Software
Now let’s look at software for a second, for a very long time people have been using closed source software and their main operating system has been Microsoft Windows and for the most part that’s still true today. However open source Linux based operating systems have been growing at a high rate in the past few years. There are three main Linux based OSes that I have seen being used by consumers those are Android, Chrome OS, and Ubuntu. These three operating systems are very different from each other. Android is made mainly for mobile touchscreen devices such as tablets and smartphones however it has grown beyond that and is on everything from cars to fridges as well as smart TVs. The next Chrome OS is meant to be a cloud based system originally it didn’t even have a desktop interface and was simply Google Chrome with not much else but now with technologies such as Native Client and Packaged Apps it’s growing into a real platform with real programs you can use offline and online. Ubuntu is one of the most well known Linux distributions it’s very versatile for both average consumers as well as developers and high end users until recently however you weren't able to play many games on it but now with the introduction of steam to the platform this is beginning to change. You might be asking yourself why have I brought these Linux operating systems up? Well I think they are the future, even though I myself still use Windows as my primary OS I see myself using Google Chrome and cloud applications for almost everything on my laptop and for anything else on the go it’s Android all the way. There is a main problem with Android and Chrome OS both of them are very user friendly but they are are made for only one form factor. Ubuntu although a very powerful OS still has a lot of problems with being user friendly. Recently Sundar Pichai took over as Senior Vice President for both Android and Google Chrome. Although he has said at this point in time they won’t be merging I would have to say it’s going to happen eventually for multiple reasons. Google Chrome already runs on Android that was the first step but now what if Chrome OS’ desktop environment was merged into android for use on Laptop/Desktop form factors. This would at first have implications on existing Android Apps as well as existing Chrome apps. They would need to be modified to include a desktop UI in addition to the already existing smartphone and tablet UI to enable for smart transitioning between form factors. Basically how it would all work is similar to what we've seen with other products such as the WebTop and Ubuntu + Android. Both of these were awesome products but were ahead of their time and were too proprietary. In the future every phone will have the ability to connect wirelessly to first party and third party external devices and switch to whatever UI that the form factor requires for optimal use.
Hardware
Now this brings me to the next part of technology which is Hardware. There are several new technologies that will enable us to completely remove the need for any wires and by that I mean no more charge cables, HDMI, USB, or any wires at all. The first technology is called WiGig and it’s a standard that combines Wi-Fi, Wireless Display, Wireless HDMI, Bluetooth, and Wireless USB as well as other technologies. WiGig is suppose to have speeds up to 7 Gbps that’s 7x faster than Google Fiber! WiGig is already in a few devices including a Dell Laptop with a completely wireless docking station. So the next technology is called WiPower which is a wireless charging standard it’s still being developed but it’s already looking very promising in the future we’ll be able to charge our phones and other mobile devices from inside our bags and pockets just by being next to a WiPower hotspot it’ll work similar to a Wi-Fi hotspot except for charging instead of internet. With these two technologies combined you now have a phone that can wirelessly connect to any accessory and wirelessly charge while in a building or a car. Imagine walking into your work office you have a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and printer none of which have any wires your phone uses a combination of sensors to know it’s in the office and automatically connects to them all. You no longer have to worry about forgetting that project at work, home, or on the go. One of the biggest problem with devices lately isn't that they aren't powerful enough but that they don’t do everything and that they don't have long enough battery life. This solution allows you to have a tablet/laptop that is simply a screen and massive battery so they can last you for a lot longer than they would otherwise. Now any place you go you can have everything all in one place with a unified interface without connecting any wires or worrying about your device every dieing! I know it’s going to be a while before this future becomes a reality but we are already well on our way to this future and I can't wait to see what other amazing innovations are coming in the near future.
Sources:
Android - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)
Chrome OS - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrome_OS
Ubuntu - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_(operating_system)
PadFone - https://www.asus.com/Tablets_Mobile/PadFone_Products/
WiGig - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiGig
WiPower - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiPower
Google Fiber - http://www.google.com/fiber
Dell WiGig Laptop - http://goo.gl/FmeSK
No comments:
Post a Comment