The Year in Computing
2011 saw the personal computer continue to be marginalized. Although PCs are still the workhorse computing device in homes and offices, the most exciting innovations over the last 12 months were centered on very small-scale computing, very large-scale computing, and networked combinations of the two.
Developments in small-scale computing, in the shape of consumer mobile hardware such as the iPad2 tablet or Galaxy Nexus smart phone, were naturally the most visible. Most of these lightweight devices use ARM-based chips, prompting Intel, best known for its desktop and laptop processors, to develop prototype smart phone and tablet devices that will almost certainly herald the arrival of new challengers to Apple’s iPad and iPhone in 2012 and 2013.
The software that runs, and run on, these devices saw tremendous development activity as well. Hewlett-Packard tried (and failed) to break into the mobile market with an operating system, WebOS, that was generally judged to be better than the hardware it ran on. The jury is still out on whether Research in Motion can revive the flagging fortunes of the BlackBerry following the announcement of its new mobile OS.