Anyone watching the MS-BN announcement?

[stonetools]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

Are you saying that there are more people with tablets than people with laptops and/or desktops?

Not yet. Ten or twenty years from now, who knows?

Some perspective: PCs have been around since the late 1970s. The IPad went on sale in 2010.

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

she needs a device that you can insert a CD or DVD into and install software.

very, very quickly going away.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by stonetools

Not yet. Ten or twenty years from now, who knows?

Then you can't say that the "overwhelming majority of consumers" chose tablets.

Originally Posted by stonetools

Some perspective: PCs have been around since the late 1970s. The IPad went on sale in 2010.

The differences between the current tablets and PCs are form factor and specs, but they are still computers, and much more powerful than anything that was around in the 70s.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by stonetools

I would say that there are lots of users like you (I'm a laptop owner, myself , by the way). I'm also saying that there are lot of consumers-probably the majority -who simply don't need and don't want to deal the complexity and options of a laptop (shocking, but true ). For such folks, a tablet will be sufficient.
There will still be a lot of folks that need a PC for work purposes, but they'll use them at work. At home, most consumers will lean back with a tablet , smartphone, e-ink reader , game console, smart TV or some other type of post PC device. If they have a hobby, where they need to do something like advanced video or graphics editing , then they'll buy a laptop.
As for multiple devices, people will own as many devices as they wan tand can afford. Its imoportant to realize that you don't actually NEED any of these devices. There's a billion Chinese who don't own any of these devices- including the "MUST HAVE" laptop-and yet they somehow go on living.

I guess my only point of contention is that it seems you divide people up into two groups: people who "need" a pc for work, and everyone else, who will be satisfied with an iPad, or other tablet (I'm sure I'm oversimplifying your position, so I'll apologize in advance). I think there is, and will continue to be, a huge (and yes, "huge" is just as vague as "most" or "lots") chunk of the population that "want" more than a "post-PC" device for things that have nothing to do with work. Any human being that has any specific piece of software dealing with a hobby, specific games, or other, niche, interest, is unlikely to find satisfaction in any app market. Yes, there are "lots" of people who have only marginal use for their devices, and will be satisfied with a limited-use device. And there are "lots" of people who will buy a product because it has a specific logo on it, and then spend hours finding work-arounds for its limitations. But there are also "lots" of people who will never be satisfied with a device that has reduced capabilities.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by ScotiaBurrell

very, very quickly going away.

What is very quickly going away? The need to install software? I disagree.

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by stonetools

Could it be that for the average consumer removeable storage options are unnecessary on mobile devices? Quelle horreur!

Probably true that there are people who have the iDevice that wish for a SD...and...that there are people with an iDevice that don't know they don't have an SD.

And for those that wish for it -- its probably the third or forth most important thing.

Originally Posted by hrosvit

Because Grandma wants to run one of thousands of specific programs that have no app in the Apple or Android market. Grandma doesn't need a high end graphics card or HDMI; she needs a device that you can insert a CD or DVD into and install software. Someone needs to come up with that device. (Actually, someone already did; it's a laptop. But we're operating under the assumption that everyone wants a tablet).

To add to that:

It's 2012 and that grandma may have been programming Cray supercomputers in the 1980s, a retired electrical engineer, or (if you insist upon gender stereotypes) a secretary who used computers throughout her career. Grandma doesn't see modern computers as complex simply because she has used computers that were far more complex.

Or maybe she uses computers because she likes using computers. She may use it to write books, do photography, play some of the more sophisticated games, or maybe even write that next great app for her tablet. Grandma may be getting on in age, she may even gripe about the pains of growing old, but she is just as creative and engaged with the world as she always was.

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

What is very quickly going away? The need to install software? I disagree.

via cd and dvd...yes. going away.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by ScotiaBurrell

via cd and dvd...yes. going away.

That may be your experience; again, I disagree. How are people going to be installing software? Or are we all only going to have apps to choose from?

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

That may be your experience; again, I disagree. How are people going to be installing software?

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...load-windows-7

[heySkippy]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

That may be your experience; again, I disagree. How are people going to be installing software? Or are we all only going to have apps to choose from?

I bought a laptop with no optical drive a couple weeks ago without any hesitation whatsoever. It's been several years since I installed software with physical media.

If the need did arise, I still have an option. The laptop can use our desktop machine's optical drive as its own over the network. That said, I would wager that I'll never use that feature.

Physical media is dead, it just hasn't quite realized it yet.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by ScotiaBurrell

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...load-windows-7

Windows 7 Ultimate is about a 2.3GB ISO file. Hope no one that wants to download it is buying data from one of the major wireless providers, because they're going to blow their data allotment out of the water. Nothing left for streaming Netflix this month! Until we have nationally available broadband, or until wireless broadband eliminates data caps, downloading software is not a universal option.

Additionally, we are discussing the fact that people need/want laptops or desktops to install software not available from app markets. The fact that it can be downloaded does not support the assertion that people don't need PCs anymore. Yes, I realized there are other methods of installing software. That's not the issue; the issue is that the software is un-installable. Regardless of the method delivery, you can't install Windows on an iPad or an android tablet. That's the point; not that an optical drive is necessary.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by heySkippy

I bought a laptop with no optical drive a couple weeks ago without any hesitation whatsoever. It's been several years since I installed software with physical media.

If the need did arise, I still have an option. The laptop can use our desktop machine's optical drive as its own over the network. That said, I would wager that I'll never use that feature.

Physical media is dead, it just hasn't quite realized it yet.

That's not the point. Regardless of the method of delivery, people often need the capability of installing software. We are discussing that apps don't entirely replace software.

[ScotiaBurrell]

Apps are software. And if you can install OS over Internet, soon be able to install anything over Internet.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by ScotiaBurrell

Apps are software. And if you can install OS over Internet, soon be able to install anything over Internet.

I think I may not be expressing my point adequately. I understand apps are software. And I understand that you can download apps or other programs over the internet. Neither of those are in dispute. The issue is that a large proportion of the tablets in existence are inadequate for (insert your own quantitative amount) people, because they do not allow unfettered installation of software. In other words, "They don't make an app for that". Every piece of specialty software will not make its way into the app market. And it will, therefore, be necessary to have a different device than the tablet.