Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

While the PC dies, home computing continues to thrive.

The PC just died in my in-laws home. Not really, it still works, but my in-laws are moving on and participating in the “death of the PC.” Their Windows XP PC still runs along just fine. They, however, don’t want to have it connected to the Internet as they heard the news about anti-malware support going away. They will continue to use the PC for some family documents. (They are both in the late 70s.)

Now, they need a new computer to connect them to the Internet for some email, Facebook photos of adorable great-grandchildren, and other niceties the Internet brings. Because of space limitations in the guest bedroom, they reduced their choices to a laptop computer and a tablet. A family friend demonstrated the joys of tablets with touchscreen virtual keyboards. My father-in-law, a two-finger typist, found the touchscreen adequate, so they are going to buy a tablet (a thousand choices).

The PC is dead in their home.

Nevertheless, home computing lives on and thrives in their home. Two years ago they got a cable modem with WiFi. That enables descendants, age 14 and up, to bring their tablets and laptops to the house and do what people age 14 and up do while sitting around the house drinking coffee—a Louisiana necessity—and visiting. Hence, even though the PC has died in their home, there is 100 or 1000 times more home computing transpiring than before. Computer companies are selling more hardware and software than before.
Is the PC dead? Yes.
Is home computing dead? No. The opposite is true as it is thriving.