The post-pc era

Earlier this year when Apple introduced the second generation iPad, it trumpeted itself as the leaders in the push for this so called "post-PC era". It was the transition of our computing digital life away from the personal computer to portable mobile devices like mobile phones and tablets. No longer will you be tied to the big hunk of PC tower and monitor setup at home to process word documents or surf the web. Everything digital will be assessable everywhere you go.

WHY POST-PC

The post-PC era is clearly the next logical big leap in our computing lives. The majority of of things we use the computer for are content enjoyment and social networking. Surfing the web, reading books, watching videos, listening to music, and viewing photos are examples of the kind of mass media content that consumes the most of our computing time. Social networking of course is the other big part, with websites such as Facebook, and the myriad of instant messaging apps. For the majority of people, the PC in essence is only a place to peruse the Internet, store/view digital media, and network with friends.

Nowadays, people want to do all of that anytime, anywhere. Not because it is an indulgence (that teenage with paid mobile broadband might be), but it is to save people time, and enrich their lives. Think of the first smartphone you have ever owned. Before that you not ever think you need mobile internet or emailing capabilities on phone, but once you have used the smartphone for a period you wonder how the heck did you ever lived without it. Another example: for people saddled with the indemnity of a torturous work commute, how much better would it make if they can have access to their music collection on their mobile devices (as opposed to 1000 CDs).  

HIGHLY MOBILE DEVICES

Certainly, the big hunk of steel that traditionally house the guts of PCs are not at all portable (even all-in-one PCs like the iMac are not at that portable - easier to carry, yes). But you say the majority of people have laptops, are they not mobile? That may be true, but once you have used a tablet device, you are going to find that even the average laptops are quite heavy. Or let's put it his way: you are on the road, and need to check email quickly. What would you rather use - A mobile phone or a laptop? Laptops can be seen as the first wave in the transition of the post-PC era, but with today's available technology, even it is categorized in the same camp as traditional PCs.

The computing future for the majority will lie in mobile phones, tablets, and ultra portable laptops. Mobile phones has had the most advance stage of transition in that smart phones with browsers, email, and thousands of apps are already outselling "dumb phones". It has taken over our digital lives, as evident in all the people walking around staring into their phones, invariably running into objects. Tablets such as the iPad offers the same function of smart phones but with a larger canvas that primarily aids in a better enjoyment of digital content and web (I am certainly not watching a movie on my phone). 

Ultra portable laptops are the most interesting. As proposed by chipmaker Intel earlier this year, they are a new breed of laptops that undercuts the weight of the average laptop by half (2.5 pounds and under). These are not just underpowered net books however, because ultra portable laptops have low wattage mobile versions of full featured, consumer class processors. They don't skimp on screen size either, as it varies between 11"-13". What this class of mobile device aim to do is replicate the lightweight and batter life of tablets, but offer some things tablet could not - TRUE multitasking, and an actual keyboard for better long form word processing. An example of ultra portable laptops out in the market right now is the Apple Macbook Air.

LIVING WITHOUT THE PC

No matter device, the aim of the post-PC era movement is to rid the majority of consumers of their PCs at home. The devices aforementioned have made the abilities of the PC redundant. Having both a PC and mobile devices is simply a waste (electricity!), when the latter can perform the tasks of the former equality well.

There is one thing that mobiles devices lack - massive amounts of storage. Just when we are starting to talk in the realm of terabytes, mobiles devices have knocked us back down to gigabytes (of course, this simply due to space and cost constraints). So if where will consumers store all their digital content? The answer involve networking on the intra and inter levels. The krux of the problem is the lack of storage space correct? The easiest way to solve the problem is to off shore the storage off the device, either by an external hard/flash drive (either plugging it in directly to the device or accessed via wifi by plugging it to a router), or storing it on the internet cloud (where the content can be accessed anywhere). 

Being mobile is great, but what about the home? Indeed, people don't really want to stare at tiny screens the whole day (though a 10 in tablet is surprising comfortable to use). The solution is simple - docking stations. Have a way to "plug in" your mobile device and the use it off an external monitor and wireless connected keyboard and mouse. This will please the people that simply prefer a larger screen (like a traditional PC) and actual keyboard do computing at their home. 

Another solution is connected TVs. If you want to show or enjoy your digital content on a larger canvas, one should be able to simply and wireless beam the signal over from their mobile device to the TV (a la Apple Airplay technology). Television is just about the last major tech appliance to still not be connected to the web, and that is rapidly changing. Soon TVs will have small computers in them to allow them to connect to devices, the web, and run computer apps. 

THE POST-PC ERA

In the post-PC era, traditional PCs will only be sold to people that requires it, namely content creators, digital art professionals, and hardcore PC gamers. Even then, it will only be for the serious ones that really need the horsepower of traditional PCs. Apps for mobile devices are plenty varied and plenty robust that even photographers can edit photos on tablets. Those apps will only get better and more technical when the technology behind mobile devices grow powerful (there is no reason to not assume that mobiles devices will someday be just as powerful as PCs). 

Clearly, the technological foundation is clearly set for the transition to the post-PC era, and it is nice to see tech giants such as Apple, Microsoft (Windows 8 is completely mobile device focused), and Intel be the innovators and pushers of the movement. 

Now go out and get her - random thoughts

Only a scant two weeks until my under graduate studies are finally over (and it only took five years!). I had a feeling this month of May will just fly by, and indeed even though it has only been the fifth day, it feels like things are quickly coming to an end. But no time to reflect on anything because I still have at least three major projects that I still need to get started (?) on! Haha it is so hard not to let apathy set in and just be like fuck it, I am graduating for sure now anyways, so why bother. But of course I am not that kind of person, and to be honest if you are that kind of person, you don't deserve your degree.

Anyways, at least I got my fun out of the way this past weekend (funny right, fun before work - the American mentality?) when I went down to LA for the Korean Music Festival. Now that I think about it, it is a shame how there is no Chinese equivalent of it. Nonetheless, I had a great time enjoying the weather (though absolutely dry) and some good music (and a chance to fanboy out loud for a bit haha). Speaking of fans, do people not have manners? I understand that may be your favorite singer singing the Korean national anthem, but have some respect and not SCREAM and YELL the whole time. 

I don't think I can live in Southern California in any permanent fashion at all (and not only because of my undying love for San Francisco). The air is just too damn dry, and it wrecks havoc with my skin. I have grew up amongst humidity all by live - South East Asia, and San Francisco (three sides water). Hence I guess I have evolutionarily adapted to having water in the air? You know you've got a problem when you have used twice as much lotion as normal and your skin is still not hydrated. I mean sure it may be nice to not be freezing all the time, but not at the expense of dehydrating your skin (and body too, drink water by the megatons). Anyways, the first breath of air I took back in the Bay Area was refreshing to say the least. 

And of course I can't live in LA because I would get beat up by a Dodger fan.

I came back to San Francisco on Sunday evening to the great news of the death of Osama Bin Laden. Personally I don't get why is his death worth so much celebration. Sure the families of the victims of 9/11 gets a measure of closure, but heck his death will not bring your love ones back, so anybody that actually derives satisfaction over Bin Laden's death is just being selfish. Trotting over the ground zero and raising a ruckus and being all patriotic is kind of excessive - it is not like we WON the war. This is not World War II, and Bin Laden is not Hitler (symbolically speaking, not in terms of being a douche). Hitler's death meant the end of the war in Europe (too bad he shot himself, no glory kill for US). Bin Laden's death as of right now means NOTHING. America is still in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Al Queda still exist (do you feel anymore reassured about our national security?)

I cannot possibly be the only person seeing the death of Bin Laden as the start of the domino falling instead of closure. I am glad that the implications of Pakistan is not escaping the mainstream media. It is more clear than ever that Pakistan did hide Bin Laden within their country, and certainly they cannot be happy about the US coming in unannounced and having a fire fight in on their soil (next Call of Duty game?). Think about this, if another country have helicoptered in a squad of elite soldiers into one of our cities (without telling us) and open fire on a suspect on their most wanted list, I don't think we would be all too happy either (Roman Polanski should be shaking in his mansion in France). How convenient the mainstream press ignored that the US basically disregarded the national sovereignty of Pakistan and just went in there (like a boss!).

It is definitely not the end of it. US - Pakistan relations, and the entire Middle East region will come to a head really soon, especially the role the West is playing (revolution!).

I have to say, having a smartphone with a data plan really boost my productivity. Not to say that I do anything important with my phone (maybe...). It just that having the phone allows me to do all the frivolous social networking and texting during times that I would otherwise have not the ability to. So instead of wasting time, I get to do my Facebook, twitter, and mail checking done and over with, giving me more productivity for when I do get situated at a place of work. Imagine all the time wasted while walking from the car - now I can check all my stuff during the walk so that once I reach home I can start doing productive stuff. So basically it is spreading the non-productivity to other times where before it would not have been possible. They say time is money, and smart phone data plan have allowed me to use it more wisely (because really, who is going to stop social networking and checking news online?)

Oh yeah, loving the weather this week. It really feels like summer is here (even though I no longer have a summer break of any kind). And of course it is the San Francisco kind of hot so it is just perfect. And of course when the girls dress in their summer clothing, it is just the best. Hot weather also makes people go out and exercise. You know what makes a hot girl even hotter? Regular exercise. It just adds mega points to the attractiveness factor. 

Technology is great

Recently I performed open heart surgery to my PC as the five years old parts that were in it finally decided to go kaput and not work on me. Now I would say it is quite an accomplishment seeing as the average PC only last about two years for the average person due to various reasons (your operating system clogging up is a major contributor). Me getting five years out of it then means I actually got my moneys worth. But sadly it came to a crashing halt a couple of weeks ago when my PC no longer boot into windows in a stable manner, even when I reinstalled Windows cleanly.

So I rip out all the old computer chip, motherboard, and memory and replaced it with brand new, state of the art ones from Intel, Intel, and Kingston, respectively. Everything else I just reused with the new components as they were still in good shape (not to mention, high quality parts that were not cheap back when I first bought them). A man, what a difference five years make in terms of performance! I was seeing almost 7 times the performance while ripping videos. With new technology also came efficiency, and I bet my newly reconstructed computer probably suck more than half as much power from the grid (hehe, TRON). I mean the exhausted air sure feels much cooler (though I can no longer use it as a space heater).

Feels productive to have my PC running again, as I can schedule tasks for it to do while I am away from home with my mac laptop. And when I am home, having a second computer increases multitasking on so many levels (because there comes a limit where you just can't play a video while photo editing at the same time on one computer). Plus, there is one thing a PC does better than a Mac - being a media center. Hence my PC is also my media center PC thus all my media files go through it, and not my macbook. It is hard to explain to people why having an extra computer on hand is such a boost (much a kin to having a second or third monitor). It is one of those things where you just have to try for yourself. Once you do, you can't go back.

I was just tweeting the other day about how weird it is that I have 8gb of memory on both my computers and yet my first computer back in 1999 barely have 6gb in hard drive space (there was also one picture where it showed an iPhone 4 of today is more powerful than the first colored iMacs). It is during these moments where you think to yourself just how the heck did you live with it back then (Sim City 2000 was the shit). But of course I was not nearly productive with a computer as I was back when I was I think 13? Back then it was all about games and surfing the web. While today it is still about games and surfing the web, the digital artist side of me realizes that the computer and the internet are powerful tools to create and publish my ideas.

My first PC's screen was 13in (one of those ginormous CRT monitors no less), and now I stare at a 30in screen everyday (I had a 20in also, and back then I thought IT was huge). What a difference a decade makes. 

Of course with the rapid pace of advancement in technology comes the great wallet drain also - for those people that choose to chase it. Do I want to be that person? Maybe, I mean who does not want the latest and greatest. However my poor (in monetary terms) upbringing taught me to be (somewhat) frugal, so no I don't go after what is new all the time (still happily tapping away on my original iPad). My Macbook Pro is now two years old, not going to upgrade it any time soon unless my creative software no longer run at a pace that is satisfactory. I think unless something new is so revolutionary that it changes the game, there is just no need for me to upgrade (hey, I held off on upgrading my PC for 5 years did I not?). The last time this happened was when Apple introduced the aluminum unibody Macbook Pros with glass screen and LED backlit LCD. It was so much better compared to my white plastic macbook that I literally just dumped it to my little brother and bought the new one. 

Technology may advance in a fast pace, but it is too expensive to run along with it. 

Case in point for me is when it comes to phones. I am generally one revolution behind everybody else. Remember when color screens first came to cell phones? I was a year behind everybody in getting that. Texting phones? A good two years behind. I still have yet to upgrade to a smart phone, which is already on its next revolution with computing power that rivals small PCs (iPhone 5, come soon please). Of course when it is me that is not paying the bills, I cannot really complain now can I. Though when I get a smart phone the one footing the bill will be me. That is why I welcome the end of unlimited data plans and the introduction of cheaper entry level ones. I probably don't use that much data (in fact as of right now I don't use ANY!), and wifi is so abundant that there is not reason not to use it. The cost savings, extrapolated over a two year contract is substantial. 

Speaking of smart phones as powerful as computers, I think that is where the future is heading. The computer industry have already transitions pretty much from the desktop to the laptop (more laptops are sold than desktops). Even creative professionals can live off of a laptop because computing power are no longer exclusive to non mobile platforms as thermal efficiency in chips improves. Heck I hardly know anybody that don't do there computing on a laptop. Well, the next transition is from laptops to tablets and smart phones. I mean, it is all about getting smaller, and being portable (before that happens, laptops will getting lighter and thinner). But what about actual work? You seriously can't expect to type the great American novel on a smart phone! Actually I think you can, as all you need to add to it is a connection to a monitor and a keyboard. When it comes down to it, the major things we do with computers boils down to these things - internet, games, media, office suites. I can see all this migrating to the smart phone package. In fact, it has already begun. 

One thing technology has destroyed in the process of being great is the enjoyment of music. Don't get me wrong, without the mp3 revolution, I would not have 10% of the music I have now. The accessibility and potential exposure to all types of music is one thing mp3s brought to the table. But I think the essence of music have lost some of its luster with the breaking down of albums into individual songs for sale. Albums used to tell stories, and the order of songs is something artist put a lot of thought into. Nowadays they just lump songs together and call it an album. Heck over in Asia, many artists don't even put out albums anymore, instead putting out singles or mini albums. Leave it to the indie artist to still put together albums that have meanings and interconnections between songs.

And when is the last time you actually listened to an album from beginning to end? Radio and per song purchasing has allowed us to pick apart album and just get the songs we want (not to say that is not GOOD). I remember it was still cassettes and CDs, I would buy an album and actually listen to the whole thing. I still try to do this with my digital music when I can, as for sure I don't always buy the whole album for an artist. Enjoy music for what is, because it is not something to listen to while you are doing other things. The meaning, the vocals, the instruments, the production, etc, these things in an album need to be enjoyed in a quiet environment, sitting down, and a pair of headphones on (of course, the highest quality of mp3 you can get haha). Then again, artist needs to put the same thought back into music, and not just cobble some beats and call it a hit just because it is catchy.  

So yes, technology is great. The best thing you can do is leverage it, and not let it go to waste.