• Silicon Republic at al., Thursday, March 4, 2010 1:03 PM

Think your company was getting a handle on digital marketing, or at least the pace at which the market was evolving. Then consider this statement from Google Europe boss John Herlihy: "In three years time, desktops will be irrelevant."

Google's VP of Global Ad Operations says that cloud-computing will soon guarantee that every mobile device will be capable of handling the most advanced applications, thus demoting desktops to doorstop status.

Well, "If your data moves to the cloud, and most of your daily online activities are done on devices such as the Nexus One and the iPad ... then yes, desktop PCs as we know them now will become a lot less important," writes Mashable. "On the other hand, not many users are ready to ditch the desktop just yet."

"Big bulky desktops are disappearing, of course, but that's hardly a new development," writes PC World, adding, "It's likely the conventional PC will have a longer, healthier life than Google anticipates."

Herlihy's comments echo those made last month by Google CEO Eric Schmidt. "Here, right now, we understand the new rule is 'mobile first' in everything," he said at the "Mobile World Congress," conference. Within three years, sales of smartphones will surpass sales of PCs, according to research cited by Schmidt at the times.

Still, Google's awareness of this fundamental shift doesn't necessarily guarantee its future success, notes Don Dodge, who recently transitioned from Microsoft to Google, where he serves as a "developer advocate."

"Platform shifts happen every decade or so in computing," writes Dodge. "The leaders of the previous generation are rarely successful in dominating the next generation platform ... Another platform shift is happening today, from PCs to Mobile devices, and another industry leader will be left behind."

Google, it should also be noted, is presently endeavoring to establish Android as a preferred mobile operating system among consumers and developers.

What's more, writes PC World "Google's strategic focus on cloud computing and connectivity is visible in every project the company undertakes, be it online productivity apps like Google Docs or an experimental fiber broadband network."

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