4 ms·

The end of the PC era

2 points by mjfern 15y ago

pedalpete 15y ago
I am still wondering why we are calling this the 'post-pc era'. We didn't have the 'post-desktop era' when laptops became the most common form-factor for personal computers. Tablets and 'mobile devices' are different form factors. Different form factors often result in different hardware needs (we didn't have track-pads and batteries before laptops did we?). Those who are able to get these form-factor and hardware built and usable first experience an initially high sales volume. Compaq led the portable computer world for a few years when it was first introduced, Sony led the walkman market, etc. etc. Tablets are not the final form-factor, and the market is in it's infancy. Isn't a tablet just the extension of the PC market, rather than a completely new market? When I think 'post-pc' I think of a time when we'll be interacting with any object we touch, without needing to think it is a device of this sort or that.
- spitfire 15y ago
  Because this is a huge shift from the PC era. In the same way as shifting from mainframes to micro's was, and then again from micro's to PC's. Shifting from PC's to tablets again changes how and what we can do with computing.
  - pedalpete 15y ago
    Mainframes to micros/pcs were big shifts because it changed who owned and what you did with the technology. A company owned a mainframe, it wasn't yours. The microcomputer was yours, and I think the pc was just a grown-up version of the microcomputer. What is it that you are doing with your tablet that you can't/don't do with your laptop. They are more portable, but people clearly don't have a problem bringing their laptops to the coffee shop. I don't deny that there is a place for tablets. It is a great form-factor. Much better for surfing the web while on the couch. But is that enough to make the 'post-pc' era? They serve the same people and for the most part the same function as a pc. Therefore, I see it still as just another form factor of a pc. The people I know who have iPads (and one Xoom) surf the web with their tablets, maybe write the odd e-mail. Is the shift to the 'post-pc' era anywhere near as world-changing as the web? Can you elaborate on the 'how and what we can do with computing' that we couldn't do before?

2 points by mjfern 15y ago

I am still wondering why we are calling this the 'post-pc era'. We didn't have the 'post-desktop era' when laptops became the most common form-factor for personal computers. Tablets and 'mobile devices' are different form factors. Different form factors often result in different hardware needs (we didn't have track-pads and batteries before laptops did we?). Those who are able to get these form-factor and hardware built and usable first experience an initially high sales volume. Compaq led the portable computer world for a few years when it was first introduced, Sony led the walkman market, etc. etc. Tablets are not the final form-factor, and the market is in it's infancy. Isn't a tablet just the extension of the PC market, rather than a completely new market? When I think 'post-pc' I think of a time when we'll be interacting with any object we touch, without needing to think it is a device of this sort or that.

spitfire 15y ago
Because this is a huge shift from the PC era. In the same way as shifting from mainframes to micro's was, and then again from micro's to PC's. Shifting from PC's to tablets again changes how and what we can do with computing.
- pedalpete 15y ago
  Mainframes to micros/pcs were big shifts because it changed who owned and what you did with the technology. A company owned a mainframe, it wasn't yours. The microcomputer was yours, and I think the pc was just a grown-up version of the microcomputer. What is it that you are doing with your tablet that you can't/don't do with your laptop. They are more portable, but people clearly don't have a problem bringing their laptops to the coffee shop. I don't deny that there is a place for tablets. It is a great form-factor. Much better for surfing the web while on the couch. But is that enough to make the 'post-pc' era? They serve the same people and for the most part the same function as a pc. Therefore, I see it still as just another form factor of a pc. The people I know who have iPads (and one Xoom) surf the web with their tablets, maybe write the odd e-mail. Is the shift to the 'post-pc' era anywhere near as world-changing as the web? Can you elaborate on the 'how and what we can do with computing' that we couldn't do before?