The Computer is Personal Again

Apple’s iPod was a device that threw the entire market into disarray.  It had a simple design, easy to use, and in the beginning was only good for listening to music.  It solved one of the crucial problems among music enthusiasts; they had a ton of music on their hard drives or on cds but had no way of carry all of it with them.  So Apple made sure to include a large hard drive in each device.  The device became such a huge hit that the iPod transformed into something that was more of a PDA.  When the iPod Touch was born, Apple came out with the iPhone which took the smartphone market by storm.  The iPhone eventually has given birth to the iPad which is a device that is more for reading and surfing the Internet on a larger screen than the iPhone.  The iPad wanted to fill the device market for instances when people do not need the computing power of a laptop and need a larger screen than the iPhone.  When Apple came out with this device, they said that the age of the PC is dead.  They said that PCs would become trucks, only needed on special occasions.  The problem is the way Apple defines the PC is a larger machine that can fit on a desk or lap.  Apple forgets that the iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad are all examples of PCs.

While Apple has carved a nice portion of the personal computing market and a lot of their consumers are loyal, Microsoft still controls more of the market.  Microsoft said their mission was to put a computer on every desk and in every home all running Microsoft software.  They have not accomplished their goal yet but have made such great strides that the term “PC” often refers to Microsoft computers despite the fact that Apple’s operating system and Linux is still run on many computers.  When Apple launched the iPad, Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, said that Apple is now a mobile company.  Apple makes iPhones, iPods, iPads, and laptops which are meant to go with you everywhere.  Apple is now trying to reinvent itself so that it can compete in the future with Microsoft and any other company than may stand in their way.  If Apple can convince everybody that it is not the company it once was and if it can convince people that the PC, which is now synonymous with Microsoft, is dead then their future looks very bright.

The idea of the personal computer was to create something that was easy to use for the Average Joe and something that can be placed in a relatively small space.  This small space was at first defined to be a desk so that people at the office could use one.  Eventually it meant to be a person’s lap so that people could carry with them their device where ever they go to use with them on a plane, a train, a bus or really wherever they wanted.  The PDA and smartphone wanted to create a much smaller device that could be carried in a person’s pocket that was really meant to organize their life.  While these devices could often times be used to play games and surf the Internet, there was still a need for laptop.  Now these PDAs and smartphones along with the tablet computers which tend to be in between the smartphone and laptop markets both in terms of size and computing power are all personal computers.  Eventually smartphones and tablets will become more powerful and thus more things can be done with them but they are still personal computers today.  The idea of the personal computer was to create something that the Average Joe could use and certain tasks could be accomplished on them.  Most people can use smartphones and tablets with most daily tasks being able to be completed on them today.  Soon we will be able to do even more with these devices.  I say the PC is not dead but just got more personal so that we can carry it with us everywhere.