History is our guide to the future. In the old testament there are tablets in the new testament scrolls. As with ancient evolution of tablets into scrolls, it is certain that our next computing evolutionary leap will be a scroll.
As the web based OS market matures, our need for resource hungry “thick smart clients” such as smart phones and tablets will soon diminish. This coupled with advances in battery technology will allow us to drive larger displays with unpararelled computing power. However, our need for ultra mobile and compact devices will require that we invest more resources in FOLED (Flexible Organic Light Emmiting Diode) technology, which offers the largest displays in small form factors. All these together will result in a Scroll type device that utilizes the cloud for its computing power while consuming the least amount of power for network and display needs. A typical scroll will have the following features:
- Weight 100g
- Storage 16GB
- Connectivity Wireless and Cellular
- Display 17inch diagonal 2560 x 1600 WQXGA
- Chip 1Ghz dual core
- Camera with 1080p video shoot capability
- Power battery 1 week of surfing the web and running multimedia 1 month of passive time
- Audio playback tv video
The true power of cloud computing will only be realized when we are able to offload processing from smart devices to managed cloud infrastructures. An obstacle to the current technologies; Tablet and Mobile is their limited display abilities. FOLED are the solution to large displays in a small form factor. As FOLED technologies make their way into the mainstream, we will be making major strides into true cloud computing. There are many roles yet to be filled in these emerging market environments. What role will Kenya play, will we have abundant power to juice up cloud data centers? Will we educate our young to have them develop these new technologies? Will we participate in the sustainable production of cloud computing devices? Any others?
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