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Technology & Innovation — March 13, 2012

Personal Computer RIP 2014

‘Personal clouds’ will replace the primacy of the PC by 2014, says the technology research firm Gartner. The future promises a world of decentralized computing across multiple devices.

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What’s the Latest Development?

The world’s largest technology companies are integrating cloud services into their software, meaning that the PC may shortly become less important that it has ever been. Google’s Android OS and Google Play rely on data stored remotely, and Microsoft and Apple plan to weave the cloud into their next generation operating systems, Windows 8 and OS X Mountain Lion. Apple’s new iPad has already sold out, indicating a customer preference for cloud-based computing on devices that do not have as much hard disk space as desktops or laptops.

What’s the Big Idea?

The technology research firm Gartner predicts that PCs will no longer occupy the central place in computing by as early as 2014. The firm credits the rise of mobile computing, where smaller devices such as tablets and smartphones are executing business and entertainment tasks like never before. Garnet insists it is not about the oft-referenced post-PC era, ‘but rather about a new style of personal computing that frees individuals to use computing in fundamentally new ways to improve multiple aspects of their work and personal lives.’

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