Technology trends in 2015

I have so many thoughts regarding where technology is heading, but don’t find myself writing much of it down, which is really a shame. This entry is an attempt to get into the habit of posting my thoughts regarding these and other trends.

Intel’s newest chipset Broadwell, is going to make the noiseless PC much more powerful and practical. This really seems to be where both CPU and GPU technology is headed. Sure everything gets more powerful as time marches on, but the focus on power efficiency, as well as lower thermal characteristics, is enabling PC’s that are entirely passively cooled (no moving parts = less things to breakdown), yet powerful enough to use for a majority of tasks.

Just as we saw a convergence of technology manifest in tablets and phones that are powerful enough to handle most tasks that used to require specialized devices (still/video camera, phone, email, light gaming), we are now seeing these same technologies mature and enable much more powerful devices.

In the next 3 years we will see more and more fanless notebooks, boasting super thin screens. With optical drives no longer necessary, the main chassis can be slimmed down, and the last of the moving parts eliminated. It’s interesting how the optical drive is in the same position the floppy drive was at the turn of the century – still around, but not really needed.

While tablets will continue to evolve, I really think the combo notebook/tablet will find a place if the design is done right. While the freedom of having a single slab of technology to take with you is quite appealing, there is no substitute for typing on a keyboard. Having something you can dock at a desk to access a fully functional keyboard/mouse might be a hit.

As power usage drops, battery life improves dramatically. I see notebook/tablet combos with 18 – 24 hours of battery life (actual use, not sleep/suspend/low power mode) in the not too distant future.

The new flexible screens I’ve been seeing show a lot of promise for enabling what I like to call a “Pee Chee Computer”, because that’s about how thin they’ll be pretty soon.

Hopefully the first of many entries for the year 2015. I have a feeling it is going to be a whammy of a year.