A mobile “supercomputer” that you can carry round with you wherever you go A bright future for cloud computing 行動超級電腦帶著走 雲端生活大未來
The general trend in the evolution of the PC is towards higher speed, greater multitasking capabilities, PCs that are smaller, more lightweight and easier to carry, increased data storage capability, and lower electricity consumption; at the same time, PCs are running more and larger software applications. In the last 3 – 4 years, as the Internet has grown, mobile Internet access has become much more convenient to use. Even more importantly, there has been a gradual improvement in the quality of cloud computing services. Consumers are starting to ask themselves whether they really need a PC with high computing performance built in.
個人電腦的發展趨勢，是推出更快的速度與多工運算能力、更輕便的體積與重量，以及愈來愈大的儲存能力、耗電更少等特色；軟體程式也越來越龐大。最近3、4年，由於網路普及、行動上網益加便利，更重要的是，雲端服務也逐漸完善，消費者開始自問：配備這些「功能超級強悍」的裝備，有沒有意義？
The emphasis in the Netbook products that have become so popular over the last few years is on slim, small, lightweight design and convenient mobile Internet access; the marketing of these products is not based on ultra-fast computing speed or huge data storage capability. This reflects the fact that, in the era of cloud computing, both computing and data storage can be entrusted to the cloud. If you need particular software, you can access it via the cloud, and then have the results transmitted to your PC; there is no longer any need to make sure that you have every single function built into your PC as an all-in-one device. As PCs get simpler, the price can be expected to fall, stimulating new demand and bringing about a major transformation of the IT market as a whole.
近年興起的小筆電 (Netbook)，強調的是輕便、簡易行動上網──超高運算速度與巨大儲存能力都不是它的訴求重點。這正說明了「雲端運算」時代的需求──將運算與儲存都交給雲端；有軟體需求，則透過雲端執行再傳回至前端裝置即可，不必再將各種功能「All-in-one」地灌進電腦裡。當配備簡化，電腦價格可望隨之下降，刺激新的需求，屆時IT市場必然會發生變化。
In the future, as the “smart environment” is gradually perfected, there will be a pronounced change in what individuals expect from their PCs. In the future, a mobile computer may not even need to have a built-in computing capability at all; it may be enough for the device to be able to access information from the various types of smart device that surround it. The issue that will be of most importance to IT consumers in the future will be the quality of the information that they receive. Terminal devices will not necessarily need to possess powerful computing capabilities; terminal devices will take many different forms, which will not necessarily bear much resemblance to today’s notebook PCs and tablet PCs. What they will need to provide is support for broadband Internet access. The new model that this trend will give rise to has been described as the “device and service” model.
在「智慧環境」逐步完善的未來，個人對於電腦的運算需求將會明顯改變。未來行動電腦甚至可能不必有「主機」的配置，只要能連網讀取周遭各種智慧設備的資訊即可，播放資訊的品質將成為IT消費者在意的重點。因此，終端裝置不一定要具備強大的運算能力，而可透過各種不同型態出現，這些裝置未必是以現在的筆記型電腦或平板電腦呈現，但它們必須具有支持寬頻聯網的功能，形成所謂的「雲端裝置和服務」(Device and Service)。
個人電腦的發展趨勢，是推出更快的速度與多工運算能力、更輕便的體積與重量，以及愈來愈大的儲存能力、耗電更少等特色；軟體程式也越來越龐大。最近3、4年，由於網路普及、行動上網益加便利，更重要的是，雲端服務也逐漸完善，消費者開始自問：配備這些「功能超級強悍」的裝備，有沒有意義？
The emphasis in the Netbook products that have become so popular over the last few years is on slim, small, lightweight design and convenient mobile Internet access; the marketing of these products is not based on ultra-fast computing speed or huge data storage capability. This reflects the fact that, in the era of cloud computing, both computing and data storage can be entrusted to the cloud. If you need particular software, you can access it via the cloud, and then have the results transmitted to your PC; there is no longer any need to make sure that you have every single function built into your PC as an all-in-one device. As PCs get simpler, the price can be expected to fall, stimulating new demand and bringing about a major transformation of the IT market as a whole.
近年興起的小筆電 (Netbook)，強調的是輕便、簡易行動上網──超高運算速度與巨大儲存能力都不是它的訴求重點。這正說明了「雲端運算」時代的需求──將運算與儲存都交給雲端；有軟體需求，則透過雲端執行再傳回至前端裝置即可，不必再將各種功能「All-in-one」地灌進電腦裡。當配備簡化，電腦價格可望隨之下降，刺激新的需求，屆時IT市場必然會發生變化。
In the future, as the “smart environment” is gradually perfected, there will be a pronounced change in what individuals expect from their PCs. In the future, a mobile computer may not even need to have a built-in computing capability at all; it may be enough for the device to be able to access information from the various types of smart device that surround it. The issue that will be of most importance to IT consumers in the future will be the quality of the information that they receive. Terminal devices will not necessarily need to possess powerful computing capabilities; terminal devices will take many different forms, which will not necessarily bear much resemblance to today’s notebook PCs and tablet PCs. What they will need to provide is support for broadband Internet access. The new model that this trend will give rise to has been described as the “device and service” model.
在「智慧環境」逐步完善的未來，個人對於電腦的運算需求將會明顯改變。未來行動電腦甚至可能不必有「主機」的配置，只要能連網讀取周遭各種智慧設備的資訊即可，播放資訊的品質將成為IT消費者在意的重點。因此，終端裝置不一定要具備強大的運算能力，而可透過各種不同型態出現，這些裝置未必是以現在的筆記型電腦或平板電腦呈現，但它們必須具有支持寬頻聯網的功能，形成所謂的「雲端裝置和服務」(Device and Service)。