Your Computer Is Dead.

The computer that many of you are reading this post on is astounding in it's sheer power; able to do things undreamed of only 30 years ago. It can do hundreds of different things in the blink of an eye. It's a testament to all of the hard work done by thousands of engineers and programmers over decades of development.

It is also a piece of junk.

You may already be saying this about your old desktop or slow laptop, but that's not what I'm talking about. Modern computers are Jacks-of-All Trades; able to do hundreds of different things reasonably well. Most users, however, only use their computers for a handful of basic things: Web, email, photos, Facebook, music and general office duties. That means that the majority of the time, all of that horsepower and most of the programs on your computer go unused. (We're talking about the 80% of everyday computer users here; not gamers, programmers, tinkerers or other enthusiasts.)

Operating systems and programs have become bloated and unwieldy. A modern Windows or Macintosh computer needs a minimum of 2GB of RAM to run without bogging down and a minimum 4GB to really make things smooth. A default install of Windows 7 or Mac OS X takes up an astonishing 7GB of hard drive space.

With all of this power and bloat, we still do basically the same things we did with our computers 10 or even 15 years ago, and we don't do them any faster than we did back then.

Why? Because everything is too damn confusing.

It's not that the computer can't do it - its that after 30 years of innovation, the way we interact with our computers is still backwards; we train ourselves to think like the computer instead of the computer thinking like we do. The point-and-click interface introduced back in the 1980s is still the standard that we use today. There are too many menus and too many options. The filing systems for our data are too confusing to navigate without help.

Apple was one of the first companies to recognize this dilemma, and in 2007 they came up with a much simpler interface for use on the iPhone; a design philosophy that was quickly copied by others in the industry, the latest of which is Google's new Nexus One smartphone.

Microsoft also made an attempt to simplify things back in November of 2007 with their new Office suite. It featured a "ribbon" interface that did away with dozens of pull-down menu options. Although confusing at first, the new "ribbon" interface is actually easier and more intuitive.

The "smartphone" is leading the way in human interface design. Portability and ease-of-use are the new trends in computing, and on January 28, 2010, Apple introduced a device that will ultimately change everything.

That device, of course, is Apple's new iPad. At first glance it appears as nothing more than an oversized iPhone, and this is where everyone gets it wrong. You see, its not about the iPad at all; it's about the iPad's operating system and user interface.

Pull-down menus? Gone. Point-and-click mouse interface? Gone. A bewildering array of options and settings? Gone. File system with folders inside of folders inside of folders? Gone. Sluggish performance with a bloated OS and programs? Gone.

This device is going to re-define how we do our everyday computing tasks. Every function of this device can be achieved with the touch of your fingers. It is brilliant in its simplicity. People who have no idea how to operate their computers can pick up this device and figure it out in a matter of minutes. No instruction manual needed. Touch, swipe, squeeze, stretch, twist and tap - all things that we do with our fingers every single day.

If you haven't already seen it, watch the keynote presentation where the iPad is introduced. Watch the whole thing if you want, but I really want you to skip right to 57:50, where Phil Schiller demonstrates Apple's iWork office suite. This is where the true brilliance of the interface is revealed. Without a mouse or keyboard, Phil Schiller edits a document, a spreadsheet and a presentation. Touch, swipe, squeeze, stretch, twist and tap. That's it. No pull-down menus, no confusing options or settings, no key combinations to memorize. Everything happens instantly.

The iPad is not the end-all be-all device of the future. It is the beginning of what's coming: interfaces that are clean and simple, commands that are intuitive, controls that are effortless. Watch as both Windows and Mac OS are transformed in the coming years to this new paradigm. Sure, there will still be traditional desktops and laptops for people who really need them, but for everyone else, this is going to be the future.

I, for one, can't wait.