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I don't buy it. Many people do real work with a laptop as their only computer. They code, they word process, they process obscene amount of email, whatever. No

I don't buy it. Many people do real work with a laptop as their only computer. They code, they word process, they process obscene amount of email, whatever. No one used point-and-shoots for real work. No reporters, professional photographers, etc. used point-and-shoots, save maybe in very weird circumstances. The laptop isn't really a lesser desktop. It can do anything a desktop can do, but with slightly worse performance. It won't be until the iPad's input device is just about as good as a physical keyboard and you can code and word process effectively that it will be viable, and I think that's a long, long way off. Laptops fit much better into many people's lives than desktops as a primary computer, including power users. And a power user's primary computer can't just be good enough in most situations. Most importantly, there's a lot more power users of computers than there are of cameras, and that number is growing quickly. It won't just be a tiny niche of hackers that aren't ok with being physical-keyboardless whenever they're on the go.

cookiecaper 17y ago
Thank you. I love seeing sensible people in all of this. I hate it whenever Apple releases a new product, this extreme overhyping is customary. To be honest I'm excited for Apple's eventual downturn so I can stop seeing this hipster-fanboy-driven drivel any time the company does anything.
- electromagnetic 17y ago
  Agreed, as soon as Apple announces something all rational thought appears to go out of the window even amongst many respected commentators who should be making rational arguments. I love Apple products but the consumerism disgusts me. I find it difficult to even care about the iPad at all because I know in 6-months another version will be out with a bigger hard disk and some new gimmick I'm told I'm not supposed to do without simply to increase my data usage on the device so I'll later upgrade to the next model with the bigger hard drive (iPod Nano).
devindra 17y ago
Honestly, it seems like the desktop is more in danger of dying these days. Laptops have been far more compelling to average users for some time, especially with the rise of netbooks, and the increasing proliferation of cheap full-sized laptops. It's hard to even recommend desktops to users unless they're heavy gamers or dealing with hardcore media editing.
- potatolicious 17y ago
  It's hard to say - I think the future of the tower desktop is definitely suspect, but I see a lot of room for the all-in-ones like the iMac or HP's touch thingamajig. My folks are looking at getting a new computer - and right now I'm torn between getting them a laptop (and then making them buy a real monitor to work on), or just getting them the gorgeous 27" iMac. I mean, I could buy them a 27" IPS screen + a laptop or Mac Mini, but it seems almost pointless, and would likely be MORE expensive. I think it's safer to say that the hulking monstrosities of towers, with the requisite puddle of wires and incomprehensible operation - those are on the way out in a big way. A large segment of the population doesn't do any computing on the go - but have in recent years been buying laptops (and then just leaving them in one place) just for the simplicity and the ease of setup/use. If desktops can clone this (and the iMac has for the most part) and give a better user experience (almost guaranteed) there's a lot of room here.
- bartl 17y ago
  Five years ago, I bought a laptop instead of a desktop, just for the fan noise: at least, a laptop is quiet. I've never used it on the road. Just agreeing with you... and I am a programmer, not just a home user.
- Zak 17y ago
  I've never used a desktop as my primary computer. My first real computer was a laptop, in 1992. There are a lot fewer reasons to prefer a desktop now than there were then. I would stick with laptops even if I didn't travel with my computer, just so I could use it on the couch. I'm not an average user. I'm a programmer, and an occasional gamer. I have a laptop with a fast CPU, real graphics chip and high-resolution screen. Bought refurbished, it was still probably twice as much money as the average user spends on a computer.
bhseo 17y ago
I'm one of those people. My desktop is actually less powerful than my laptop (excluding the graphics card). I can do everything the desktop does with it, plus I can carry it with me in far-away countries.
joe_the_user 17y ago
I also was unaware that the camera had died... Maybe the very lowest end cameras have been replaced by the lowest end phones but as far as I can tell, higher-end cameras are doing as well as ever.
- Steve0 17y ago
  True, also lots of people just want a cheap and easy phone for everyday use; and a point and click for birthdays, my parents for example. I don't want to be carrying a 450€ phone with me all the time: it drops, gets dirty, gets lost or stolen.
- Zak 17y ago
  Same here. Most of my friends have a cameraphone and a point-and-shoot camera in the $150-300 range. One also has an SLR. Most of these people do not use the cameraphones significantly.
Zak 17y ago
I think the situation for the forseeable future will be that laptops are used for content creation, while tablets are primarily used for consumption. Students, traveling professionals and freelance creators of just about anything that's created on a computer will need a real keyboard, and often more computing power than is available in a tablet. Visual artists might like a tablet, but a different kind of tablet that's pressure-sensitive and uses a stylus. Apple might do well to create an iPad Pro that runs Photoshop and has a stylus.
pavel_lishin 17y ago
> The laptop isn't really a lesser desktop. It can do anything a desktop can do, but with slightly worse performance. Not even necessarily the case. I doubt I'd notice a performance difference if all I have open is a terminal window, a web browser and a text editor - which is usually all I need for work.

cookiecaper 17y ago

Thank you. I love seeing sensible people in all of this. I hate it whenever Apple releases a new product, this extreme overhyping is customary. To be honest I'm excited for Apple's eventual downturn so I can stop seeing this hipster-fanboy-driven drivel any time the company does anything.

electromagnetic 17y ago
Agreed, as soon as Apple announces something all rational thought appears to go out of the window even amongst many respected commentators who should be making rational arguments. I love Apple products but the consumerism disgusts me. I find it difficult to even care about the iPad at all because I know in 6-months another version will be out with a bigger hard disk and some new gimmick I'm told I'm not supposed to do without simply to increase my data usage on the device so I'll later upgrade to the next model with the bigger hard drive (iPod Nano).

devindra 17y ago

Honestly, it seems like the desktop is more in danger of dying these days. Laptops have been far more compelling to average users for some time, especially with the rise of netbooks, and the increasing proliferation of cheap full-sized laptops. It's hard to even recommend desktops to users unless they're heavy gamers or dealing with hardcore media editing.

potatolicious 17y ago
It's hard to say - I think the future of the tower desktop is definitely suspect, but I see a lot of room for the all-in-ones like the iMac or HP's touch thingamajig. My folks are looking at getting a new computer - and right now I'm torn between getting them a laptop (and then making them buy a real monitor to work on), or just getting them the gorgeous 27" iMac. I mean, I could buy them a 27" IPS screen + a laptop or Mac Mini, but it seems almost pointless, and would likely be MORE expensive. I think it's safer to say that the hulking monstrosities of towers, with the requisite puddle of wires and incomprehensible operation - those are on the way out in a big way. A large segment of the population doesn't do any computing on the go - but have in recent years been buying laptops (and then just leaving them in one place) just for the simplicity and the ease of setup/use. If desktops can clone this (and the iMac has for the most part) and give a better user experience (almost guaranteed) there's a lot of room here.
bartl 17y ago
Five years ago, I bought a laptop instead of a desktop, just for the fan noise: at least, a laptop is quiet. I've never used it on the road. Just agreeing with you... and I am a programmer, not just a home user.
Zak 17y ago
I've never used a desktop as my primary computer. My first real computer was a laptop, in 1992. There are a lot fewer reasons to prefer a desktop now than there were then. I would stick with laptops even if I didn't travel with my computer, just so I could use it on the couch. I'm not an average user. I'm a programmer, and an occasional gamer. I have a laptop with a fast CPU, real graphics chip and high-resolution screen. Bought refurbished, it was still probably twice as much money as the average user spends on a computer.

bhseo 17y ago

I'm one of those people. My desktop is actually less powerful than my laptop (excluding the graphics card). I can do everything the desktop does with it, plus I can carry it with me in far-away countries.

joe_the_user 17y ago

I also was unaware that the camera had died... Maybe the very lowest end cameras have been replaced by the lowest end phones but as far as I can tell, higher-end cameras are doing as well as ever.

Steve0 17y ago
True, also lots of people just want a cheap and easy phone for everyday use; and a point and click for birthdays, my parents for example. I don't want to be carrying a 450€ phone with me all the time: it drops, gets dirty, gets lost or stolen.
Zak 17y ago
Same here. Most of my friends have a cameraphone and a point-and-shoot camera in the $150-300 range. One also has an SLR. Most of these people do not use the cameraphones significantly.

Zak 17y ago

I think the situation for the forseeable future will be that laptops are used for content creation, while tablets are primarily used for consumption. Students, traveling professionals and freelance creators of just about anything that's created on a computer will need a real keyboard, and often more computing power than is available in a tablet. Visual artists might like a tablet, but a different kind of tablet that's pressure-sensitive and uses a stylus. Apple might do well to create an iPad Pro that runs Photoshop and has a stylus.

pavel_lishin 17y ago

> The laptop isn't really a lesser desktop. It can do anything a desktop can do, but with slightly worse performance. Not even necessarily the case. I doubt I'd notice a performance difference if all I have open is a terminal window, a web browser and a text editor - which is usually all I need for work.