And there's always personal preference. I like to stay , so I'll always prefer a machine I can open up and tinker with. But that didn't stop me from picking up Apple's iPad on launch day, or from ogling every smartphone and wunder-tablet announced at CES.

But the world of desktops is changing, and ARM and the system on chip (SoC) architecture appears to be the future. Microsoft is on board, having recently announced that Windows will be jumping on the . And with Nvidia's "" out in the open, it's becoming increasingly clear that the desktop world's major players are moving in that direction too.

I can't pretend to know what the future of computing holds, but as long as we need ample raw power, or a versatile tool we can upgrade to fit the latest trends, the desktop -- or something like it -- will remain alive and well.