How many here currently use a smartphone or tablet as their primary computer?
About 3 weeks ago, unexpectedly, I booted up my MacBook Pro (2010 model) and it would get stuck on the boot-up screen. I did take it to an Apple store and had someone look at it. They ran tests and found no issues with the hardware or software. They even reinstalled the latest version of macOS, but my computer still gets stuck on the boot-up screen, making it unusable. Prior to this happening, my computer was working almost flawlessly. Perhaps I should consider myself lucky that I’ve gotten 8 good years out of it.
As it was, I was eligible for a phone upgrade going back a year and a half, but it was something I had just been putting off until a few weeks ago. I decided it would either be a new phone or a new laptop, but certainly not both. I decided to upgrade my phone over buying a new laptop. I wound up trading in an iPhone 6 for an iPhone 8 Plus. I do love the bigger screen that the Plus sized iPhone has.
For the past 3 weeks, I have used my phone as my primary computer. In a way, I don’t miss having a laptop. A smartphone works as good as a computer and you can carry it in your pocket.
This has me thinking, are laptop and desktop computers eventually going to become obsolete as more people are using smartphones and tablets for the same functions for which computers have been used for several decades?
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last comment^^^For now you still need traditional computing devices if you run a business either small or large. Most of the traditional business software is only available in scaled down versions on the platforms you are referencing.
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I haven't had a desktop in years, but I still use my laptop. I like the bigger screen. And it weighs next to nothing. I have the MacBook Air.
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Probably but I'll keep using my desk top at home until they take me outta here in a body bag. I live the big screen and size of the letters, etc. I only use my smart phone when I really need to away from home.
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I have an iMac with a 27" screen. Great computer. Great graphics. Great keyboard. Much better than my iPhone for watching porn.
I have an iPad with a smart keyboard, which makes it a handy substitute for a laptop. I seldom use my MacBook Pro.
There is still a place for desktop computers.
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Desktops are practically obsolete now unless you're doing higher-end sound/video editing. Laptops are still widely available, but I see things shifting to tablets and cloud computing. After that, who knows.
You can connect a laptop or tablet to a large monitor, by the way.
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I use a laptop and dock it when at my home base.
There are reasons to still use desktops -especially if you are using a workstation as opposed to a standard PC.
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Great question. I have a work laptop, a laptop at home, a Samsung Note 8 and a few tablets. I've stopped using the tablets, I've converted my laptop at home to a laptop docked to a large monitor for the kids, set up my wireless printer to work with my phone and essentially turned my phone into my main computer. If I really need to use a laptop which is hardly ever, I'll use my work laptop for it.
I think its worth noting that the rise of phablets are making even tablets irrelevant.
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I have 2 abaci, a slide rule, plenty of papyrus and a fountain pen.
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^^^Not an inkwell and a quill? ;)
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If you own a business, a computer is still a necessary tool for the reasons 25 said.
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*I should clarify my opinions or for consumer use of computers. For computers at work, desktops/towers I do believe are irrelavent now and laptops can do the job.
For my office, we have converted essentially every one to laptops (docked to multiple monitors and other peripherals), from support staff, to software programmers and server admins. Laptops are built with appropriate specs depending on need, and if anyone needs anything more powerful than that, they remote into virtual machines with beefier specs.
It also seriously helps out with business continuity plans to have everyone moved over to more portable VPN capable machines over desktops.
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I agree with the statements above that computers are still relevent in a business setting. In a consumer setting, there really isn’t much need for laptops or desktop computers any more. It probably won’t happen any time soon, but I think eventually technology will advance to the point where laptops will become obsolete even in a business setting.
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@Flagooner hardly needs any computational power for surfing TUSCL and his baking recipes.
Real men still need powerful CPU/GPUs for scientific applications and software development.
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I need to adjust the amounts when scaling down recipes.
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I don't see laptops going away anytime soon. I use them heavily in my business of course, but my kids also use them for a variety of school projects and have been training on them in school for years. Tablets are fine for goofing off online, but they just don't compare with respect to keyboard functionality, screen size, available software or computing power.
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Agreed, a nice keyboard and display makes a huge difference for anything other than just goofing around on the web IMO.
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No, often others like me need the extra processing power and capabilities of laptops and yes even desktops for scientific computing or software development. Or more likely the software tools we want to use are only available on what used to be called a microcomputer. Or the jobs can be performed faster and more efficiently on one.
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I only use desk tops.
Lap tops or okay, but only when really needed. Keyboards are smaller.
The rest of it is just too small and too limited.
SJG
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There will probably be something of a mix between a phone, watch, and desktop that becomes our next portable machine
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But that will probably be decades from now
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No, not anytime soon.
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My laptop was stolen almost 2 years ago from my place while I was in Tijuana so now I just use my phone and my tablet.
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We can do away with physical desktops any time. I build deployments in the cloud all the time. Many of my customers have their staff access virtual machines from any internet connected device from anywhere.
There are docking stations for phones that attach to a standard keyboard, mouse and monitors. Connect your phone and access a full Windows desktop hosted in the cloud. Wireless or cellular tablets are used all the time to access virtual Windows desktops. I can do my job as long as I can find an internet café with an available terminal.
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No. Phones and tablets can also takes photos and videos but dedicated equipment does a better job. Same thing with traditional computers.
Even gaming consoles can't kill off PC gaming completely.
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I'm old enough (maybe too old) to remember the history of recorded music. The 10" 78rpm, the 45rpm, the LP 33 1/3", the 8 track, the cassette, the CD and, now, the MP3. We don't know what's next for recorded music. Same with computers. The UNIVAC computer that was sorting the answers for 1950s quiz shows took up almost a floor in NBC headquarters at Rockefeller Center in NYC. That same capacity is now in a laptop. We may see the computer become a wrist watch, if that hasn't already happened.
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This is funny bc my teen son just recently asked for a gaming computer. I will probably go w a desktop, since a separate monitor and key board are better for gaming. Also, desktops are better for upgrading.
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I have 2 smartphones (iPhone / Android) windows laptop, and a powerful micro desktop with dual 27 monitors and nice surround speakers.
On the road I seem to never break out the laptop as the phone can do just about anything the laptop can.
At home I am always at my desktop creating documents, excel files, etc. so a desktop is essential. And porn, movies and music, YouTube, internet browsing at home is so much better on a desktop.
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For scientific applications I still say there is room for better coding languages and run time environments.
I know all about Mathematica, MatLab and D-Space, but I still say there is room for better. Not everyone is going to agree on what that should look like though.
Want more and better for simulations, for real time control, and for real time media.
SJG
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"This is funny bc my teen son just recently asked for a gaming computer. I will probably go w a desktop, since a separate monitor and key board are better for gaming. Also, desktops are better for upgrading."
Depending on how old he is, my advice will be different. If he's somewhere like 16, I'd tell you to just get a laptop in that $800-1k price range. That way, he has a powerful machine that he can play video games on and have more processing power to use photoshop, windows documents, etc for college. His laptop should still be relevant through his college years. Desktops can be a hassle to carry from place to place. If you do go that route, perhaps build one together. It could be a good bonding exercise
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Also, you can get a quality monitor on the cheap these days. That way you get dual screens and should increase productivity
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I'm no tech expert for sure, but seems laptops have taken a much bigger chunk from desktops than smartphones have from laptops or desktops - there seems to be a bigger difference b/w a smartphone and a laptop than a laptop and a desktop - i.e. for many applications; not much difference b/w a good laptop and a good desktop except a laptop is more mobile and one is not chained to a desk to use a fully-functional computer.
The smartphone is def the most versatile in terms of mobility - easier/more-comfortable to use anywhere like lying in bed or even sitting on the toilet taking care of business.
I prefer the versatility of a laptop, mainly a full-keyboard and large(r) screen - others say one can connect a monitor and keyboard to a phone but that's already a computer so off the bat I don't see the advantage if one still wants/needs peripherals - I would not wanna write a review on a smartphone and it would seem very frustrating.
I assume most young people probably don't see a need for anything more than a smartphone - but then again if one is doing heavy schoolwork such as researching and writing research-papers it seems it would be much-less efficient on a smartphone - a smartphone seems great for quick tasks but IMO not so much for involved work.
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"I assume most young people probably don't see a need for anything more than a smartphone - but then again if one is doing heavy schoolwork such as researching and writing research-papers it seems it would be much-less efficient on a smartphone - a smartphone seems great for quick tasks but IMO not so much for involved work."
You're not going to get college-aged kids using their smartphones to do school work. You'll need access to a computer for that, in general. What they can do is use apps and digital books to read their textbooks and do flashcards on-the-go. You're still going to need a current smartphone along with a decent computer these days if you're college-aged
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No matter how much electronics and opitical technology advance, human fingers and eyesight remain unchanged.
I say that small mobile devices are a bad idea.
SJG
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I use desktop w/2 monitors for work, laptop at home, tablet/phone for portability. The thing I don't like with the tablet/phone is you only get the lightweight website. If you are only surfing, it's ok, but if you are doing web research or even shopping as in home depot, walmart etc., it's much easier on pc or laptop.
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@lol, that’s a good point. The desktop won’t be portable, but I got lucky. It turns out that the desktop my ex put together for me will do fine, and just needs an upgraded video card.
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^
Looks like you're all set then. Do plan on getting your son a laptop when he's off to college. If he takes the desktop with him, a $500 laptop should do just fine. That way, he can go to the study bubbles with his laptop and won't have to be a loner being on his desktop all day in the dorm room. I've known some people who only had a desktop with them
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Yes, but it will be a few years. My favorite set up was a laptop with a docking station that had two monitors. It’s so much nicer to work off a desktop, but I could take the laptop w me when I needed to. When he goes to college, I’ll prolly keep this desk top. My ex built it for me so that I could pay bills, and play the sims lol.
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I laughed when I read the OP's "traditional." Computers - of any kind - and cellular telephones are both very new phenomena. I grew up in a world where "computers" were electro-mechanical constructions that usually required an entire multi-story building to house. Telephones, in my youth, were mechanically dialed devices wired to fixed locations and
"party lines" were still common.
To proclaim any type of cellular device, wireless communication, or portable computer, as traditional, simply ignores the last 40 years of constant and dramatic change. My first "cell phone" came with a bag to hold the battery (good for about ONE hour of use) and a cord between the hand held portion and the bag. The first portable computer I used came in a travel case on wheels, about 4 feet square, and operated off of a 51/4" floppy disc with enough memory for several letters or a single spreadsheet.
The current rage of smaller and smaller portable computers AND larger and more capable combination cell phones, will certainly "meet" with a "merger." But that will NOT be the end of innovation. Already, flexible screens threaten the "big" screen phones and the lightweight computers with a significant change in format. I am guessing that even the flex screen will soon be surpassed by functional projection 3D (holographic) tech.
Even that is NOT the "future" for communication and computing. Several of the "big" companies in phones and computing attempted computer "glasses" and tiny phones just over a decade ago. Both failed - then - but the concept is not "wrong." I am predicting that, within the next 7 to 10 years, some form of "over the eye" (adjustable lens sunglasses or contacts) viewer will be combined with "shirt pocket" sized wireless/cellular device and virtual "keyboard" to create the "ultimate" combo communication computer. (which will, of course, be surpassed in a decade or less by something none of us can predict!)
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