When the personal computer started replacing the typewriter in the 70s, it did exactly the same tasks until the arrival of the graphical user interface. This propelled the PC into the world of art, design, page layout, and of course, games.
Add in the power of communications, and the computer suddenly became a place where you could have discussions. First with online meetings through forums, then through text chat. These have evolved, along with the rise of the internet, and now we can talk through HD video chat, while typing comments and discussing a document that all participants can see and edit.
The amount of information we can access has also grown, almost beyond belief. In the 1990s, a CD-ROM like Microsoft’s Encarta held an encyclopedia’s worth of information; now you can find all that on a single website like Wikipedia, and a thousand other pages dedicated to any topic you care to think of.
While information has grown, the PC has shrunk from massive towers cases and bulky, barely portable “laptops” to the svelte Ultrabooks of today. The format has changed, to the even slimmer forms of tablets and smartphones. These keep us linked to our data and colleagues, but go beyond computers that started out as the domain of the business world into highly personal devices.
This year will probably see the rise of wearables through smartwatch sales (although people have been saying that for a few years now), as computers shrink even further. These have more power than desktop PCs from a decade ago, and while their first features will be limited, give it a few generations and they’ll have more power than your smartphone – and who knows what they (and we) will be capable of after that.
Luckily for our customers we are experts in computer repairs Southampton and are at hand to help and support your next computer related issue, problem or simple upgrade.