Technology Trends in 2011

Last month an article on Technology Review considered the recent focus of technological advancement. Despite the fact that the most commonly used computers for work and home are personal computers, in 2011 the most dramatic innovations in computing were made in small scale devices, like smartphones, and large scale networks, such as data centers.

I think it's true that over the course of the last year we have really seen the rise of mobile devices in nearly every age group and sector of life. It's undeniable that companies are working to fit iPhones and their competitors into every niche of the market. Doesn't it seem like today there's an app for everything? "The richness and range of these applications is causing a shift in corporate IT, with increasing numbers of companies allowing workers to bring their own devices to work. But a lot of this mobile flexibility is possible only thanks to cloud computing, which lets devices seamlessly hand off complex tasks to data centers."

Perhaps the only thing in the computer world to rival the increase in mobile devices is the adoption of cloud storage. Not only are more and more people opting to make use of the space that is out there, but more and more new programs and software is requiring that we do so. It's interesting that in this year of "marginalization" our friendly PCs seem to have been forgotten and left behind. I wonder if 2012 will continue this trend or if we will see the return of the PC?