MANILA, Philippines — At the risk of sounding like that computer industry executive who allegedly ridiculed the idea of a computer in every home, I think the PC will be with us for quite a while.

So while that executive found it incredible that the computer, which that time was so large it needed the whole room to itself, could ever end up gracing every consumer's abode, some people like this middle-aged columnist believe the world would have had ended before the PC goes away.

Of course, the iPad has proved immensely popular. But selling a hundred million units doesn't mean Apple's tablet computer has dealt the PC market its death blow. Ultimately, of course, something will come, a new technology perhaps, or a new computing platform with a design or user interface, or both, we have yet to imagine.

It could be the tablet computer. It could be something else. But the thing is, the personal computer, desktop and laptop (as well as the netbook), will be with us for the foreseeable future.

PC Market Grows, Slightly 

Growth is growth, no matter how puny.

So, although market research firm Gartner lowered its sales forecast for the PC market in 2012 to 4.4 percent increase, this shows that the market still has some legs. This means PC vendors will sell some 368 million units.

Meanwhile, analysts, such as Shaw Wu of Sterne Agee, are predicting that Apple will sell at least 55 million units of the iPad in 2012, driven by the recently launched new iPad.

Is it just me, or do people no longer know which figure is bigger?

Of course, Apple earns a lot more from every iPad it sells than a PC vendor from every computer it sells. Still, I wonder why almost everybody is trumpeting the imminent dying of the PC market when consumers and businesses are buying hundreds of millions of units of desktops and laptops each year.

Perhaps, it is because the PC is a lot less sexy than the iPad?

OnLive, In Trouble?

So, Microsoft has found OnLive violating the software company's licensing rules.

OnLive, as most iPad and Android tablet owners know, offers hosted Windows and Office software remotely to tablet users. It provides free services, but users have to pay a fee to access a cloud-based full-featured Windows desktop and Office experience.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before OnLive's business model catches the attention of Microsoft's copyright-protection radar. But even before Microsoft could issue a warning, Gartner analysts had warned IT managers that OnLive Desktop might not be in full compliance with Microsoft's licensing policies.

Microsoft is reportedly encouraging OnLive to rectify the situation and comply with the software company's licensing rules.

Meanwhile, Nivio offers nDesktop, a similar service. The company streams Windows to all types of computing machines, such as Macs, PCs, Google Chromebooks, as well as tablets.

Nivio also claims its service is fully compliant with Microsoft's licensing policies.

Oracle Launches Advanced Analytics

Oracle has added the Advanced Analytics option for Oracle Database 11g that packages Oracle R Enterprise with Oracle Data Mining. Since its launch in 1995, Oracle R Enterprise has gained more than 2 million users.

Oracle Data Mining empowers customers to construct and deploy predictive analytic applications that help them gain insights into their businesses' performance.

That's all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.