The fall of the PC

There's been a lot of discussion about falling PC sales. Many are blaming Microsoft's new Windows 8. But the problem may be more complicated.

I remember buying my first computer. It was exciting! A computer would help me learn applications needed to get a good job, help me become more efficient and organized, help me create the things I want to create and I can play games on it too.

Nowadays, many people purchase an iPad as their first computer. For example, my friends daughter needed a new computer for school, she's 12. He asked if he could just purchase an iPad for her. We went out for dinner and his daughter explained to me what she needs. Essentially, she needed something to write her reports on and print them out to hand into the teacher. I showed her my iPad partnered with an Apple wireless keyboard (in an Origami case) and the iAWriter app ($1.99, which I am using now as I type this). She thought it was perfect. The only glitch was printing.

Printing from an iPad could be solved a few different ways. One is to purchase a wireless printer. We use one at the office to good effect. I can print from anywhere even when I'm not in the office and my documents are waiting for me when I arrive. Or I can email the document, open the file from a computer and print it that way.

Since this family already owned two computers and a printer that everyone shared, this young girl needed only an iPad + keyboard. She emails her homework to her mom, dad or brother to print it out.

She loves her setup and uses it every day. She also gained additional benefits of owning an iPad. She can surf the web, play games and create with drawing apps. Games and drawing apps are fantastic on the iPad and it's very well suited for surfing the web.

This young girl did not need a computer to do her schoolwork. She could be just as productive with an iPad. Her excitement equalled mine when I bought my first computer. Herein lies the problem for PC vendors. The bloat of a computer along with all the viruses, crashing issues and the additional expense of purchasing software isn't as attractive as the form factor and efficiency of an iPad. In the coming year or two Android tablets will have caught up to the iPad in usability further deteriorating the need for a PC.

A full computer is no longer necessary. That's why sales are falling. Microsoft, along with Windows 8, is only part of the story. Hardware manufactures like HP, Acer and Dell will suffer unless they develop a solid tablet strategy (which may best be built upon Android rather than Windows 8).

The world is changing and the post PC era is coming fast.