4 ms·

With every passing day Windows is becoming more and more irrelevant - iPads, Chromebooks, non-Windows SmartPhones/Tablets etc. are really the future of consumer

With every passing day Windows is becoming more and more irrelevant - iPads, Chromebooks, non-Windows SmartPhones/Tablets etc. are really the future of consumer computing. So it isn't as far fetched as it was few years ago that OEMs will successfully back Ubuntu/Fedora/Android/ChromeOS and give consumers a laptop that can do everything Windows does for them today. The only holdouts would be power users that rely on Windows software and the Enterprise users - they aren't the majority user base of Windows though.

Moto7451 13y ago
This is true but it's not going to happen that quickly. Traditional computers are still where "serious" work like homework is done. In my experience anyone who does more than spend time looking up recipes and checking out Facebook considers their phone to be too limited for "real" work. Some people might be happy with a bluetooth keyboard and a tablet but clearly the billions of dollars in sales of traditional PC hardware shows that the desktop is here to stay for a while. My point, basically, is that no one is going to look back at history and say "Microsoft purchasing Nokia's phone division was the end of the desktop PC." They're going to look at the release of the iPhone and then the time that Android, iOS, Win Phone, etc became just as good (i.e. no one thinks "should I use my iPhoneLapDocTop or my Windows Laptop") for general purpose computing as Windows and OS X every were. I think cloud services and "dockable" phones with proper large screen UI/UX will be key to that. I'm pretty excited about that, assuming it happens, as I sometimes find my MBPr too large but my iPad too limited for some things like interviewing potential hires. Using the same core for each would be very handy, but I've digressed. Also don't discount those holdouts. The fact that Windows gained so much of a foothold in the home because it was what people are/were using in the office. The Mac OS, even if it was 100 times better that Windows at any given time didn't have that ubiquity. Smart phones have the benefit of being in everyone's pocket, but until your boss/HR sets you up with a brand new iAndroidPhone OS laptop for work Windows will still have that crutch to lean on. IMO the patient is terminal but the prognosis is a drawn out death that might be lived on by Windows Phone if any of this works out.
- slurry 13y ago
  I'm old enough to remember a time when minicomputers and mainframes were where 'serious' computing was done. Microcomputer platforms like Windows and Linux gradually cannibalized their way up until practically nothing was left. It seemed impossible and stupid at the time but it happened. I'm not predicting that mobile platforms will make the same inadvisable climb, but I'd be a little surprised if they didn't.
- dvmmh 13y ago
  It'll happen very quickly. Soon your phone will be dockable and you will be able to use a full sized keyboard/mouse/monitor.

Moto7451 13y ago

This is true but it's not going to happen that quickly. Traditional computers are still where "serious" work like homework is done. In my experience anyone who does more than spend time looking up recipes and checking out Facebook considers their phone to be too limited for "real" work. Some people might be happy with a bluetooth keyboard and a tablet but clearly the billions of dollars in sales of traditional PC hardware shows that the desktop is here to stay for a while. My point, basically, is that no one is going to look back at history and say "Microsoft purchasing Nokia's phone division was the end of the desktop PC." They're going to look at the release of the iPhone and then the time that Android, iOS, Win Phone, etc became just as good (i.e. no one thinks "should I use my iPhoneLapDocTop or my Windows Laptop") for general purpose computing as Windows and OS X every were. I think cloud services and "dockable" phones with proper large screen UI/UX will be key to that. I'm pretty excited about that, assuming it happens, as I sometimes find my MBPr too large but my iPad too limited for some things like interviewing potential hires. Using the same core for each would be very handy, but I've digressed. Also don't discount those holdouts. The fact that Windows gained so much of a foothold in the home because it was what people are/were using in the office. The Mac OS, even if it was 100 times better that Windows at any given time didn't have that ubiquity. Smart phones have the benefit of being in everyone's pocket, but until your boss/HR sets you up with a brand new iAndroidPhone OS laptop for work Windows will still have that crutch to lean on. IMO the patient is terminal but the prognosis is a drawn out death that might be lived on by Windows Phone if any of this works out.

slurry 13y ago
I'm old enough to remember a time when minicomputers and mainframes were where 'serious' computing was done. Microcomputer platforms like Windows and Linux gradually cannibalized their way up until practically nothing was left. It seemed impossible and stupid at the time but it happened. I'm not predicting that mobile platforms will make the same inadvisable climb, but I'd be a little surprised if they didn't.
dvmmh 13y ago
It'll happen very quickly. Soon your phone will be dockable and you will be able to use a full sized keyboard/mouse/monitor.