WATCH: The evolution of the desktop

 

 

Less has indeed become more in the last 34 years, as far as the office desktop is concerned.

 

Don't believe it? A video produced by the Harvard Innovation Lab shows how office equipment has shifted from the physical to the virtual from 1980 to 2014.

 

The Harvard design team's video, originally published by Bestreviews.com, shows the "steep shift from cork boards and fax machines to pinterest and PDFs."

The video was created by Anton Georgiev and Doug Thomsen.

 

"We wondered what it would be like to recreate the desktop from the 1980s and then emulate its transformation through the computer age. We wanted to illustrate how technology has changed our world, un-cluttering our desks and simplifying our lives. while gradual change from year to year is often hard to perceive, a longer snapshot gives us a much more dramatic view of the technological progression we have experienced," said BestReviews.com.

DesignBoom.com, which also featured the video, said the last 35 years has paved the way for digital apps for everything from world mapping to paying bills, "completely recontextualizing the tools we use in the workplace."

 

The video starts in way pre-Internet 1980, with a desktop computer at the center, surrounded by a corded phone, Rolodex, a fax machine, and a calculator. A corkboard and calendar are on the wall.

 

In 1984, the desktop computer was replaced by the laptop, which took up a bit less space and whose programs can now replace some office equipment like many paper-based documents, the calculator and calendar.

 

Eventually, office apps take the place of the fax machine, while Internet-based services like Blogger and Facebook replace the diary and Google Maps replaces the physical globe.

 

By 2014, nothing much but a laptop and a smartphone are they physical equipment left on the desktop and the clutter is now mostly virtual.

 

DesignBoom said the team based its videos on "actual vintage items" that were purchased through individual sellers online, or found "abandoned an(d) unused in basements and at garage sales."

 

Disagreement

 

But not all quite agree that uncluttering the desk is all good.

 

Michael Chusid said it would not be all good to have a bare desk, as the eye "is not meant to focus at one distance all day."

 

"As I write this, I am on my fast, small computer. But my desk is also covered by toys, water cups, pill bottles, scraps of paper torn from magazines, notes scribbled on legal pads, a wallet, business cards. Analog calendars and clocks help me visualize the time in a real context. A picture that inspires me does not blink off," Chusid explained.

 

Frances added that while the clutter is gone, they might be replaced by gadgets needed "to make work more enjoyable," such as noise-canceling headphones and smart watches.

 

"In a world of increasing consumerism, I doubt clutter-free exists," she said.

 

Inaccuracies

 

Commenter Joey Lopez also pointed out some inaccuracies in the video:

 

 

On the other hand, Claudia wondered where the cords and power outlets are. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News