[ale] So what do we do when the PC goes away?

[Jay Lozier]

On 10/31/2012 07:54 PM, Jim Lynch wrote:
> I keep reading that the pc is doomed and will die before long.  They 
> don't define long however.  All these smart devices like tablets, 
> phones and things yet to be invented will replace them.  Now it's 
> possible that 9th generation programming languages will take verbal 
> instructions to generate apps, but somehow I doubt it.  I shudder to 
> think how I'd develop a complex C++ app on a tablet or a phone.
>
>  A tablet can never replace my 22" screen.  After all I'm pretty sure 
> my vision will not improve in the future.  Are we going to have 
> eyeball implants that will send the screen directly to the brain? 
> Maybe type by thinking?  That seems dangerous given the way my mind 
> wanders off at times.  I'm thinking that a scantily clothed blond 
> wouldn't do at all in the middle of my database update.
>
> To borrow from the NRA, "I'll give you my keyboard and mouse when you 
> pry  it from my cold, dead hands."
>
> Jim.
> ****
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Short answer NO the traditional pc is not doomed.

Long answer there will a variety of niche devices that compliment the 
traditional pc and in some niches supplant it. Specifically I am 
referring to Kindles/Nooks and iPads because they can do content 
consumption very well compared to a pc or laptop. Smartphones have 
serious limitations because of their size and the fact that human 
fingers are not likely to get smaller. The main advantage of these 
devices is their portability, great for some and not so important for 
others. If any device will impacted my guess is not the desktop but 
laptops particularly when they are not used as portable desktop but a 
content consuming device. What will probably tip the balance is pricing. 
I understand MS has priced the Surface tablet at about $600 - 700; above 
a cheap laptop. If I want a portable device and can only afford to buy 
one I would buy a laptop becuase they are more flexible. However, I 
recently saw a low end Kindle for about $70 at Staples. Amazon appears 
to have a better grip on pricing than MS.

A consideration overlook by the blabbermouths is the more devices one 
most carry the more of a nuisance each one becomes One might find it 
better to carry a phone (generally very small) and the more flexible 
laptop than 4 or 5 separate smaller devices.

-- 
Jay Lozier
jslozier at gmail.com