[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #553: PCs, who needs them?

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OPLIN 4Cast #553: PCs, who needs them?
August 2nd, 2017

[image: PC in the trashcan] I recently read a blog post – the first linked
article below – by Benedict Evans that makes some interesting points about
what we usually call “computer literacy.” (Tip: many of Mr. Evans’ blog
posts are thought-provoking.) We spend a lot of time and resources in
public libraries teaching people how to do things on computers, but are we
actually just teaching them how to do things on PCs, things that they may
have already mastered on their phones? By Evans’ calculation, there are
about 100 million people using PCs for things that can’t be done on a phone
or tablet, but perhaps 5 billion people who are using their phones to do
things that used to be done on a PC.

   -
   - Creation and consumption
   <http://ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2017/7/13/creation-and-consumption>
   (Benedict Evans)  “Conversely, what is being done on ‘phones’ – or rather,
   on these small touch-screen computers that we all carry around with us? We
   write – people have been writing more on phones than on PCs since the days
   of SMS – and we share, take pictures, create videos, play games and talk to
   our friends. That is, we do most of things that those 90% of PCs are used
   for, but we also do everything that you can do with a touch screen and
   internet-connected image sensor, and GPS, and all the other things a PC
   doesn’t have, plus everything you can do with all of the billions of app
   downloads. The big difference on mobile is that now people know how to do
   this.”
   - Survey: Mobile devices eclipse PC usage and, in a surprise, drive more
   conversions
   <http://marketingland.com/survey-mobile-devices-eclipse-pc-usage-surprise-drive-conversions-204128>
   (Marketing Land | Greg Sterling)  “According to third-party data, roughly
   three-fourths of email is now read on mobile phones. If corresponding
   landing pages and mobile sites aren’t optimized for mobile users, the data
   above suggest that marketers and retailers are losing potentially
   meaningful revenue. In addition, these mobile users said that they would be
   more likely to shop on smartphones with ‘easier navigation’ and ‘increased
   speed,’ and to some degree, ‘enhanced security.’”
   - The once-mighty PC’s diminished status in today’s mobile era
   <https://redmondmag.com/articles/2017/07/01/pcinmobileera.aspx> (Redmond
   Magazine | Ed Bott)  “Smartphones have gone from a curiosity to a luxury
   and are now a necessity. In many cases, it’s easier to whip out a phone to
   handle a task, which is why smart Azure and Office 365 administrators have
   the mobile apps for those services close at hand. Meanwhile, as the
   slowdown in sales suggests, PCs are becoming legacy devices for specialized
   tasks. In industrialized nations, you’ll still find PCs on factory floors
   and in back offices, and there are still creative and financial jobs that
   are better done on a PC.”
   - PCs shine again, but for how long?
   <http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/84576.html> (E-Commerce Times | Jim
   McGregor)  “On the application side, gaming remains the application driving
   PC technology and market stability. In fact, gaming is the only area where
   PCs shipments actually have been growing. However, just on the horizon is a
   new generation of virtual reality and augmented reality head-mounted
   displays that hold the promise of improving the PC experience in just about
   every application – from engineering and design to entertainment and
   gaming.”

*Articles from Ohio Web Library <http://ohioweblibrary.org>:*

   - Meet the Tabletarians.
   <http://proxy.oplin.org:2054/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=100217290>
   (*Library Journal*, 1/1/2015, p.39 | Matt Enis)
   - Is the smartphone already obsolete?
   <http://proxy.oplin.org:2054/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cph&AN=120933047>
   (*PC Magazine*, Feb. 2017, p.31-36 | Evan Dashevsky)
   - In a mobile-first world, don't forget the PC.
   <http://proxy.oplin.org:2054/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cph&AN=123168577>
   (*PC Magazine*, June 2017, p.26-28 | Tim Bajarin)

------------------------------
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