30th Anniversay of IBM PC

The original IBM-PC was released in August, 1981. The IBM-PC was significant because it was the first personal computer sold by a large computer company. Previously personal computers were available from companies like Apple, Atari, Commodore and Radio Shack. IBM's release of a personal computer was a signal to other large companies that the personal computer was a serious product which led to exponential growth of the industry during the 1980's

Thirty years later, in August 2011, Hewlett-Packard (HP) announced that it would be focusing on higher-margin products and would discontinue it's recently released TouchPad tablet and would explore spinning off it's PC division. HP's stock fell 20% after the announcement.

This news reflects the changing role of the PC based on competition from tablets and smart phones as Internet connectivity devices. Still, the expectation is that more than 350 million PC's will be sold this year.

Thomas Friedman Hits the Nail on the Head

One of my heroes is New York Times Columnist Thomas Friedman. In a recent column he summed up why unemployment is so high and why there is so much economic malaise in a few sentences. "The merger of globalization and IT is driving huge productivity gains, especially in recessionary times, where employers are finding it easier, cheaper and more necessary than ever to replace labor with machines, computers, robots and talented foreign workers....to get into the middle class now, you have to study harder, work smarter and adapt quicker than ever before..Not only does it take more skill to get a good job, but for those who are unable to raise their games, governments no longer can afford generous welfare support or cheap credit to be used to buy a home for nothing down."