IT Hardware: The Shape of Things to Come

Computerworld - We're heading toward "the death of the centralized, monolithic data center as we have come to know it."

Wow. That e-mail certainly got my attention. The writer went on: "The density of blade servers . . . will allow people to deploy computing infrastructure the same way they deploy telephone equipment - in closets within office space."

That's going a little far, since mainframes still have a place in corporate America, but it rightly suggests that major change is under way. Those skinny blades will pack a punch when the four-processor models debut next year, and yet they offer big savings in electricity and real estate.

While servers are getting thinner, the shape of portable PCs is changing, too. The new Tablet PCs come in a flip-out style and a "single slab" style. Even conventional notebooks will get lighter and slimmer.

One of the most exciting developments is the organic LED display coming in three to five years. These displays will be lighter, brighter and consume less power. And they'll be thin and flexible - even foldable.

It's just another phase in the hardware evolution. We've gone through luggables, clamshells, beige boxes, towers, black cubes and pizza boxes, not to mention Apple's colorful iMacs. The next shape in the series might be server "bricks" - they're a little like blade servers, except they aren't complete servers so you have to combine them with other bricks.

If Apple succeeds in entering the server market, maybe we'll see a fuchsia brick.

Mitch Betts (mitch_betts@computerworld. com) is director of Computerworld's Knowledge Centers.