The soon to be future of computer Desktops

Desktops are dead, and so are laptops! Already you see business execs carrying a well rounded PDA on trips instead of a bulky laptop. No longer are you tied to a work station to email, blog or receive information from your company.

I see desktops being used for the lower level development of tools used on devices that will truly be smart devices. You have read my ideas on making input easier, and linking all forms of contact to one form. This post sums them up and shows my opinion of the future. So, Gamers(which is fast being replaced by the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and the Nintendo Wii), software/web developers, and system admin's will be the few remaining positions with a use for a desktop/laptop environment.

I foresee a time when an actual brick and mortar building will no longer be required at all. Gone forever will be the cubical and the help desk. I see companies looking for more rounded individuals for hire. People who can do help desk/troubleshooting, basic development and research. All while performing high level business meetings/trips, completely on the go. Why and how is this possible? Because of that soon to be truly Smart Device!

Already these devices aid you in communication on all fronts, store your contacts and to-do list and can locate dinner and a movie. All of which was limited to an actual computer desktop of some type only a few years ago. You use to have to make a phone call to order a pizza, now you can log on to a web site to do this, and with the invention of internet enabled devices you can do so while on the train home, and have the pizza delivery person arrive just after you get home!

The only problem slowing this down is getting input, and giving output to such a device which I solved in my Killing the keyboard post. And because of the future of social networking you wont have to give your address or phone number because web forms developed by low lever developers still tied to a desktop have linked everything, and you to a main social network -your phone number- and the pizza parlor will have needed information forwarded with your order.

The future is bright, small and compact. I look forward to a time when I can rely completely on my smart device that has truly become smart.

The Computer Mouse

The mouse is an important part of any computer. Microsoft and Apple knew this long ago, and its success has been shown 10 fold. First person shooters and graphic arts are two ways that show just how important the computer mouse is. Unfortunately advancements with the mouse have came mostly in removing the track ball and replacing it with a laser, and adding buttons. I feel that there is one over looked feature that has been over looked!

The mouse is a device of movement, and if anyone has learned anything from the Nintendo Wii, movement is everything. Why not use the movement of the mouse to add another feature. I have developed, and am currently fine-tuning such a feature. I call it Mouse Shake A rapid left to right movement of the mouse enables, currently, another sub menu. I have tested this program and have found it extremely useful! As a mater of fact, it works great and I look forward to adding more functionality to my program developed in Visual Basic.Net (2008)

This idea came to me while using most flavors of Linux. Panels are useful, but one sided. You have to move the mouse to the part of the screen it is located and room is always tight. But if you tied a panel to the shake feature, you will have easy access to the time/calender tools, the currently running programs and the system alert/tray. As well as links to most commonly used programs. I will post on my problems with panels, the start menu and taskbar in windows and improvements to the desktop experience in other blog entry.