A commentary on the future of personal computing.
Apple Multi-Touch Patent
With our growing ability to create more advanced interfaces than the keyboard and mouse at consumer-based prices comes the ability to specialize our computing devices according to our various needs for them. Individuals can now have multiple devices whose interfaces are geared towards certain activities, making these activities easier or more fun to do, by abstracting the hardware interface further from the innards of the computer, and from the keyboard and mouse that we have known for too long. This is much like the deeper abstraction from the engine that automatic transmissions provided as an easier interface to users who did not need the control over the car for racing or pleasure, but instead wanted to get from one place to another more easily.
The specialization of our devices resembles that of our ancestors and their occupations. Thousands of years ago, everyone did everything for themselves / families. However, not everyone fit correctly to hunt, not everyone was necessarily made to cook, clean, garden, take care of others, etc. Over time, we saw specialization of labor. This allowed people of different types and with different interests to pursue occupations and hobbies that were more suited to them. Much like this, it may not be necessary for a person to have a single type of computer (keyboard & mouse). We see a specialization that has already taken place in the breakaway of laptops from the desktop. Many own both types of computers.
An LG Laptop Concept
But I argue that we will soon see a further specialization of our computing devices. While the keyboard and mouse are ideal for working, and myself, for coding, it is not perfect for everything. When casually surfing the web, video chatting, and other entertainment purposes, a touch tablet would be ideal. For our life’s business, a speech recognition device would be ideal (although unlikely to see mass adoption).
This does present one problem. If we are on multiple devices within our homes, it is going to become a mess to try and keep track of where your data is. We can access data from multiple devices through personal, small scale servers within our homes that allow for the access of files from any device to another’s storage medium via the home network. Also, the use of online storage and / or syncing programs can remedy this issue.
Besides the portability of data, there is also a need for the portability of common tasks, such as Email, or video chatting. Because of this, many of our specialized devices may have, for example, email clients or web cameras, despite having been designed for a ’single’ purpose. This way we can access and do daily things from any of our devices, no matter what we are doing.
TechCrunch IT Tablet
So far, we are only beginning to see the branching of devices. The average consumer has not yet adopted the use of multiple devices, or at least not consciously. First, the smart phone, like the iPhone, is a specialized device. Consumers have been buying them up by the millions. They are ideal for communications and mobile access to data and entertainment. Second, the Tech Crunch IT tablet shows the coming of cheap keyboard-less multi-touch devices strictly for browsing the web. This is great for sitting around the house without the clutter of an entire laptop when you barely even use the keyboard for casual surfing. Laptops and gaming consoles also exemplify this specialization taking place. Both of which can now connect to the internet, even wirelessly, and share data.
This is an awesome marketplace that I look forward to hearing from. For starters, I am more than excited to get my hands on a strictly tablet-only device, like the TechCrunch IT firefox tablet. To be able to sit on my couch and surf the internet using multi-touch without the hassle of a keyboard and trackpad or bulky computer. Just the browser, in your lap. This is a bright future, and something to look in to. Got your own thoughts on this? Leave a comment!
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