2009: When the PC changed

The new Mac OSX snow leopard and windows 7, along with the chrome OS, are sure to change the way all of us use computers
Wow, what a year! When you look back at 2009, you will see how technology has moved towards a world that is free from the clutches of old corporations, letting you do things the way you like to. 2009 was a year in which the alternatives became the mainstream.

There are thousands of things that come out each year, but two major releases and a major announcement this year changed the PC world like never before. Apple announced its OSX Snow Leopard while Microsoft moved on to Windows 7, by far the best Windows yet, optimised for speed even on the slowest of Atom machines and full of eye candy. The Mac OSX Snow Leopard took all Apple machines to the world of 64bit. Though there were teething troubles, this was truly a move that allowed use of the latest dual core and quad core processors. Windows, though still available as both 32bit and 64bit, also became a bit cheaper making its 7 the fastest adopted Microsoft OS till date. Though there is always a debate about who stole what from whom, both the operating systems are without doubt friendlier to the user. Meanwhile, Google jumped into the OS war announcing that its Chrome would be available in 2010.

Along with the operating systems, 2009 also changed the way we looked at PCs. People finally came to terms with the fact that a fast processor was not always what they wanted, but something that worked. Atom laptops, popular as netbooks, took over and everyone wanted to own one. While Lenovo and HP came out with stylish but slightly pricey Atom netbooks, Samsung followed with multiple colours and Dell with its own Mini.

Atoms made big sense; you could buy a laptop for as little as Rs 18,000 and get up to six hours of battery life with screens that started off at six inches. But that was before the 10 and 12 inch models started appearing on the scene, bridging the gap between notebooks and netbooks. Sony came up with the icing on the cake, its ViaoX, the thinnest and lightest laptop I have ever come across, though at a fat price of Rs 65,000

Finally, Amazon launched the international edition of their bestseller Kindle. However, Kindle still ships from the US and you still have to buy it using a credit card on the website and not at a store. But the launch definitely made the world flatter, with all serious technology players looking at India as a big market.

I think the most looked forward launch of this year was the Blackberry 8520 which you could buy own for under Rs 15,000 — you no longer had to get a home loan to buy a Blackberry. With service providers also making it cheaper by offering e-mail only plans at Rs 250 a month, more and more people were seen sporting Blackberries.
The other big thing was the aluminium body laptops. The war was started by Apple, before HP, ViewSonic and Dell followed suit with their own aluminium avatars. However, only Dell thought of a lighted keyboard while others are still wondering how they can manage the increased heat of the light under the keyboard.

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The above article appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday 20th December 2009
Now, to see what 2010 holds for us.