Apple appears to be doing everything it can to accelerate the demise of the PC as we know it, and I say “go for it!” It’s not just Steve Jobs’ rabid resistance to using Flash on the iPhone. It is a series of decisions by Apple to shift attention from the PC form factor to a broad array of touch sensitive devices. It will start at the World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) where, for the first time, the design awards will be granted to iPhone and iPad AppStore submissions only.

I was directed to one thought provoking rationalization of the phenomenon by Charlie Stross here. But the idea that the PC will be left behind (or at least marginalized) in the Recombinant Communications era was made even stronger when Microsoft, itself, endorsed HTML5 in conjunction with the H.624 as the prescribed video codec rather than a Flash player as part of the forthcoming version of Internet Explorer (IE9).

Disputes about specific players, mobile platforms and device form factors are here to stay. As a matter of fact, it may be a desired state in that it should be the goal of every content and service provider to enable end-users to define how, when and where they gain access to the Internet and Web-based services. Fragmentation and mobility are a given.

At the recent Mobile Voice Conference, I was impressed how the community of attendees – many of whom were Voice User Interface experts and specialists – had made the transition to advocacy of multichannel and multimodal interfaces. Google gets it. So does Nuance. And now Apple and Microsoft are making it clear that the interface of the future will try to make it as seamless as possible to carry out conversations that transcend space, time and modality.

In the coming weeks, Opus Research will be working with our clients and others to make sure that high-quality customer care remains part of the equation. In June, we will start with a Webcast and White Paper, produced in conjunction with SpeechCycle, called “Recombinant Communications: Extending Care to Anywhere Customers”. While we call them “Anywhere Customers”, we’re really out to capture the idea that they are calling the shots and it starts with them selecting the time, place and nature of their interactions.

Categories: Articles

Tags: customer care, Webcast, SpeechCycle, Apple, Recombinant Communications