A Sea Change in the Computing Market
To think about the subject
What kind of personal computers do you think we will use in the future?
Why do you think so?
What kind of computers do you use now? Is it different to in the past?
Tablet computing seems to be changing the way we use computers. Currently the worldwide tablet computing market is $35 billion, whilst the PC is $250 billion annually. The PC is still the backbone of the computing market, however, the gulf between the two is changing and this is driven by the convenience of tablet computing and the things they can do. For the PC marketers and makers the challenge is, how can they continue to sell in a mature market. Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs suggests that we’ve entered the post PC era. So it seems that PC makers are looking at new markets, essentially developing markets. Meanwhile, every two years, chip developers such as Intel are finding new ways to provide longer lasting chip technology and speed. With these chip-makers new research, it means that they are making smaller, faster chips for traditional machines, and this means that the advances in size is benefiting tablet makers. It will be interesting to see where this all leads to.
Guessing meaning from context
Match the words/phrases in the left column with the closest meaning in the right column. The answers are below the table.
|
Sea Change |
A |
1 |
The big difference or distance one thing is from another |
|
backbone |
B |
2 |
A place where products and services are sold, but the products are well known and not new and rise only a little in sales |
|
the gulf between |
C |
3 |
A large or dynamic adjustment or modification |
|
driven by |
D |
4 |
The time after another time |
|
mature market |
E |
5 |
The place where everything will end up or go to |
|
post PC era |
F |
6 |
The most important or basic part of something |
|
where this all leads |
G |
7 |
Something that causes something else to do something. Motives. |
Answers
A=3, B=6, C=1, D=7, E=2, F=4, G=5
Some questions using the new words and phrases to help you understand them better.
Try to answer using the new words/phrases.
1. From the reading, what is causing a sea change in the computing market? What is your opinion of this sea change, and where do you think this could lead to?
2. Describe what is the backbone of Korean business? That is, what things does Korea mostly sell to the world?
3. Describe two groups; for example political parties; that have a large gulf between them? How do you think they can agree?
4. What drives people to buy a type of product or service that you know?
5. Describe a product that is in a mature market?
6. How has Korea changed in the post Park Cheong Hee era?
Some example sentences using today’s new words/phrases
1. The computing age has forced a sea change in the way we do business.
2. For a long time the backbone of Korean industry was shipbuilding and consumer electronics.
3. The gulf between the Democrats and Republicans in U.S. politics over issues like increasing the amount the U.S. can loan has been almost too big to solve.
4. The price of gasoline is driven by demand.
5. The cell-phone market is mature, therefore new technology like smart phones were needed to increase sales.
6. The post Mao Tsu Tung era in China has seen many changes, which has all led to a very large increase in international trading.
ECK Education
