While this article is more focused on what Apple is doing with iOS devices, I definitely see a sort of parallel with the sort of things HPs been talking about doing. WebOS on desktops would definitely be a clear sign of the dawn of a post-PC era where average consumers would no longer be using a desktop OS (based on Windows in this case) to do their everyday tasks. I actually think HP is getting it right by having that option to go back into the PC if you need to although I think that we can all agree that having WebOS on a windowed overlay just wouldn't cut it.
Michael Gartenberg at MacWorld says even as we move into a Post-PC world we will still need PCs. Why? Because he says so, that’s why!
Even as some today hype the death of the PC, let’s be clear: the PC isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Of course, the PC as we know it will continue to evolve—and a future generation of those devices will bear as little resemblance to today’s Macs as today’s Macs resemble Altair PCs of days gone by.
The current-day personal computer remains the ultimate Swiss army knife of information. If you want the Internet without any compromises, you need a PC. Need to access corporate apps and legacy information? That’s also a PC. Want to play the best and most sophisticated games? See PC as well.
Unless you are willing to live with a subset of functionality, you’re going to want and need a PC, even as that standard changes over time.
So, why so much hype about the post-PC world? Because historically, as PCs have become increasingly sophisticated, they’ve also become increasingly complex. Users become empowered by new features while simultaneously being forced to contend with complex systems that can obscure the task currently at hand.
This is one reason why devices like the iPad have become popular. No, they can’t do everything a PC can do today—but that’s not a bad thing. The iPad performs some tasks quite well, all while keeping those tasks simple—and that means an iPad can replace that second or third PC someone was thinking of buying.
As we transition into a post-PC world, the ability of devices to balance new technology and features against complexity for a given set of functions will help drive purchases. The key will be for users to figure out just what device best matches the appropriate skill set or need. Need to decode the human genome? There’s no app for that just yet. On the other hand, many tasks once suitable only for the PC are now very doable on other post-PC devices.
Yes, today’s tablets don’t replace today’s PCs, but we are talking about the future, right? In the future, our operating platforms will be based on the premise that we are always connected to the Web, and won’t rely on the 1990’s notions of desktop/folder/file system.
Limitations of tablets today are often a function of limitations of PC-centric or profoundly limited applications.
For example, I can’t use Tumblr productively on the iPad because Tumblr’s editor expects me to be using a keyboard with a up and down cursor. I can;t scroll down in the editor’s text box to get to the end of a post, for example. But Tumblr could fix that but providing a better editor application.
Likewise, the current news apps on iPad often block the simplest sort of sharing, because the apps don’t provide anyway to accomplish it, as was spoofed here.
But looking to the limitations of today’s tablets as proof that PCs are here to stay is like looking at Blockbusters and Borders in every mall a few years ago and making a case for their immortality.
