Gordon Laing

The 1980s were a unique period in the history of computing, when rarely a month went by that didn't see the launch of a new computer system.

Products from eccentric inventors working almost single-handedly went up against established corporate giants in a technological free-for-all.

While this IT melting pot was undoubtedly an exciting time packed with original ideas, they all had one major downfall: virtually every computer of the 1980s was incompatible with what came before it and had no intention of talking to anything else. Then the IBM PC AT came along and changed everything.

The IBM PC is the best thing that happened to the computer industry simply because over time the entire world adopted it.

Sure, you can argue that alternative platforms had superior usability or better facilities at some point, but the fact is that standards need to be adopted to enjoy the greatest innovation and subsequent competition.

Far from killing off the inventive spirit, standardising on the PC allowed the world's greatest developers to concentrate on a single platform rather than spreading themselves thin.

Backwards-compatibility may be necessary to justify the greatest investment in software and peripheral development, but that's not to say PC processors are simply accelerated versions of their predecessors.

They may still have x86-compatibility at heart, but are massively enhanced by subsequent technologies, including rafts of new instructions that deliver unparalleled multimedia performance.

If we're talking raw clock speeds though, it's worth remembering that processors have increased not just by a notch or two, but by an enormous 300 times over the past 20 years.

When cynics argue that we don't need this level of performance to run popular office applications, they're absolutely missing the point.

Ten years ago, office applications were about the only things we had the power to run, whereas today it's easy to take for granted what we have at our fingertips.

Broadcast-level digital video editing, professional DVD creation, real-time photo-realistic 3D graphics and multi-channel audiophile-quality surround sound are all possible thanks to the continued innovation and development of the PC platform.

And best of all, they all come as standard on systems which, in relative terms, have never been more affordable.

Modern operating systems may still use the same basic point-and-click concepts first popularised by the Apple Mac in 1984, but they've enjoyed considerable advancements since then.

Processing power has now reached a point where modern PCs can recognise both handwriting and voice input, while real-time facial and gesture recognition is expected in as little as three years.

Indeed the same revolutionary neural and statistical networking advances behind facial recognition can be used to learn how we feel and even predict health issues.

When your computer understands what you say and how you're feeling, it's impossible to say there's no innovation or justification for increasingly powerful processors.

As the PC has evolved so has everything around it. Who would have thought that in just a few years digital cameras would grow from toys to serious products that could give film a run for its money?

Indeed, it's an indication how far they've gone that sales of digital cameras this year will overtake those of film models.

Handheld PDAs have evolved from primitive personal organisers to all-singing multimedia platforms. Innovative compression techniques now allow us to carry thousands of songs in our pockets.

Even mobile phones are capable of playing games which were considered state-of-the-art on PCs less than a decade ago.

Communications have gone through the greatest revolution though, and we're not even going to mention the ubiquitous adoption of mobile phones.

Ten years ago the internet was hardly heard of outside academic or technical environments. A decade later it has influenced billions of lives, revolutionising work and play.

It's impossible to pick just one highlight of the internet, but delivering services to those with limited access has to be one of its greatest achievements. It has become a lifeline for many. And if that ain't progress, I don't know what is.

Who'd have thought that the old copper wires that connect our creaky analogue telephones could be adapted to carry high-speed broadband internet services? And you can't talk about innovation without mentioning wireless communications.

Broadband and wireless networking is a match made in techno-heaven, allowing businesses to make the most of their resources, and homes to share printers and internet connections without trailing wires. Rather than this technology tying us down, it has set us free.

Far from becoming stale, the IT industry has never been more exciting, nor packed with greater innovation.

An astounding degree of development has led to a revolution in what we can now achieve. Innovations in the IT industry touch our entire lives on a daily basis. It would be an almost inconceivable world without them.

Have your say in the PCW poll

Read the opposing view: Imitation is king

Like this story? Spread the news by clicking below:

 del.icio.us     Digg this     reddit!