We are constantly moving. From a morning meeting to a lunch date to an afternoon conference call, we are always on the go and so are our technology devices. They are with us every step of the way, acting as our personal assistants, communicators and life-savers. We are progressing closer to a world where HUVr boards aren’t a hoax and technology no longer fits in the palm of your hand but on a node in your brain. We are shifting from using static, desktop devices to portable devices in order to accommodate our lightspeed lifestyle.
There are six drivers in computing device technology: Intelligence gathering, combat, medicine, exploration, business and gaming. Intelligence requires raw computational speed and power. Combat and medicine require specific functionality and reliability. Exloration requires above all else reliability. Business requires specific functionality and user friendliness, and again, reliability. Gaming requires sensual impact, and low latency.
All of these different requirements drive different segments of the industry and different form factors. Reliability demands above all else proven technology. That's why you see "high tech" vehicles like the Mars rovers using computer technology that is a decade or more old.
Business was the first to adopt the "smart phone" form factor. Cost is always less of an issue with business, functionality and convenience being the drivers. If the technology improves productivity, it will flourish. If not, it will wither on the vine.
I suspect that if wearable technology and what lies beyond that, is really going to take off, the first adopters are going to be business, because the products will be less obtrusive and more convenient to use.
Gamers will still be using static computational devices for a long time to come. I don't see consoles replacing the flexibility and power of the desktop format when it comes to games like MMO's.
People have been predicting the death of the desktop for a long time, but they are the muscle cars of personal computing devices, and I think they still have a strong appeal for a significant market segment. And if you look at the actual desktop form factor, it has actually gotten physically bigger over the past decade, even while computational technology has become smaller and faster.
So I guess the points, I don't see the market going exclusively in one specific direction. The desktop is proven technology, and it is still going to be used by gamers, and by business as well for workstations that don't require smaller and less obtrusive form factors. Wearable technology is going to be important in combat, as it already is, but it won't be the same wearable technology used by business, or uber geeks. The actually computer technology is going to be simpler, older, and more reliable.
And for immersive gaming, safety is going to be an important issue. Immersive sensual experiences require a stationary platform that won't allow for inadvertent wandering into traffic or off the edges of high buildings. Someday perhaps immersive gaming will be a virtual reality that interfaces directly with the brain, where the body is immobilized. But that is a long way off and even in that safety and health concerns will be an issue.
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The Incredible Shrinking Technology
Posted by: John Basso April 24, 2014 07:09 AMWe are constantly moving. From a morning meeting to a lunch date to an afternoon conference call, we are always on the go and so are our technology devices. They are with us every step of the way, acting as our personal assistants, communicators and life-savers. We are progressing closer to a world where HUVr boards aren’t a hoax and technology no longer fits in the palm of your hand but on a node in your brain. We are shifting from using static, desktop devices to portable devices in order to accommodate our lightspeed lifestyle.
All of these different requirements drive different segments of the industry and different form factors. Reliability demands above all else proven technology. That's why you see "high tech" vehicles like the Mars rovers using computer technology that is a decade or more old.
Business was the first to adopt the "smart phone" form factor. Cost is always less of an issue with business, functionality and convenience being the drivers. If the technology improves productivity, it will flourish. If not, it will wither on the vine.
I suspect that if wearable technology and what lies beyond that, is really going to take off, the first adopters are going to be business, because the products will be less obtrusive and more convenient to use.
Gamers will still be using static computational devices for a long time to come. I don't see consoles replacing the flexibility and power of the desktop format when it comes to games like MMO's.
People have been predicting the death of the desktop for a long time, but they are the muscle cars of personal computing devices, and I think they still have a strong appeal for a significant market segment. And if you look at the actual desktop form factor, it has actually gotten physically bigger over the past decade, even while computational technology has become smaller and faster.
So I guess the points, I don't see the market going exclusively in one specific direction. The desktop is proven technology, and it is still going to be used by gamers, and by business as well for workstations that don't require smaller and less obtrusive form factors. Wearable technology is going to be important in combat, as it already is, but it won't be the same wearable technology used by business, or uber geeks. The actually computer technology is going to be simpler, older, and more reliable.
And for immersive gaming, safety is going to be an important issue. Immersive sensual experiences require a stationary platform that won't allow for inadvertent wandering into traffic or off the edges of high buildings. Someday perhaps immersive gaming will be a virtual reality that interfaces directly with the brain, where the body is immobilized. But that is a long way off and even in that safety and health concerns will be an issue.