Computer trends are changes or evolutions in the ways that computers are used which become widespread and integrated into popular thought with regard to these systems. These movements often begin with one or two companies adopting or promoting a new technology, which grabs the attention of others and becomes popular. Both hardware and software can be a part of computer trends, such as the development and proliferation of mobile devices including smart phones and tablets. Changes in the Internet, the development of new websites, and the expansion of cloud computing models are likely to be similar software trends throughout the early part of the 21st Century.
Much like changing fashions in clothing, trends in computers indicate the types of technology or concepts that are popular at a given time. This can occur in a number of ways, including a company introducing new technology to a market and customers finding that they can use certain products more effectively than others. As these changes happen, computer trends typically evolve and grow over time, so that popular technology one year, may be considered outdated the next. Identifying the next major trend, and finding a way to get in on it ahead of time, can be substantially profitable for companies that work with technology.
Computer trends often involve hardware and the development or release of something new and innovative. The proliferation of smart phones throughout the first decade of the 21st Century, for example, is a major hardware trend that has changed the way in which many people access information. Mobile phones had already been established in the year 2000 as a major commodity and had gone beyond the niche item they may have been seen as in the 1980s. The development of smart phones in the years that followed, and their release as affordable products, established one of several major trends in which portability became a marketing factor for hardware developers.
Different types of software are often involved in computer trends, since applications people use tend to evolve and change over time. Although the Internet has been around since the late 20th Century, the way in which it is used and how information can be presented on it continues to change. Developments in Internet coding and viewing continue to make its growth a major trend in the computer industry.
Computer trends with software often involve the way in which information is accessed and shared. Systems like cloud computing and similar methods for data storage and file sharing are likely to continue to grow and develop throughout the 21st Century. New applications for communicating, sharing information with family or business partners, and using every facet of innovative hardware are going to be popular for years to come.