Do you remember
when the first primitive computing machines occupied entire floors in buildings?
The massive machines from the mid-20th century consisted of row upon row of
vacuum tubes and wires. You had to use stacks of punch cards to program these
beasts. A single laptop had more information and memory than a single floor of
these early computers.
Home
Computers and the Future
Steve Jobs and
Bill Gates were both instrumental in bringing the computer down to size. With
the introduction of the personal computer and its widespread acceptance,
computers shrunk while processing power increased. Even the bulky monitors got
a makeover with today’s flat LCD monitors. Costs have decreased so much over
the years that many households own several personal computers using a single wireless
network. In truth, nothing will render the home PC obsolete, but technology will
change it. Television sets and other appliances can be Internet-enabled and blend
appliances into the home network.
Laptops,
Netbooks, Ultra-books and the Future
First laptops,
then netbooks, and now ultra-books. These mobile devices share several
characteristics including the integrated folding design and portability.
Differences include size and storage methods. Despite their similarities and
differences, future technology points to a trend that could make this category
obsolete soon.
Tablets,
Smartphones and the Future
After the iPad
influenced future computer trends, it was soon followed by a flood of tablets,
and soon smartphones as well. With small sizes, simple designs, extreme
portability, Internet access, thousands of apps, and loads of features, tablets
and smartphones can do just about anything a full-size laptop or netbook can
do. They fall short in the keyboard arena, but technology can change this soon.
Speech
Recognition and Touchscreen Technology for the Future
While speech
recognition is still imperfect, it has improved greatly in recent years. Not
only is the keyboard in danger, the mouse is too, thanks to touchscreen
technology. Tablets and smartphones currently make use of touchscreen
technology and many desktops now come with touchscreen LCD’s.
