4 ms·

I wonder if we're heading for a split in computing devices: the hackers and "content producers" will get stuck lugging laptops around while everyone else uses p

by aristus 17y ago

I wonder if we're heading for a split in computing devices: the hackers and "content producers" will get stuck lugging laptops around while everyone else uses pocket computerphones. That's kind of depressing.

pavlov 17y ago
The notion that smartphone and netbook users are merely passive consumers of commercial content strikes me as somewhat elitist, or at least not fully thought out. Taking photos and videos is a major use case for phones, dumb and smart variations alike. A substantial portion of that material ends up being published one way or another, even if just to a circle of friends. That's content originated on a phone. Similarly, Windows netbooks quickly displaced the early Linux-based attempts mainly because people wanted to run Office and other familiar apps. What is writing a Word document if not content production?
- aristus 17y ago
  It's not elitist at all. I meant a split between people who cary non-pocketable devices and those who cary pocket devices as their primary computers. A netbook falls in the first category. We already have a class of professionals who use Blackberrys as their primary device. Presumably more professions will follow. But programmers, graphic designers, modelers, etc, may not be able to make the jump if they require more power/input speed/screen area than a pocket device can provide.
Zak 17y ago
I don't think so. The popularity of netbooks suggests that the consumer market still wants a keyboard that supports touch typing and a screen big enough for... I'm not actually sure. Multi-paragraph documents like letter-length emails and news articles, perhaps? Larger laptops seem to be left at home most of the time. 15" seems to be the upper end of what people carry around. Even as a member of that content-producer class, I'd be annoyed by a larger laptop. I just went for a 15" with a higher resolution screen.
MaysonL 17y ago
I think that with the development of small projectors and virtual (perhaps also projected) keyboards, that you'll be able to hack fairly well with a pocketable machine (probably 3-10 yrs off mass availability).

by aristus 17y ago

pavlov 17y ago

The notion that smartphone and netbook users are merely passive consumers of commercial content strikes me as somewhat elitist, or at least not fully thought out. Taking photos and videos is a major use case for phones, dumb and smart variations alike. A substantial portion of that material ends up being published one way or another, even if just to a circle of friends. That's content originated on a phone. Similarly, Windows netbooks quickly displaced the early Linux-based attempts mainly because people wanted to run Office and other familiar apps. What is writing a Word document if not content production?

aristus 17y ago
It's not elitist at all. I meant a split between people who cary non-pocketable devices and those who cary pocket devices as their primary computers. A netbook falls in the first category. We already have a class of professionals who use Blackberrys as their primary device. Presumably more professions will follow. But programmers, graphic designers, modelers, etc, may not be able to make the jump if they require more power/input speed/screen area than a pocket device can provide.

Zak 17y ago

I don't think so. The popularity of netbooks suggests that the consumer market still wants a keyboard that supports touch typing and a screen big enough for... I'm not actually sure. Multi-paragraph documents like letter-length emails and news articles, perhaps? Larger laptops seem to be left at home most of the time. 15" seems to be the upper end of what people carry around. Even as a member of that content-producer class, I'd be annoyed by a larger laptop. I just went for a 15" with a higher resolution screen.

MaysonL 17y ago

I think that with the development of small projectors and virtual (perhaps also projected) keyboards, that you'll be able to hack fairly well with a pocketable machine (probably 3-10 yrs off mass availability).