The Coming Age of Ubiquity.. and the Death of Desktops and Laptops?

Ubiquity is the buzz word of the decade for the tech community and the hope is that all computing becomes ubiquitous. The major tech corporations are making us more and more dependent upon our cellphones and tablets, emphasizing 24/7 on-line activity. As a consequence, technology is everywhere and so the mantra starts out from the bowels of silicon valley:  If we are not ubiquitous, then we cannot be productive.  If we are not productive, it is because we are behind the times.  If we are behind the times, it is because we do not use the cloud.  If we do not use the cloud, it is because we do not feel completely ready to use our cell phones or padja-ma-call-its and tabla-whats-itz as our new desktop/laptop computers, therefore, we fail to be innovative, to be with it, to be, ubiquitous.

Try running a server on an I-pad or on Android OS.  Actually you can run them, if you find the right programs, especially with Android (which is more OPEN). Yet, you will find that the idea is far fetched and it does get a bit out of hand.  The truth of the matter is that with Microsoft's recent release of Windows 8 and the Surface RT, the coming age of Ubiquity has made itself manifest. Some of us are not willing to part with our maverick ways of creating our own operating systems from scratch or building mammoth towers of silicon wafers and gold strips. There are those of us who are really with it, who know that desktops servers are never going to go out of style and that people still get a kick out of that springy feeling from plastic keys.  Did I mention the benefits of  large screens versus a future of contact lenses and cataracts due to small screens?

The bet that Microsoft has made is a big one and probably the best. They know that they can no longer make a profit on making operating systems and office applications.  Microsoft knows that the real money now is in following more of the Apple model, where hardware and operating system are one.  Of course, this causes a great deal of difficulty for all of those OEM's out there who have for so many years been locked into contracts with Microsoft to exclusively install their OS on each machine, and that each machine must meet their expectations in order to receive the Microsoft Seal of Approval.    There are many tech pundits out there, who I will not mention, who are sounding the death knell of desktops and laptops, because of this, yet, this is just not the case.  Manufacturer's like HP and Dell can innovate and it gives them a greater opportunity to market to niche markets: gamers, enthusiasts, and those of us who still are enamored with the feel of a solid personal computing device at our disposal.  We could imagine a future, maybe ten, fifteen years from now, where 50 year olds born in the 1970's will have to train themselves to work the CONN station of the Enterprise-D, typing on glass displays and swiping files with their finger tips, making keyboards, in the words of Montgomery Scott, 'quaint'. It is definitely a stark difference from my early teenage years, learning how to type on a 1945 Royal Typewriter in junior high school.

Eventually the various elements that both power and encase our computers will under go a metamorphosis, from metal and plastic to silicon and crystal : two pieces of gorilla glass fused together, displaying ultra-high resolution graphics at a whopping 4k (and this would be the low end model). Of course this model is for the old folks. It would come with skins to simulate laptops of the past. For the graduating class of 2037, the marketing people thought of everything: the glass would be two way, offering four displays and it could flash whatever you wanted, turning computer users into peacocks  Just think what you can put onto the backsides of those displays....

How about this : The tablet could become a simple accessory to control the Holo-Vision's in the home, where some will get to see re-runs  of the "The Big Bang Theory" as if you were actually sitting on the sofa with Howard and Penny (wait a minute holograms..... now that is the future of computing).  Then someone will say: why make a Holo-Deck, keep it simple, stupid: implant chips into users brains, have contact lenses which display super high definition micro-graphics unto the retina. After having mapped out the sense of touch from every appendage of our body and its effect upon our neurons, we can recreate the sensations, perhaps make it even more intense.  It would be like being in your own world (sound familiar, Neo?). If you work hard enough, we can lease this out to you.  It will be the new currency: artificial experiences. Have I gone too far? More than likely yes, but the day when holographic spreadsheets can float at the tips of our noses or when even writing this blog is just a blink away, is the day when truly we could say adios to our clunky computers.

Big Apple, Patent Mind

Consumers are human beings. They love products that bring meaning to their lives. Steve Jobs would have agreed to this. The idea was first shown back in 1984, with that famous Apple commercial of a man throwing a big sledge hammer against a gigantic screen. But now, we are not in 1984. Steve Jobs has passed, and although one must wonder what is going through the mind of Tim Cook, whether or not he is simply following a bequest perhaps from Jobs himself regarding these current sorties of lawsuits, or if he is actually thinking that these patent infringment lawsuits can be a win for Apple, I feel that what is happening now is actually starting to look petty and quite sad. If it is true that Apple will now go after the Samsung Galaxy S3 series of phones, and perhaps even other products by the manufacturer, whatever gains they think they will get, I can only assume will pale in comparison to the loss of consumers their actions may cause. Apple needs to remember that they are a publicly owned company, and that in turn, this means that they have an image to protect and maintain. If these lawsuits were designed to put the fear of God into their competition, this is a wasted effort, they are fighting the wrong battle. For one thing, they are going to be dealing with nation states who, after trying to adjudicate whether Samsung is infringing on Apple's patents, will find in favor of Samsung, for example, Japan. When District Judge Tamotsu Shoji announced his ruling, he stated "It's hard to believe the products belong to the range of technologies of the claimant". This litigal black eye may only be a shiner, but could form what I believe to be an uproar from consumers all over the world. Apple represents the United States in technology and the world thinks that we already swing too big of a bat. If enough of the 'Fan Base' get's it into their heads that these lawsuits are wrong, Apple will lose position and money. With these patent lawsuits going on, if I were an investor, I would think twice before buying an Apple share, since I judge the performance of a company just as other investors in the market do, by their earnings per share. If we have people all of the sudden bailing out of purchasing Apple devices or trading them in because of these lawsuits, I see the EPS going down. Another question I would ask is how much is it costing Apple to actually do all of these lawsuits? Upon reading the PC World article, "Apple Targets Galaxy S III, Note in Latest Legal Action" (http://www.pcworld.com/article/261800/apple_targets_galaxy_s_iii_note_in_latest_legal_action.html) I started to read some of the comments in the blog. If you get a chance, do the same. You will find some people using the words like "hate" and a sentiment of cessation of purchasing Apple products. Some will be switching to Android, just because they are disgusted with the actions of Apple. As of the writing of this blog entry, which began on September 1st, 2012 at 12:20 pm EST, I still saw no real pro-Apple people commenting, and the reason for this? Because some of their owners are normal consumers that love Apple, but may start to hate the actions of the corporation in general. Of course, you will have some that will come out and say, "Apple has the right to protect their creation.". However, the current problems in Patent law now are that corporations keep testing boundaries, and some of the rulings being done are short-sighted, if not down right incompetent and the actions taken by Apple will have terrible repurcussions in the future, that will impact Apple negatively, not positively. In conclusion, I want to remind Apple that what has made them loved by many is the 'feeling' one gets from using an Apple device. This feeling is substantially different from using a Samsung device, not only because of the function of the devices, but because of the history, but in any relationship, history only goes so far. Eliminate the history by your present actions, and lose the love of the consumers and that of Wall Street as well and all of that liquid cash will go down the drain of ignominy.