like tablet, like laptop We are increasingly getting more things done on our smartphones and tablets, leaving the laptop by the wayside. But Intel, Microsoft and Apple are introducing changes to the laptop, drawing inspiration heavily from tablets. Laptops are never going to be the same again,

like tablet, like laptop

We are increasingly getting more things done on our smartphones and tablets, leaving the laptop by the wayside. But Intel, Microsoft and Apple are introducing changes to the laptop, drawing inspiration heavily from tablets. Laptops are never going to be the same again,

The laptop is in danger of becoming redundant. It’s not like we don’t need it at home. But we check our mails and tweets on our smartphones, browse websites, play games and watch YouTube videos on our tablets. The laptop, well, is meant for transferring data to these devices. And does it really matter whether it has 3GB RAM or 4GB to do that? The tablet’s allure is already hurting laptop manufacturers. Just this week, HP and Dell announced poor third quarter results due to falling PC sales. But two other companies stand to lose more than anyone else: Intel, which makes the chips that laptops run on, and Microsoft, which has made its fortune selling operating systems (OS). But the two giants are fighting back. Both in terms of hardware and software, the laptop is undergoing a reinvention of sorts. And a bulk of the inspiration for the redesign comes from tablets and smartphones. What began with the launch of ultrabooks last year, will culminate on October 26, when Microsoft launches Windows 8. The app advantage Windows 8 is Microsoft’s most radical update to any OS it has built since Windows 95. For starters, it has done away with the ‘Start’ button. After all, people who are used to firing up apps straight from the home screen of their tablets or smartphone are likely to find it tedious to click on ‘Start’ and then search for the programs. So out goes the traditional desktop and icons. To give quicker access to the things you want get done, the home screen will have ‘Tiles’ of the apps that you install on the laptop. Yes, you heard that right. Just like tablets and smartphones, you will soon be able to install apps like Twitter or Angry Birds on your laptop. Unlike a bulky software program, an app fulfills just a few functions, and will be easier to use than the software progams you use today. While heavy duty programs like, say, Photoshop will still be around for the experts, lay people can have fun with smaller apps like Photomatic or Instagram. Finding these apps will get easier as well. Just as you have the App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android phones, Windows 8 will have its own app store. All apps developed for Windows 8 will be available this single store. Compare this to scouring the web to find programs and games for your laptop. Share central Laptops will also learn to share more, just like tablets. Today, sharing a picture, document, or even a web page is tough on laptops. Sure, there are options to email files, but even that is buried deep within the software program. Also, different programs have their sharing options in different places. In smartphones and tablets, sharing is built into the OS itself. In Android phones, pressing the options button in most apps brings up sharing. If the Twitter app is installed, ‘share to Twitter’ automatically appears in this menu. Which is why we are more likely to tweet about a great article we’ve read on a smartphone than on a laptop. In Windows 8, no matter which app is open, there’ll always be a sharing option available through which you can either email the things you want or share them on social networks. The hardware edge What laptops will never be able to do, however, is be as portable as tablets. However, Intel worked with all major hardware manufacturers, to come up with ultrabooks last year, which address the many expectations consumers have built up after using tablets. For starters, Intel has tweaked its processors to help ultrabooks last longer on a single charge. As a result, ultrabooks average 6-8 hours before you have to plug the charger again. This may not be in the league of tablets that last an entire day, but it is an improvement over notebooks. In addition to the hard disk, some ultrabooks also include a form of storage (called SSDs) which allows for quick startups of the device. All these innovations don’t mean that tablets are going to be used any less. But it does make a case for using a laptop for more than transferring files to the tablet.