The Changing Face of Personal Computing

• • Expanding computing platforms. While I touched on wearable computers expanding the scope of personal computing, I did not touch on the expansion of personal computing to settings that only a few years ago had no such integration. Cars are now rolling entertainment, communication and navigation centers. The electronics are as important to buyers as the transportation features. Smartphone integration is essential. I use mine to stream music to the speakers and to make and receive phone calls hands-free through the voice-recognition system.

• • Bring your own device (BYOD). Many employers don’t provide employees with smartphones and tablets. They embrace BYOD, but provide ways for employees to connect with office systems remotely for email and access to shared network folders and Web interfaces to office applications.

Power and performance still prevail. There’s still a place for high-speed, high-storage computers. Gamers need the fastest processors to render realistic scenery and fast-paced action. Financial firms rely on huge spreadsheets and simulation software to compute complex financial models and projections. A motivational speaker records hundreds of gigabytes of audio presentations. An office processes hundreds of calls a day from customers, scheduling technicians for site visits, issuing proposals, and doing billing. There will always be a place for a hugely powerful system that serves as the master controller. What’s different today is the breadth of devices and cloud systems data moves between. I think the PC will continue to coordinate all that activity for years to come.

Other articles by David:

Small Business And Personal Computers Still Going Strong

5 Key Small Business IT Managed Benefits

Windows Server 2012 for Small Business

Backing Small Business Up in the Cloud

6 Benefits of Moving Anti-Spam to Cloud

Why You Need the Cloud

Which Tablet?

IT Disaster Tales