With increasing demand for lightweight laptops and sleek tablets, desktop personal computers are struggling to keep up. Even though they still serve a valuable purpose for several homes and businesses, IBM’s Chief Technology Officer Mark Dean believes that they are rapidly in decline.
Dean was one of a dozen engineers who designed the first IBM Personal Computer, and even though his work created an industry which peaked at 300 million unit sales per year, the PC market is no longer at the forefront of cutting edge technology.
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“They’re going the way of the vacuum tube, typewriter, vinyl records, CRT and incandescent light bulbs,” claims Dean.
Although Dean admits that his primary computer is a tablet, he is also quick to point out that PCs are not being replaced by other devices, rather 'social spaces' are now driving future advances.
“These days, it’s becoming clear that innovation flourishes best not on devices but in the social spaces between them, where people and ideas meet and interact. It is there that computing can have the most powerful impact on economy, society and people’s lives,” notes Dean.
The IBM 5150 released on 12 August 1981 established desktop machine design standards which many PCs took influence from. However, consumers can now purchase lightweight, portable tablets and laptops with the same processing power as certain personal computers.
