What company is doing the most to kill desktop computers? OK, that’s Microsoft, but who outside or Redmond is hitting PC’s really hard? What is the cloud’s role in making PC’s go away?

Here’s one PC killer: VMware, whose new Horizon DaaS desktop-as-a-service offers a Windows machine in the cloud for a mere $35-a-month. Granted this is not the solution for all problems where a PC is required. Nor is Amazon and Google turning Chromebooks into DaaS devices going to be perfect for everyone.

(Our Suzanne Kattau covered the announcement from a news angle, with lots of interesting background).

VMware’s announcement will be seen as another “nail in the coffin” of desktop PC’s and portables. Yet, for all this talk about the wonders of the cloud, sometimes the user’s view looks a lot like a fancy terminal application. Or client/server computing.

What are most people going to use to access DaaS that isn’t a PC of some sort? I know, devices like smartphones and tablets that lack the horsepower to run desktop apps but can access them over the network.

I understand why desktop-as-a-service would be attractive for some users. Just as I get the idea that whole contact centers in the cloud make perfect sense. Proprietary data never leaves the cloud and employees can work from home or generic call centers in places close or far away.

DaaS, like all these BYOD gizmos, is a way to provide more freedom and choice to enterprises of all sizes and their users. That’s a good thing.

Making the case for hybrid

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Just as we talk about hybrid clouds that link public and private clouds, we should also talk about hybrid platforms. There is nothing wrong with running software locally that benefits from cloud enablement.

That’s one reason I am very pleased to be using a desktop Mac to write this column. Tomorrow, I will use the Windows portable. It’s all Microsoft Word to me.

I am writing this using Word as part of Office365, a $10-a-month subscription that gets me Microsoft desktop apps, some cloud storage, Skype use and other features. If I don’t pay, Microsoft’s big bad cloud will shut off my access and the desktop apps will become just used space on my hard drive. I keep paying because Office365 is a good deal.

My life and work requires a platform that can run software locally and doesn’t have to be tethered to the network to function. Sure, I do lots of things on my iPhone, but I earn my living on a real PC.

I’ve learned not to make all-encompassing predictions, but I don’t see a time when the cloud will meet all my computing needs. I love having it available and cloud apps make my life and relationships worthwhile. Software running on a PC, however, makes my life possible.

It is hard to imagine a time in the reasonable future when I will be able to do all my work on a Chromebook or similar connection-dependent device.

So when I see smart people predicting the death of the PC, I cannot help but think of the National Rifle Assn. bumper sticker that reads “I’ll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.”

That phrase, sometimes shortened to simply, “from my cold, dead hands,” perfectly describes my relationship with a collection of Windows and Macintosh desktops and portables.

The cloud is many wonderful things, but it is still a remote place that requires a connection for me to benefit. So when I hear about the death of desktops and portables, my desktop and portables, all I can say is, “from my cold, dead hands.”

photo: Extra Ketchup via photopin cc