent comms network (work in progress) and any old
piece of hardware that will run an internet browser.
You can buy simple computers that will do this. If you have
a network server you can install software to do most of the
work locally and give remote users a better service by cutting
the bandwidth demands of their terminal dramatically. So instead
of a world built in the image of Bill Gates you can get the
same work done using a small box attached to a monitor, set
it up in 10 minutes rather than 2 hrs+. Cancel the antivirus
subscription. Reduce user training. eliminate user 'meddling'
and send your helpdesk staff off on a much-needed holiday.
The future is here now. You just haven't noticed it yet!
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visit
Orchard Computers website