The Future Of Computing

Tomorrow’s world?
Twenty years ago the desktop computer was the default method of domestic computing. Move on ten years and the laptop was taking over from its hardwired cousin as the favourite tool of home-workers and students alike. Five years ago, Apple introduced the iPad while the smartphone began to steal our hearts. Today, the world is swamped with phablets, BlackBerries, two-piece laptops and various other hybrid devices. The question is, what will the computers of tomorrow look like?
The demise of the desktop computer has been predicted more times than the end of the world, yet it continues to soldier on, much like the world. Desktop sales are slowly declining but they are still the best method of powering bulky devices like printers and scanners. Keyboards and mice offer greater practicality – more than the diminutive integrated versions on laptops – and there’s no substitute for a large monitor outputting a 1920×1080 screen resolution. Desktops are also capable of delivering performance figures that put other devices to shame thanks to 12-core processors and 64GB of RAM. No laptop or tablet can match a desktop PC for high-end performance, suggesting that they’re likely to stick around for some time.
Laptops may not have the processing capacity or immersive media output of their desktop counterparts, but they remain a default option for people who live life on-the-go. Despite complaints of 87-key horizontal keyboards and over-sensitive track pads, these hinged devices remain capable of running programs and software that would stump even a top-end iPad Air 2. Laptops continue to combine portability and practicality better than any other device, while docking stations can make them suitable for office use. Laptops seem to have an assured future, particularly given the Windows 10-compatible touch screens of today’s wafer-thin machines.
Tablet devices were unheard of a decade ago, yet the revolutionary iPad has spawned a hundred imitators. Some have specific roles as an e-reader (Amazon Kindle) or a children’s device (LilyPad Jr), while others offer iPad-style versatility. Despite the availability of Office apps, you wouldn’t run a PowerPoint presentation on a tablet; organising a spreadsheet would also be a thankless task on a screen-filling glass touchpad. Nonetheless, tablet editions of iconic business packages reflect how powerful tablets have become thanks to ever-shrinking microprocessors and rising processor performance. It’s hard to see the nation’s love affair with tablets dying away any time soon, particularly as the ever-improving specifications of these sealed-unit devices continue to encourage upgrading.
This brings us back to our original question about the face of computing in years to come. Taking into account the advantages and drawbacks of different device types we will probably continue along the current multi-platform road until 2020 at least. Each of the three product categories outlined above have their unique attributes, and it’s hard to imagine teenagers demanding a desktop PC for Christmas in the same way that no entrepreneur would run a business from a Galaxy Note. Mobile phones can’t really expand much further, and their diminutive screens will continue to render them unsuitable as primary devices. Tablets lack the processing power required by many creative industries, while desktops are too bulky for many modern homes and high-end laptops can be shockingly expensive.
Until your smartphone can project an infrared keyboard onto a desk (a technology that already exists on other devices) or laptops can be condensed into the size of a modern tablet, our homes will continue to feature a variety of platforms bridged by cloud storage and Wi-Fi. Laptops will increasingly sport detachable tablet-style screens, while desktops will become specialist tools for gamers and creative professionals. Nascent technologies like motion-sensing cameras and biometric security will grow in popularity, but the basic principle of using different machines at different times of the day looks set to continue – at least for a few more years.