In what's now called the post-PC era, I view my work PC as a utensil similar to a fork. Like most kitchen utensils a fork sits in a drawer until selected for limited-use tasks. The difference here is the Windows PC that adorns my work desk won't fit inside a drawer and it can't be cleaned quite as easily. But it has now been relegated to limited and specific-use purposes.
My work PC has become a casualty of the Apple iPad. I've foregone any effort to try and make Outlook work as a productivity solution and rely on OmniFocus, iCal and Apple's Address Book to maintain my schedule, manage projects and tasks and keep my contact register up-to-date. In addition to using my iPhone for personal communication, it has become a "pocket iPad" for personal and business productivity. Alas, my work PC has two functions: business email during business hours and one regular work task for which a conventional desktop or portable PC is still required.
Last week I purchased through the Apple app store the Mac version of OmniFocus for my iMac at home. It syncs with the iPad and iPhone versions of the product through MobileMe and it adds my project due dates into iCal. I now keep one calendar for all of my activities and commitments (personal and business) and it's constantly updated on all of my Apple devices.
Although the iPad 2 was introduced last week, for my uses the original iPad works just fine. There are plenty of uses remaining to be explored and none of those uses at this time require a camera nor a faster processor. I've been pleasantly surprised how many workday tasks can be accomplished more quickly, more easily and more productively on an iPad versus a conventional PC.
It's not that the iPad is a replacement PC. It's that the need for conventional PCs is being eliminated quickly. The conventional PC is becoming irrelevant through a process of consumer and enterprise selection. I just wish my workday fork could be cleaned of its issues and digital debris as quickly as the kitchen variety can be put through a dishwasher.
Robert Paul Leitao
