HP PC Chief Blasts Ex-Microsofter Ray Ozzie's Post-PC Claim

From DailyTech: "It's just wrong." That's what Hewlett-Packard Comp. (HPQ) executive vice president of HP’s printing and personal systems group Todd Bradley said about claims of the "post-PC" era, in a new PC World interview. Mr. Bradley knows a thing or two about computers -- his division is responsible for consumer personal computer design at the world's largest personal computer maker.

The term "post-PC" is a popular one in some media and analyst circles to describe the hypothesis that consumers will abandon traditional desktops and laptops for smartphones and tablets. Some would argue even if customers don't wholly abandon their legacy devices that canibalization by the newer device types is proof we're heading towards a post-PC era.

One of the top proponents of the term is Ray Ozzie, former chief technical officer and chief software architect at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT).

But others like Mr. Bradley take issue with the term, arguing the PC is not dying, but evolving. He comments, "Just think of the decision when your child is going off to college. What’s a requirement? A PC. Or you run a business and need your employees to be productive. You need a PC. The size of the global PC business is huge, and I think some people are trying to be dramatic. That said, there is a growing role for tablets, and we will absolutely be a significant force in that space."

He claims this evolution has been going on for some time. For example, while he's excited about touch in Windows 8, he argues HP has been pushing in that direction for some time now, commenting, "We pioneered the touch many years ago built on top of a Microsoft system. HP has a long tradition of innovating in touch interfaces, and it’s great to have Microsoft agree and support us. Whether it’s a touch interface you use occasionally on a notebook or desktop, or something you use all the time with tablets, we think customers will really be excited."

View: Article @ Source Site