The OQO 02 Represents a Tidal Shift in Computing

I don't think I have ever been this excited about a product...ever. Well, maybe that R2D2 remote control robot that I hounded my parents for for Christmas back in 1980 comes close. But those were the foolish antics of a child. I'm now a grown man yet acting like a child waiting for Christmas to arrive. Why?

There are a lot of reasons: It's sexy. It's cool. It's beautiful, no doubt. But the biggest reason is because it represents a tidal shift in computing and tidal shifts don't happen that often.

The computer industry has seen one other such shift and that was in 1984 when Apple introduced the first Mac. Remember that Super Bowl ad when the Mac was first introduced? The Mac ushered in an incredible change to the nascent consumer-oriented computer market. The excitement that the first Macintosh created back in 1984 was unique because it changed how we think about computers and how we relate to them. The computer was no longer for geeks and hobbyists. It was about fun and how everyday people could use one.

In the years since 1984 I haven't experienced anything remotely similar to the charge of excitement I felt when the original Mac rolled out. Yeah, we had the IBM Peanut (don't tell me you don't remember the Peanut). Yeah, we had the first Mac Luggable (the 16lbs. behemoth pictured at right that I still have tucked away in my garage). Yeah, we had the Palm. But nothing, not even from Apple has come close to that original excitement.

But I'm telling you that the OQO Model 02 is giving me that same level of excitement. It is exciting because the OQO represents that rare and significant shift that only occurs once every 20 years or so. The OQO model 02 is changing how we view and relate and ultimately how we're going to use computers. To date, we have been tethered to the desk. Our entire computing experience confined to the the desktop on which our monitor and/or laptop rests. Yes, the laptop is transportable but only from one flat surface to another. It is not mobile.

Our computing experience has not really changed since the first PC was introduced in 1981. 1981. 26 years ago. It has been 26 years that we have been tethered to the desk. Longer if you consider the first Apple and the Elf build-it-yourself kits. 26 years of innovation, yes. 26 years of incremental improvement, to be sure. But it's been 26 years focused on a singular computer use case: sitting at your desk.

Now along comes the OQO: A full featured, connected desktop computer, that fits in the palm of my hand. The OQO is the first desktop computer that I can literally pick up like a mobile phone and go on my way. The OQO isn't just transportable, it is ultra mobile. Its diminutive size means I can carry it with me all the time. I can have my entire desktop with me all the time. All my work files. All my media. All my email. All my contacts. All my client data. All my software. All my bookmarks. My entire computing experience is with me all the time. Having your entire computing experience with you all the time opens up exciting new use cases for computing. These are use cases that we have never seen and that have never been possible until today and that is exciting. Imagine how everyday things, things we take for granted, change...

" That presentation file isn't on my Blackberry and my co-worker really needs it right now to close the deal. I wish I were back at the office." No problem, you have your desktop PC and all your documents right there in your pocket. Find the file, edit it if you need to and send it right from your OQO. Isn't it nice not having to remember to sync?

"Oh no, the client called and said their servers went down. I better rush back to the operations center to restart them." Or, I can open a remote server terminal window on my OQO and login into the servers directly and take care of the problem.

"I'm going to be fired. I have a Skype call with those investors in 3 minutes and I'm stuck in traffic because that tanker truck hit the overpass and melted it and now I have to take this ridiculous detour." Thank God you can Skype in from your OQO and no one will know the wiser.

"Are you enjoying the Salmon darling? Hold on... What's that? What do you mean I checked in the wrong file and now the site is displaying pictures of the release party?!" Good thing you have your OQO and your entire development environment right in the palm of your hand. Comment out that easter egg line, recompile and repost right from the OQO then it's back to Salmon with wasabi ginger sauce.

I think you get the picture. The significance of this anytime/anywhere computing is so monumental (and I don't use that word lightly) that it is almost impossible to foresee all its implications. These examples only show how a small form factor device like the OQO will radically change the ways we already use the PC. The ultramobility of these devices will also usher in entirely new use cases for PC computing. New applications. New user interfaces. New computing experiences are waiting to be discovered.

What does it mean to our productivity, our interactions, how we work, play, socialize, entertain, relax when the PC is with you all the time. Think about how much time we spend behind our monitors now. How will those experiences change? What is the next killer app for these devices (and believe me there is one waiting to be discovered)? These questions excite me and for the first time, I (almost) have the product in my hands that will allow me to explore them.

Why am I so excited about my OQO? Because I can't wait for the future to arrive. The chance to be that guy who fixes the website and averts a crisis while at Aqua. Who restarts a downed server for the client while at the bookstore. Who forwards the presentation and saves the account while at the movies. Who wouldn't be excited to be that guy?

i'm a umpc convert...

From a recent post I made at Cnet.com about an article they wrote on "Why You'll Never Buy a UMPC":



granted, i am a technophile but i converted to the umpc for a couple reasons.first, i want to simplify my life. i used to have a desktop pc. i got rid of it for a laptop. the laptop performed all the tasks i needed but gave me the ability to transport my computing needs when and where i desired. the laptop was a transportable desktop. granted, the laptop didn't have the power and expandability of a desktop but the ability to move from location to lcoation trumped those benefits of a dedicated desktop. for gameplaying, i purchased an xbox 360 and suddenly there really was no need for a desktop. i replaced my vaio latop recently for a samsung q1p and have not regretted it. the samsung q1p while not as powerful as my laptop does meet at my daily computing needs just fine and does it in a smaller, more mobile package. i have the q1p connected to my 20in sony lcd monitor. i use a bluetooth keyboard and mouse and so i have basically a desktop system in a package the size of a paperback. when i need to go to a client's office, i have pop the umpc into its leather case and go. 5 seconds. i now have a laptop as the leather organizer case has an integrated keyboard. at the client, i pop the q1p out of the organizer and take it into meetings. i take handwritten notes quickly and efficiently. when i get back to my desk at the client's office, i put the q1p back into the organizer case and use it as a laptop. so the q1p has now simplified my life by acting as my desktop, laptop and ultra mobile pen based computer. all in a smaller and lighter package.

second (and i realize this is going to sound strange but it's important to me) i am on a quest to eliminate noise from my computing experience. i hate noise that eminates from technology. i work at my home office and it's quite peaceful and quiet. i spend a lot of time on my computer. the fan noise from a desktop annoys me to no end. it's constant hum continually demands attention and let's you know "hey! i'm a computer and am comsuming lots of power. so much in fact that i need this enormous fan to cool down my cpu!". i researched a lot of laptops and settled on a sony vaio b/c it had dual cores that ran cooler and a smart power management system that controlled (and allowed the user to control) the fan speed. this greatly cut down on the ambient noise of computing. however... when the fan did kick on it could be noisey. my umpc is virtually silent all the time. when the fan does kick on it is brief and quiet and doesn't remind me that my electric meter is spinning out of control.

and that brings me to my third point (which is also questionable and will cause you to roll your eyes): power consumption and the environment. i want to do whatever i can to reduce my carbon signature on the environment. i drive a hybrid, buy only the highest rated energy star appliances and have switched all my light bulbs out for fluorenscent bulbs. an extreme, i know. in any case the power footprint of a umpc is something like an order or two or three *magnitude* difference in power requirements. my umpc has a thermal rating of something like 5 watts of power. my desktop pc had a tdp of something like 95 watts. that's a big difference that was actually reflected in my power bill which dropped significantly after i replaced my desktop pc. i like the fact that i'm using technology that has significantly reduce my daily power consumption.

i've been ranting here for awhile so i'll stop with this last point: mobility. i know, a lot of people will say that a laptop is just as mobile as a umpc but my experience has been that it is not. not nearly. think about it. a laptop has a unique design that requires it to sit open with the keyboard on a flat surface and the monitor flipped up. this means that while you can transport the thing around you are really just moving from one flat surface to another. you cannot easily use a laptop while standing or while laying on the couch or in the car or while walking about. the laptop is transportable but not truly mobile. the umpc on the other hand is both transportable and mobile. because it has no keyboard you can hold it in one hand. you can stand and use it, lie on the couch and use it, walk and use it. these things sound trivial but once you are unteathered from the desktop or table you'll find that you use the umpc more - at least i do. i enjoy actually writing in my own handwriting my blog while reclined comfortably on the couch. in the morning i drink my coffee in the kitchen while reading the news in one hand. it's natural and convenient. i don't have to drag my coffee up to my office and sit at my desk to get my morning started. the screen is not so small that it is unusable and not so big that it is unmobile. its form factor meets the needs of a new generation of mobile computing that i think people will embrace because it is where we are heading.

i believe the umpc will replace the notebook in the long term. as processors reduce in size and increase in performance and other technologies like samsung's new led screens reduce power requirements and battery technology improves, we'll find that umpcs can do everything that we need them to so and give us the benefits of truly mobile computing. current generation umpcs are just the start but if they are any indication of where things are headed then i think computing is heading in the right direction.

just my 1.5 cents.

cheers everyone,

neil