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What does this mean? With a personal computer I can do anything I want, for my own benefit. With an iPhone I can do what Apple gives me permission to do, subjec

What does this mean? With a personal computer I can do anything I want, for my own benefit. With an iPhone I can do what Apple gives me permission to do, subject to what benefits them.

amelius 2y ago
Simply put, your iPhone contains your life. Whereas a PC is often just a tool, which can be used by multiple people in principle.
- ghaff 2y ago
  I'm not sure I know what that means. Yes, I use my iPhone as a camera but I download pics just as with a dedicated camera on a regular basis. I did break one a year or so back but, given reasonable backup practices, it was no different than breaking a PC or it failing.
- agallant 2y ago
  It's interesting you say "just" a tool - I think the median reader here sees tool as an inherent part of what "computer" means. I'm not trying to dismiss your perspective here, I think you have a real point about the intimacy and personal importance of modern smartphone usage. From a layperson perspective, you're absolutely correct that these deliver on the promise of "personal computer." But to those who choose to spend more time learning and understanding them, computers are (very flexible) tools, and specifically they're tools where you get to choose the computation being performed. This is why, to me at least, (most) mobile devices simply can't be "personal computers." Smartphones and tablets are still useful to people with that perspective - but I see them not as a computer but as an appliance. I turn it on, I turn it off, I maybe get to fiddle with a few knobs, but most of it is a black box that hopefully "just works." And hey, I like that convenience - as long as it's not the only way I have to interact with technology. So, it may seem pedantic, but I think it is worth distinguishing true general purpose computers from phones. They are absolutely personal - a "personal smart appliance", if you will, but not a personal computer at the end of the day.

What does this mean? With a personal computer I can do anything I want, for my own benefit. With an iPhone I can do what Apple gives me permission to do, subject to what benefits them.

amelius 2y ago

Simply put, your iPhone contains your life. Whereas a PC is often just a tool, which can be used by multiple people in principle.

ghaff 2y ago
I'm not sure I know what that means. Yes, I use my iPhone as a camera but I download pics just as with a dedicated camera on a regular basis. I did break one a year or so back but, given reasonable backup practices, it was no different than breaking a PC or it failing.
agallant 2y ago
It's interesting you say "just" a tool - I think the median reader here sees tool as an inherent part of what "computer" means. I'm not trying to dismiss your perspective here, I think you have a real point about the intimacy and personal importance of modern smartphone usage. From a layperson perspective, you're absolutely correct that these deliver on the promise of "personal computer." But to those who choose to spend more time learning and understanding them, computers are (very flexible) tools, and specifically they're tools where you get to choose the computation being performed. This is why, to me at least, (most) mobile devices simply can't be "personal computers." Smartphones and tablets are still useful to people with that perspective - but I see them not as a computer but as an appliance. I turn it on, I turn it off, I maybe get to fiddle with a few knobs, but most of it is a black box that hopefully "just works." And hey, I like that convenience - as long as it's not the only way I have to interact with technology. So, it may seem pedantic, but I think it is worth distinguishing true general purpose computers from phones. They are absolutely personal - a "personal smart appliance", if you will, but not a personal computer at the end of the day.