Windows and the modern PC are at a crossroads, where simplification is the future, abstraction is not just for Van Gogh, and Windows is everywhere except for phones, where Microsoft Windows holds hands with Android.
Modern PCs
Modern PCs are much simpler than they used to be. Drivers, firmware, parts, interconnectors, buses, ports, wires, the list goes on. These days, everything can be integrated on one motherboard, with less ports, less complexity, and more power.
Gone are the days of SCSI, IDE, SATA1, eSATA, USB-A, USB-B, PRT, PCMCIA, optical disc drives, plattered hard drives, noisy fans, and dongles.
Today, the modern PC will ship with a number of USB-C ports, Thunderbolt, and perhaps a power connector, and that's it.
As laptops and tablets get thinner and lighter, that extra space that is no longer required for the motherboard and ports can be re-deployed as space for batteries, speakers, and antennae.
Soon, everything will be USB-C. No more dongles. Your printer, USB drive, mouse, keyboard, external hard drive, external graphics card, docking station, webcam, speakers, smartphone, etc, will all have a USB-C port, and plug in effortlessly. Higher-priced gadgets will have USB-C-Thunderbolt where necessary.
Other gadgets will connect to your wifi network and become a network resource without a cable. Printers, scanners, long term storage, and so on.
Bluetooth will connect the little things that don't need a superhighway, like cordless keyboards, mice, IOT, and some low priced speakers.
Anything that neeeeeds to be plugged in, will plug in via USB-C and/or Thunderbolt.
HDMI and DisplayPort will give way to USB-C and Thunderbolt.
Your 24" or 27" or 34" or 65" desktop monitor will become the "powered hub" from which everything else will connect and receive power. Plug in your keyboard, mouse, printer, hard drive, GPU, etc, to your monitor for power and data, then plug your laptop or tablet in to your monitor to run the show.
Everything will just work.
Everything will just work. There will be so much commonality in the hardware baseline of laptops and tablets that hardware abstraction will become nominally universal.
I still can't find a ballpoint pen that works when I'm on the phone; they keep disappearing.
Simple and Unified
Everything will be simple. Plug in one cord, whichever way you want. It just works.
Everything will be unified. Everything will run WIndows, except for Apple devices, and except for phones. Windows will hold hands with Android. Microsoft will continue to bring apps to iOS and macOS.
Everything will talk to the cloud, sync, and be there, somewhere, online or offline, waiting for your mouse click.
Until next time,
Xavier Zymantas
XYZtech
XYZ Media Group
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