Ads by TechWords

See your link here
Receive the latest technology news and information.
Computerworld Daily News (First Look and Wrap-Up)
Computerworld Blogs Newsletter
The Weekly Top 10
Cloud Computing
View all newsletters




Privacy Policy
 
Hardware: The Shape of Things to Come

IT Hardware: The Shape of Things to Come

Hardware gets a new look, with skinny blade servers, slimmer notebooks and even flexible displays.
 

Sign up to receive Resource Alerts

sign-up

November 18, 2002 (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.

Special Report

IT Hardware: The Shape of Things to Come
Stories in this report:



Print this Story Send Us Feedback E-mail this Story Digg! Digg this Story Slashdot this Story

Special Reports

Droid launch draws tech-savvy crowd
Mozilla fixes Firefox crash bug
First take: Apple's new MacBook offers sleek style, solid performance
More top stories...
AMD graphics chip shortage hits PC vendors
Update fixes iPhone sync problem with Windows 7 for some
Elpida inks DRAM tech, outsourcing deal with Taiwan's ProMOS


Ads by TechWords

See your link here


The updated iMac now offers a screen resolution that's higher than HD.
The Droid comes with Android 2.0, the slimmest QWERTY slider, a 3.7-in. display and Verizon's network. Is the iPhone in trouble?
Didn't think hardware this tiny could be tweaked? Think again. We explore five ways to turn netbooks up to 11.
Abundant spectrum resources and an engaged research community are drawing wireless experimenters back into a hobby that many had forgotten.
Get the latest news, reviews and more about Microsoft's newest desktop operating system.
General Mills, Genentech, San Diego Gas & Electric, University of Pennsylvania and Monsanto top the list.
All Zones
The SAS Zone
Software Resource Center
Mobile Security
Disaster Recovery & Cost Savings
Strategic Content Management
Business Analytics Zone