It's been a good six months, at least, since I first hypothicated to Darren that one day the computer as we know it today will not exist. He laughed at me and told me that there is no way that anything would ever replace the computer. He argued that we need computers at home and at work and nothing could, or would, replace the PC as we now know it in terms of productivity and accessibility.
I do agree that the PC (or Mac) will not be replaced in the workplace. The machines are too valuable as productivity enhancers. Until something else comes out that can connect people, increase efficiencies, and increase productivity...the computer at work is here to stay.
However, the computer at home will disappear in the next five to ten years. There will be little reason to pony up $500+ for a machine that will do nothing more than your iphone/blackberry/smartphone. Already phones are to the point where one can browse the internet, receive and send email, and run decent applications...and the capabilities improve daily.
This article is case and point...sort of. Although it shows that lower income households are the ones progressing toward my view for the future, it just shows what I was saying then and am saying again now..."phones" can be used as computers as well. Those studied in the article use a phone as a computer out of financial necessity...one day this will be the norm.
Ever since Darren launched his view for the future website/blog I have been putting together thoughts on this subject...but with the release of this article, I thought I needed to put it out there...5-10 years we will no longer have Personal Computers that sit upon our desks/laps. Instead, we will carry around with us PPDs...personal productivity devices...from which we will email, text, call, browse the net, play games, and generally communicate with others via various platforms.
