New Delhi, Aug. 23 -- Even after a long journey through the decades-from room-sized computers to mini-computers to micro-computers- the personal computer is still defined by its physical sprawl. While the desktops have shrank and the laptops have become thinner, the idea of a PC implies a certain footprint. HP's new EliteBoard G1a challenges that assumption with an unconventional idea. It's a complete Windows PC built into a keyboard. Yes, you read that right.

It's an idea that evokes the Commodore 64 era from over four decades ago, but HP's execution is unmistakably modern. The EliteBoard G1a isn't a quirky nostalgia play; it's a serious, enterprise-grade machine, and after spending a couple of weeks with it, I realized that this unusua...