Death of the PC: The authoritative guide to the decline of the PC and the rise of post-PC devices - Softcover

Baxter-Reynolds, Matt

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0957177844 ISBN 13: 9780957177840

Publisher: The Platform, 2013

Synopsis

Can we survive without the PC?

We can all tell the PC is dying. Sales have been in decline. But are we ready for an era in which technology is changing so fast the stalwart of the tech revolution has its days numbered?

Surely we need our PCs -- but these new devices, smartphones and tablets, are not toys. They make us laugh and let us cry. They become woven into our lives and become something we can t live without. But why?

In this book Matt Baxter-Reynolds -- author, columnist, and technology sociologist -- will take you through why post-PC devices speak to people and how they change their work and home lives. Importantly, he ll show you how the enterprise PC industry will still let technologists make a living despite the chaos of change.

About this title

Review

A computer professional encourages his fellow technologists to understand the real-world impact of smartphones, tablets and other devices that represent the next generation of computers.

Baxter-Reynolds draws on his experience writing for the Guardian and other general-interest publications to explain why computer technology is entering the post-PC era and what that means. Post-PC devices, for Baxter-Reynolds, are the easily portable devices we carry that offer a constant connection to the Internet; they focus mainly on one task at a time and are "relationship-centric"--e.g., for accessing Facebook and Twitter.

The book encourages those who are more accustomed to dealing with desktops and servers to understand that post-PC devices fall into a different pattern of use, one less appropriate for work tasks but ideal for broader use. Central to Baxter-Reynolds' explanation is his somewhat-convoluted contention that post-PC "devices are designed to support another activity as the primary activity, relegating whatever you're doing on the device to just being the secondary activity."

On the whole, though, Baxter-Reynolds offers a well-reasoned analysis of the current state of the computing environment and the possibilities it offers, although a few of his statements--like the claim that "Angry Birds" has earned a place in the history books--may raise eyebrows.

A concise, competent evaluation of computing trends, written for a technologist audience.

Edition details

• Publisher: The Platform
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0957177844
• ISBN 13: 9780957177840
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 172