Computers are undergoing a severe face lift, and, despite the fact that everything goes bigger and more powerful, it seems that the future machines will be designed with simplicity in mind. While industrial systems could be based on IBM's breakthroughs in optoelectronics, the average computer user could end up using the web-based technology brought into tiny machines such as Asustek's Eee PC.

The incredible success of Asustek's Eee ultra-mobile notebook is mostly due to its extremely low cost. Although mid-range technology is becoming more and more affordable, in the near future the IT industry could be conquered by small-form factor devices, with an on-desk laser keyboard and a projector to substitute for the LCD display.

The vast majority of the computer users are neither gamers, nor hardcore professionals that require huge amounts of processing power. They are simple end-users who need to get their job done with minimal costs and effort.

Celluon's USB laser keyboard can substitute for any regular keyboard, and at the same time it takes less desktop space and is easier to clean out. The tiny device maps a virtual keyboard onto the user's desk, then converts the end user's tactile movements into the corresponding electrical signals.

This is not only practical, but it also solves other issues related to a conventional keyboard, such as germs or huge amounts of dust and crumbs that accumulate over time. Cleaning up such a keyboard is an extremely simple task that can be performed with a furniture spray and a piece of cloth.

Moreover, users won't need extra horsepower, as many of the existing applications are already ported to a web version. The Google Docs word processing suite and Adobe's Photoshop online software are just few applications that can be freely and remotely used.

Solid-state drives are extremely appealing, but users could completely give up on local storage. Most of the applications already save their data online, then let the user access it whenever an Internet connection is available, independently of the user's operating system. Web-based applications will also be automatically updated to the latest available version by professional server administrators, offloading the user the hassle of performing administrative tasks.

The only part that is missing is a web-based operating system to support all the infrastructure. However, this shortcoming can be easily solved by using a central server with an operating system with the client computer running as a terminal.