In one of the great blunders of journalism, Mark Twain once found his name listed in the obituary column. His famous reply, “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated,” has forever become part of our lexicon for describing hyperbole. Yet, at a certain point in time, Mark Twain’s death was no longer exaggeration and Samuel Clemens did indeed pass away. Today, many are lamenting the passing of the personal computer as the information device of choice for the masses of consumers, and like Mark Twain, the news of its death is greatly exaggerated. But like all good things, the PC and its complex operating system foundation will also eventually come to an end. Here’s why the PC isn’t dead yet but over time might no longer be the dominant platform for the digital age.

We’ve heard about the death of the PC for years. The internet, Java, and network computers all laid claim to killing the PC. Today, it’s all about internet tablets and smartphones. Each has had a turn in the sun as the poster child for killing the PC, but the fact remains that the PC is alive and well. Traditional PC vendors still ship systems in record numbers even in this down economy, and the reason is simple: the PC is the ultimate Swiss army knife for information technology. Want the Internet — with rich content, applications that live in the cloud, and the latest browser technology? Well, you need a PC. Need to access corporate information, communicate and collaborate with others? That’s PC work as well. Even entertainment functions like gaming, managing music and photo collections, and social networking are still PC territory.

Unless you are willing to live with a subset of dedicated functionality, most consumers are going to want and need a PC. And while the Swiss army knife delivers a multitude of functions but does none of them well, the PC is both the jack of all trades and master of everything. For office productivity use, internet access, entertainment and communication the PC remains unrivaled in terms of its abilities. But that doesn’t mean that the PC will live forever. Next >>

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