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Can't recall where I heard this recently, a podcast I think, there was a CS professor talking about undergrad introductory programming classes. He said that ab

Can't recall where I heard this recently, a podcast I think, there was a CS professor talking about undergrad introductory programming classes. He said that about 5 years back his students stopped coming in with experience using a PC because they'd only been using phones/tablets. So the prof said it was kind of like going back ~25 years when not a lot of incoming students had PC experience either.

ghaff 4y ago
Was talking to someone at work and their kid didn't want a laptop because they were fine with doing papers on their phone. Blows my mind (and that of others) but I guess that's where we are. Interesting situation. I never touched a PC until after college. But, yeah, there was at least a period where basic "computer literacy" was expected. Maybe things have shifted again.
- ar_lan 4y ago
  I, and most of us on here, are likely power users of computers, and beyond my job, they are a big portion of my hobby as well. I acknowledge I'm in a unique situation where I run a home lab and so I have a local cloud, but because of that, I can effectively do 100% of my job off an iPad Pro (I don't want to for quite a few reasons, but I could). If I didn't have my home lab, I could get close by deploying my OS on AWS/Digital Ocean/etc. and have the same effect (though latency would drive me nuts eventually + internet connectivity issues - though this would break my job anyway). If I weren't coding, I'd probably entirely switch to the iPad. I do all my document editing on it. I do my code reviews on it, architecture planning, etc. I could realistically see the average consumer never needing anything more powerful than something like an iPad Air. I complpetely believe we will head to the era where the only hardware the average consumer needs includes: * Great resolution screen * Great internet connection * Great input controls * Minimal CPU/RAM to run a robust, hardened portal to cloud services iPads are basically beefier versions of even that.
  - ghaff 4y ago
    >iPads are basically beefier versions of even that. I'm happy using a good Chromebook for most things but I've never found an iPad--even with external keypad--to be an adequate substitute for anything involving text editing.
    - ar_lan 4y ago
      Yeah - it's a specific implementation of the general idea. Chromebooks essentially fit the same bill. I just happen to have an iPad (and I do most arch design with a stylus so the Apple Pencil is fairly crucial to my workflow). I'm fairly happy with the magic keyboard with it, but understand different preferences!
      - ghaff 4y ago
        Yeah, I don't really draw much and I'm used to a mouse/touchpad for editing so it's probably a matter of what I'm used to. Also, at events I often want a laptop on my, well, lap and tablets+keyboard don't work as well for that.
matheusmoreira 4y ago
I rarely see people who can touch type quickly on keyboards these days. Even members of my generation can't seem to do it anymore.
- ghaff 4y ago
  I never learned touch typing--I basically never used a typewriter until college and a word processor afterwards. (Nor any formal shorthand.) But I still am a pretty fast typist so long as I can look at the keyboard and get frustrated in a hurry even doing searches--much less editing--on a tablet. I know people who even write a lot who can handle doing it on a tablet with an external keyboard but I'll travel with a laptop rather than trying it.

ghaff 4y ago

Was talking to someone at work and their kid didn't want a laptop because they were fine with doing papers on their phone. Blows my mind (and that of others) but I guess that's where we are. Interesting situation. I never touched a PC until after college. But, yeah, there was at least a period where basic "computer literacy" was expected. Maybe things have shifted again.

ar_lan 4y ago
I, and most of us on here, are likely power users of computers, and beyond my job, they are a big portion of my hobby as well. I acknowledge I'm in a unique situation where I run a home lab and so I have a local cloud, but because of that, I can effectively do 100% of my job off an iPad Pro (I don't want to for quite a few reasons, but I could). If I didn't have my home lab, I could get close by deploying my OS on AWS/Digital Ocean/etc. and have the same effect (though latency would drive me nuts eventually + internet connectivity issues - though this would break my job anyway). If I weren't coding, I'd probably entirely switch to the iPad. I do all my document editing on it. I do my code reviews on it, architecture planning, etc. I could realistically see the average consumer never needing anything more powerful than something like an iPad Air. I complpetely believe we will head to the era where the only hardware the average consumer needs includes: * Great resolution screen * Great internet connection * Great input controls * Minimal CPU/RAM to run a robust, hardened portal to cloud services iPads are basically beefier versions of even that.
- ghaff 4y ago
  >iPads are basically beefier versions of even that. I'm happy using a good Chromebook for most things but I've never found an iPad--even with external keypad--to be an adequate substitute for anything involving text editing.
  - ar_lan 4y ago
    Yeah - it's a specific implementation of the general idea. Chromebooks essentially fit the same bill. I just happen to have an iPad (and I do most arch design with a stylus so the Apple Pencil is fairly crucial to my workflow). I'm fairly happy with the magic keyboard with it, but understand different preferences!
    - ghaff 4y ago
      Yeah, I don't really draw much and I'm used to a mouse/touchpad for editing so it's probably a matter of what I'm used to. Also, at events I often want a laptop on my, well, lap and tablets+keyboard don't work as well for that.

matheusmoreira 4y ago

I rarely see people who can touch type quickly on keyboards these days. Even members of my generation can't seem to do it anymore.

ghaff 4y ago
I never learned touch typing--I basically never used a typewriter until college and a word processor afterwards. (Nor any formal shorthand.) But I still am a pretty fast typist so long as I can look at the keyboard and get frustrated in a hurry even doing searches--much less editing--on a tablet. I know people who even write a lot who can handle doing it on a tablet with an external keyboard but I'll travel with a laptop rather than trying it.