Personal Computer (PC) is probably one of the most important and momentous inventions in history. This is particularly true in the fields of technology and electronic devices, where PC has almost single-handedly been the symbol of the entire industry. For about three decades – from the late 1970s until about four or five years ago – PCs rise and dominance seemed unstoppable. And then, in a span of just a few years, it all changed. Today, the tech pundits and the public at large are in agreement: PC, although not definitively dead, is on its way of fading into the background of the technological innovations, much as did the radio, TV, and record player in the past.

This short book is a probing and in-depth look at the advent of the “post-PC world.” Matt Baxter-Reynolds takes us on a tour of the main features of both the PC and the post-PC devices. He tries to distill a few salient features of each of these categories of devices and based on those come up with the lessons that are worth pondering. Today, more than ever before, a book on technological change is poised to become obsolete within months of its publication, and in order to postpone this obsolescence as much as possible, Baxter-Reynolds tries to keep device-specific discussion to a minimum. You will not find much in this book in terms of screen sizes, chipsets, peripherals, etc. – the usual fare of topics you get from your favorite consumer electronics blog. Since Baxter-Reynolds’ background is in tech consulting, a fair amount of space in the book is dedicated to the considerations that tech professionals and managers will have to deal with in the course of their professional lives. One of the central points of this book is that what is more important than any particular device is the kinds of social interactions and connections that it enables us to achieve. Online social networks are a part of this trend, but by no means the only, or even dominant, way that we relate to each other socially through the technology.

The book is very well written, and its’ very accessible to a wide spectrum of readers. This is not a book by a geek for other geeks, but a rather thoughtful and user-friendly primer for anyone interested in gaining more insights from the recent technological trends.

One topic that I wish were covered in a greater detail is that of cloud computing. I believe that the advent, the power and the ubiquity of cloud applications and services is one of the main driving forces behind the death of the PC and the rise of light “front end” devices that let us connect to the Cloud.

This is an informative and interesting book that I would strongly recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in technological trends. It would be especially useful to the professionals who depend on the deeper understanding of these trends as a part of their job.