UPDATED 11:00 EDT / JANUARY 27 2011

We Have Seen the Future of Computers, Now if Only Microsoft Would Run with the Idea

Up until most recently our computing experience really hadn’t changed much. Sure, we have seen some  advances, but there hasn’t been anything revolutionary that has changed the common perception of what computers are and how we use them.

For the most part the computers we use on a daily basis have consisted of isolated pieces of electronic parts.  And as powerful as they have gotten, were really nothing more than islands that held our data and software. From desktops to laptops, and now smartphones and tablets, we have always dealt with information, software, and our data within the confines of those individual devices. Granted, that is in the process of changing as we begin our baby steps onto the Cloud, but even there, not everything is unified in a “cross-device” way.

Sure some of our data is finding its way onto the Cloud, but to access that little bit of data we still need to have the software installed on each of the devices we use. Whether it be a smartphone, a desktop, a laptop, or a tablet, we still need to make sure the software we need is installed on each of those devices. Even those who believe in the browser as being the answer for all our needs still need to make sure that each device they use has the same browser installed and all the same settings.

Because it’s not just a matter of making sure that you have the same software across all devices. It also means having your settings, your login information, your data all synced across those devices. So even as much as we might like to think we are becoming a more mobile computing society, we are still dealing with the same old issues that tether us to an old paradigm of computing.

A Glimpse Into The Future

Anyone who followed the news coming out of the Consumer Electronic Show 2011 in Las Vegas this year will have gotten the first glimpse into what our future digital world could look like.

Welcome to the Motorola Atrix:

Motorola’s Atrix – Laptop docking

What you are looking at is a smartphone by Motorola that literally plugs into what is nothing more than a laptop case with only a screen and keyboard. However the moment you dock the Atrix smartphone into the laptop you have a fully functioning laptop.

It doesn’t stop just at a laptop either as Motorola also has a desktop dockable version as well:

Motorola’s Atrix – Desktop docking

The idea here is that the Atrix smartphone is the brains, but when it comes to doing things that require a larger screen area you just plug in the brain into the device platform that you want to use. No longer are you constricted to a smartphone screen size, but equally so you are no longer confined to having to lug around that large laptop nor are you constrained by having a desktop computer system. You just plug in the brain wherever there is an available dock.

It’s A Cute Idea But Really How Practical Is It?

Stop for a second, step out our current thinking of what makes up a computer, and head over to Starbucks with your Atrix and after you have paid for your latte, grab one of the laptop shells as you head for a table by the window. Then plug in your smartphone into the dock and continue right where you left off before you realized you wanted a coffee but didn’t want to leave your work behind.

No need to make sure that the software you need was already installed, or that your settings and data were all synced up before leaving home.

These is only the very beginnings of what would be possible with these form factors.  Tie in a ubiquitous home server and personal cloud. Throw in monitors that are no longer tied to some honking desktop system because we are now starting to see the first of true wireless graphics cards to market. Add in reliable wireless keyboards and mice, or better yet Kinect based motion and voice control built into your monitors, stand alone or laptop.

All this is held together by your personal home server that is available through the Internet and yet nothing you are using is being confined by its location. It doesn’t matter where you are because as long as you can dock your smartphone into an appropriate device platform, you can do what you need to do an, un-dock and be on your way.

So How Does Microsoft Come Into This?

At CES 2011 Steve Ballmer said in his keynote that Windows would be everywhere, regardless of the device. It would be the same Windows whether you were using a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, or a desktop. You would be able to access your data in an environment you were familiar with no matter where you were.

Microsoft has the one key thing that none of its competitors have. They have a complete platform right across all aspects of our digital life. From Xbox to Media Center, Windows Home Server to the changing Windows OS, and with Windows Phone 7 potentially at the center acting as the brain like in the example above with the Atrix.

The possibilities of what could be achieved with this kind of device freedom are endless. Your Windows Phone 7 (or next generation) could be docked wherever you are at the moment.  At home, it could become your media center by docking next to the screen and through that connecting to your home server, and personal cloud, which because of the wireless graphic card has the power to provide top quality video but controlled by you and your smartphone.

Or perhaps you need to get some work done so you head into your office and dock your smartphone into the desk which activates your monitors and wireless keyboard and mouse and away you go because everything has been synced up to your personal cloud every time your smartphone has been docked – regardless of where you are because your home server is on the net.

Microsoft Has the Pieces

As I said above, Microsoft has the one thing that none of their competitors has, except maybe with the growing exception of Apple, and that is a ubiquitous platform. They have all the pieces needed to bring about the next generation of computing, a real revolution is they way we perceive, and use computing – or rather digital devices.

This might seem like fanciful thinking and to a point I agree because even though Microsoft has all the pieces to do this, I don’t think they (as much as I hate to say it) have the vision. I do think though that this is the direction we will see our digital lives headed because the Atrix shows us that some-one is already thinking along those lines.

Once something is thought of it doesn’t take much to make it a reality. We’ve seen that already with one of Microsoft’s revolutionary products – Kinect – I just hope they saw the Atrix and some-one in Redmond went hmmmm……

[Cross-posted at Winextra]


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