The Desktop is dead, is the Laptop next?
Citrix has created a version of it's "Go To My PC" product that runs on the iPAD. Interesting. This means that someone carrying an iPAD could connect to any PC over the Internet (that security rules allow) and run it from the iPAD. This raises questions about whether a laptop will eventually be made obsolete by this kind of technology.
Consider why we carry a laptop with us anyway: we want access to data, the Internet, and various applications. Nowhere in that list is a need for the data to be with us physically at time when we don't need it. In fact, that is a negative given that a lost laptop can be a serious source of panic, depending on the data on it.
The iPad is not really a complete replacement for a Laptop, regardless of the quality of the connectivity. It does not have a hardware keyboard so heavy typing is not practical. In addition, response-time sensitive applications like online video games would not be practical. However, for many business applications these problems are not a big issue.
Imaging a world where you carry a tablet PC and a keyboard in your briefcase. Whenever you need data, you turn on the tablet, connect to your PC at home, and start working. If you need a keyboard, you pull it out of your briefcase and use it to compose a long document. (If the document is short, you could just use the tablet's virtual keyboard)
Then next logical step is to get rid of the laptop completely. You could purchase a VM that is hosted for you as a service. At that point, your tablet could connect to this virtual laptop, and your need for a physical device at home would be gone.
Comments
Nice observation however for that matter why even ipad...even a smart phone can do the wonders if you choose to use the keyboard for heavy typing... the goal is to reduce the stuff you need to carry..
Posted by: Manish | September 28, 2011 5:22 PM