Boston Linux & Unix (BLU) Home | Calendar | Mail Lists | List Archives | Desktop SIG | Hardware Hacking SIG
Wiki | Flickr | PicasaWeb | Video | Maps & Directions | Installfests | Keysignings
Linux Cafe | Meeting Notes | Blog | Linux Links | Bling | About BLU

BLU Discuss list archive


[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[Discuss] Future of Personal Computers



> On Mar 12, 2012, at 10:07 PM, markw at mohawksoft.com wrote:
>>
>> The laptop is dead too, tablets will become the new laptops. Bluetooth
>> keyboards and mice, plus a master USB port, will make them more usable
>> than laptops. Android will make them price competitive.
>
> I disagree.  Tablets are all about convenience.  They make checking mail
> or Facebook convenient.  They make watching movies and TV convenient.
> They make buying games and content convenient.  Just about everything
> someone does with a tablet instead of something else he does so out of
> convenience.  Tablets are convenience appliances, plain and simple.
> Things that aren't convenient, like keyboards and mice and
> batteries/chargers for same, aren't used by the vast majority of tablet
> users and never will be.

This is where I disagree. A "tablet" is just a laptop without a keyboard,
but it is a better paradigm for mobile use. The tablet UI in its current
form sucks and is only good for being a tablet, but I can imagine a tablet
the size of my laptop.

Also remember, computer guys like ourselves view work on a computer 
differently than others. With a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, a tablet
will be just fine for how most people use computers.

Here's a use case:
Imagine a writer writing a book or article, or even a blog. He doesn't
care about technology. He uses a blue tooth keyboard and mouse (hell,
maybe not even a mouse) he types his book just as he would a laptop. He
researches the web, he uses it for email, skype, etc. All things a tablet
can mostly do right now. He flies or takes the train, he can hold the
tablet and edit the copy conveniently without a keyboard.

Gets in the office, props the tablet on a stand, it's his main computer.

Who needs the laptop?

>
> --Rich P.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss at blu.org
> http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>





BLU is a member of BostonUserGroups
BLU is a member of BostonUserGroups
We also thank MIT for the use of their facilities.

Valid HTML 4.01! Valid CSS!



Boston Linux & Unix / webmaster@blu.org