Post-PC? (Full Version)

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shallowdeep -> Post-PC? (3/7/2012 2:31:49 AM)

With the announcement of the next iPad universally expected within hours, I thought it might be an opportune chance to try a thread about perceptions of a post-PC era. To say that touch interfaces have become popular in recent years is a slight understatement. Sales of traditional personal computers have been flat in comparison, even on a worldwide basis. In the US, the decline has been more pronounced. Given the trend, unit sales of tablets will likely overtake those of PCs soon, perhaps even as early as next year – at least according to some speculation. So far, tablets typically seem to find use as secondary, supplemental devices. But will that last? Is the PC becoming, almost paradoxically, both overpowered and obsolete? How much of your own computing could be handled on a tablet? What are things you do with computers that you think might not be possible on a tablet? What do you find most interesting or appealing about tablets? Would you personally welcome a post-PC world?



sunshinemiss -> RE: Post-PC? (3/7/2012 4:41:53 AM)

I was just having this discussion today with an economist.  We were talking about how we moved from auditory to visual (Video killed the radio star...).  She had just seen the movie The Artist which was wonderful fodder to begin.  The question then became - will we become more tactile oriented because of things like these tablets.  No real answers or hard core opinions were made, but we certainly had a spirited discussion. 

As a writer, though, I would like to say that a tablet must get much much more advanced for touch typing before laptops and their ilk go the way of the rotary dial phone.  Very little of what I do can be done on a tablet.  I COULD use skype on something like that, but I want a bigger screen to see my loved ones rather than a smaller one.

best,
sunshine



Moonhead -> RE: Post-PC? (3/7/2012 5:16:38 AM)

When it becomes easier to do word processing, spreadsheets, or any other form of data entry on a touchscreen than it is on a full size keyboard. then it can be assumed that the PC is well and truly dead. At the moment, though, the emphasis on pads is just for recreational use, and people still have a PC on their desk at work.



DaddySatyr -> RE: Post-PC? (3/7/2012 5:52:28 AM)

I have been saying for some time that I would look into a tablet when they made one that could "double" as my smart phone. I've noticed that there are a couple being advertised, now.

While I will definitely be looking into these tablets, I will have a PC for as long as I can keep getting them/the peripherals. There's something to be said (for me) for sitting down at my big computer/work desk, a nice 30 oz. cup of Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi© and my ashtray to my left, my headphones on, listening to some great heavy metal, and pounding out my thoughts and tidbits of "wisdom". To me, it's almost like a therapy.

My uncle has a tablet and I've messed around with it, a bit but for me, it has yet to be as functional as my PC is. True enough; my PC is not anything close to mobile but I kind of enjoy that about it, too. It "anchors" me (in a good way) to my task and it is appreciated by me to the point where I would be saddened, if I could no longer have a PC.



Peace and comfort,



Michael



DaNewAgeViking -> RE: Post-PC? (3/7/2012 6:23:44 AM)

I know several people who have them, and aside from in-your-pocket portability, they are a poor second to a real desktop (as are laptops, for that matter). Anyone who is a writer, artist, accountant, engineer, etc., will have a miserable time trying to work with a tiny hand-held bit of plastic. So the desktop isn't going away any time soon. As for the PC... I'm not surprised they are dying out because of their crappy so-called 'operating system' from MicroShit.
[sm=pc.gif]
Now Mac, on the other hand, is going strong. I don't have sales figures, but I can say that as a writer and artist (who does his own accounting) the Mac beats PC all to hell and gone. My guess is that as people give up on PCs, those who need real computers will switch to Mac. A friend of mine recently did, and he can't get enough of it.



DaddySatyr -> RE: Post-PC? (3/7/2012 6:34:30 AM)

Has Mac broken the 4% of total sales barrier, yet? Last time I heard they were selling at less than 4% of the total market which makes them statistically non-existent.

In fact, some time back, they changed their name to Apple Electronics (or something similar) instead of Apple Computers and rumor had it that they were giving up on computers and focusing on the iphone and ipod.

To say that the ipod/iphone saved MacIntosh (from what I remember hearing) is a gross understatement.



Peace and comfort,



Michael



LaTigresse -> RE: Post-PC? (3/7/2012 9:17:50 AM)

Last year I purchased the largest lap top I could get. In power, storage ability, speed, and screen size. I don't need a desktop computer and, given my house/office set up, do not want one. But for ME, a tablet would simply be a luxury. For what I do, there is NO WAY I could switch from laptop to tablet.

However, if a person doesn't need their computer to do what some of us require ours to do, I can completely see how a tablet would be able to substitute.



Moonhead -> RE: Post-PC? (3/7/2012 10:08:17 AM)

They've not.
Apple has, since the iPod started doing well, pretty well given up on the Mac to concentrate on the sort of fashionable but pointless trinkets big Jobs preferred.
Hopefully that'll change now that the twat's croaked and somebody who has a clue about engineering is running the company, but I'm not holding my breath.



DaNewAgeViking -> RE: Post-PC? (3/7/2012 10:25:48 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: DaddySatyr

Has Mac broken the 4% of total sales barrier, yet? Last time I heard they were selling at less than 4% of the total market which makes them statistically non-existent.

I don't have specific figures, but I heard that they're pushing around 15% market share, which ain't bad when you consider how many brands there are out there. (Computers are one thing, operating systems something else entirely.)

Yes, Jobs sent them off at a tangent into 'consumer electronics' which brought the company back when some shoddy products had them down around 4%, but their current line is neat, compact, and high performance. I have a Mac Mini, and it's a total kick-ass system - they are the industry standard in Hollywood, where they routinely deal with Godzillabytes of graphic data.
[sm=champ.gif]



DaddySatyr -> RE: Post-PC? (3/7/2012 10:31:05 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: DaNewAgeViking


quote:

ORIGINAL: DaddySatyr

Has Mac broken the 4% of total sales barrier, yet? Last time I heard they were selling at less than 4% of the total market which makes them statistically non-existent.

I don't have specific figures, but I heard that they're pushing around 15% market share, which ain't bad when you consider how many brands there are out there. (Computers are one thing, operating systems something else entirely.)

Yes, Jobs sent them off at a tangent into 'consumer electronics' which brought the company back when some shoddy products had them down around 4%, but their current line is neat, compact, and high performance. I have a Mac Mini, and it's a total kick-ass system - they are the industry standard in Hollywood, where they routinely deal with Godzillabytes of graphic data.
[sm=champ.gif]


Yeah, High tech audio and video have always been their stock-in-trade and rightly so. They're the best and have been for some time. My issues with MACs are their OS which is so small a percentage of operating systems that a good number of programs cost more for MAC format. The support is sometimes not as up-to-snuff, also.

I had a MAC, waaaaaaaaaay back in the day and hated the fact that it took 5 seperate re-affirmations to delete a single file (I think that was OS II but, I could be mistaken).

The good news is: PCs have closed the gap in the media production department of computers. I get excellent results with my PC and a free audio recording and editing program.



Peace and comfort,



Michael



Winterapple -> RE: Post-PC? (3/7/2012 10:45:37 AM)

FR
Tablets are fun for playing around on but they
don't replace computers for work stuff.
Word processing and things artists, designers, etc
need more than a tablet can offer.
And the larger screen is better for watching
films IMO. I don't think a tablet will ever
replace the pc for any number of things.
But I think tablets will become more
commonplace and have wider uses.



Moonhead -> RE: Post-PC? (3/7/2012 10:47:33 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: DaNewAgeViking
Yes, Jobs sent them off at a tangent into 'consumer electronics' which brought the company back when some shoddy products had them down around 4%

Really?
There was me thinking that Jobs' first act on being reinstated was to pull the plug on the Newton system (definitely CE, not a PC), about six months before the market for palmtops started going ballistic when the rather less impressive palmpilot launched.
Of course, that would have been a pragmatic, hard headed, business led decision of the sort Jobs was famous for, rather than a petty tantrum because the Newton was John Sculley's legacy to the company and John Sculley got him fired...



DaNewAgeViking -> RE: Post-PC? (3/7/2012 12:47:58 PM)

'Fraid I'm not familiar with all the Byzantine ins and outs of Silicone Valley. My maybe bad.
[sm=bury.gif]
Even so, the current Mac line leaves PC in the dust. My Mini is their bottom-of-the-line model, and it has far more kick for writing, Photoshop, web design, etc than I need. True the software can be pricey, but you're talking Adobe - worth every penny.
[sm=bowdown.gif]



LaTigresse -> RE: Post-PC? (3/7/2012 1:19:30 PM)

ACTually, I can get all the latest and greatest of the Adobe software for my non Mac laptop and it runs just fabulously.



Moonhead -> RE: Post-PC? (3/7/2012 1:39:13 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: DaNewAgeViking

'Fraid I'm not familiar with all the Byzantine ins and outs of Silicone Valley. My maybe bad.
[sm=bury.gif]
Even so, the current Mac line leaves PC in the dust. My Mini is their bottom-of-the-line model, and it has far more kick for writing, Photoshop, web design, etc than I need. True the software can be pricey, but you're talking Adobe - worth every penny.
[sm=bowdown.gif]

It's a while since I bought one, but I'm sure they do.
Apart from costing a couple of hundred quid over the odds for what it is, the Mini is a very nice machine indeed.



Exidor -> RE: Post-PC? (3/7/2012 1:48:49 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: shallowdeep
How much of your own computing could be handled on a tablet? What are things you do with computers that you think might not be possible on a tablet? What do you find most interesting or appealing about tablets? Would you personally welcome a post-PC world?


On a daily basis I do HTML coding, tons of text editing, some video editing, some graphic work, have three or four browser windows up on various sites and forums, a couple of editor instances, some tabs on each, my newsreader, an IRC client, mailer... two 28" widescreen monitors just don't cut it any more.

I could do *some* of that on a single low resolution 3.9" screen and a touchpad, but it would be about as delightful as slamming my genitalia in a desk drawer.

For a majority of people, squinting at some blurry YouTube videos, texting, and peering at a handful of phone-friendly web sites may be "using a computer", but no amount of blithering media propaganda will make it practical for much more than that.



yourdarkdesire -> RE: Post-PC? (3/7/2012 2:04:15 PM)

I had a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1" for a short period of time (it got stolen). I liked that I could be upstairs getting the kids ready for school and was still able to check out the weather, emails, etc. But it was a toy. Some of the games were great. I plan on replacing it when my tax refund comes in next week. I like the fact that is it small enough and user friendly enough that my 8 year old was able to use it quite competently. She will probably get her own for Christmas.



LadyHibiscus -> RE: Post-PC? (3/7/2012 2:12:44 PM)

I am enchanted with technology toys, but I am very trailing edge when it comes to actually getting them. I just got a gorgeous laptop with a big screen and a number keypad, and I am (mostly) enchanted with it. As an accountant, there is no software that Mac supports that I can easily use. Macs are lovely for what they are, but I will stick with my PC.

NOT looking forward to the potential upgrade of the office this summer... I need to up the system to 7 before 8 rolls out because it's a given that Windows 8 will be disastrous. I am not overjoyed with 7 but it's okayish.



yourdarkdesire -> RE: Post-PC? (3/7/2012 2:18:26 PM)

My PC lives in the days of the caveman - I run XP, and you can't give me enough money to "upgrade"



LadyHibiscus -> RE: Post-PC? (3/7/2012 2:25:07 PM)

My office is on XP... my issue is that I have to update software EVERY farkin year and I do NOT want to be forced to upgrade into 8!



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