Is the laptop and personal freedom dead?

[devilsadvocate]

Originally Posted by wodin

And "laptops" are increasingly replacing "desktops"!

So I would think a more relevant question would be “Is the desktop dead?”

Mainstream media has been proclaiming the death of the desktop since 2005. Hasn't happened yet, for the same reason the iPad will never replace laptops; they serve different purposes.

[speedlever]

what for? optical media is as dead as the desktop.

Do any work with Quicken or do you keep it all in the cloud?

[Worldwalker]

As of the last time I looked, my desktop, my laptop, and my netbook all worked just fine. So I'd say no, they're not dead. Even if for some reason (like my netbook manufacturer having forgotten that we Linux users even exist) I can't update one of them, it still does what I bought it to do, so it's still not dead.

[devilsadvocate]

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

Even if for some reason (like my netbook manufacturer having forgotten that we Linux users even exist) I can't update one of them, it still does what I bought it to do, so it's still not dead.

That netbook wouldn't by any chance be an Acer Aspire One, would it? ******* GMA500 Poulsbo garbage chipset; learned that lesson the hard way. If it's GMA950 (or newer), updating Linux drivers shouldn't be too hard.

[boxcorner]

Originally Posted by queentess

... Notebook: notebook-sized (in the U.S., that's about 8.5" x 11") ...

Approximately the same size as A4 paper.

[HansTWN]

Actually, hardware has just caught up to allow full OS's in small packages. The Asus EP121 is the first example. A really powerful computer that in tablet form. Sure, the battery life is only 3-5 hours, but this a Windows 7 system. With the Sandy Bridge processor you could get 6-8 hours out of it. Meaning we will finally tablets without compromises. Great for work and great for entertainment. I would rather buy something like that, that can function as a real laptop replacement and is a much better media device than Android or IOS can ever be. I have enough devices as it is.

So the tablet factor will live on, but those giant "phoneless" phones of today will be like the PDA's of old --- destined to die out when better hardware for real computers becomes cheap enough.

[Anke Wehner]

Originally Posted by queentess

For instance, notebooks usually don't have a cd drive, but it's because the size prohibits it.

I thought it was netbooks that had no CD drive, while notebooks had one?

[arkietech]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Actually, hardware has just caught up to allow full OS's in small packages. The Asus EP121 is the first example. A really powerful computer that in tablet form. Sure, the battery life is only 3-5 hours, but this a Windows 7 system. With the Sandy Bridge processor you could get 6-8 hours out of it. Meaning we will finally tablets without compromises. Great for work and great for entertainment. I would rather buy something like that, that can function as a real laptop replacement and is a much better media device than Android or IOS can ever be. I have enough devices as it is.

So the tablet factor will live on, but those giant "phoneless" phones of today will be like the PDA's of old --- destined to die out when better hardware for real computers becomes cheap enough.

Hope you are right HansTWN!

[devilsadvocate]

Originally Posted by Anke Wehner

I thought it was netbooks that had no CD drive, while notebooks had one?

That's correct.

There's probably a difference depending on where the speaker lives but at least here in the States:

Notebook = Laptop, and

Netbook < Notebook in terms of size.

The name "netbook" came about because it was thought that, with their lighter weight and lower power, they would primarily be used to surf the 'Net. After personally seeing people with gargantuan 19" laptops doing nothing more than Facebook and email I can see where they would get that impression.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by Namekuseijin

It's not dead, but I couldn't care less for laptops, iPads and even my trusty and powerful Linux desktop after I bought my very handy Android smartphone. posting from it, btw...

Yes, me to, with one exception. When, in the course of my official duties, I need to authenticate to something with my CAC (Government issued smart card), I need a platform that supports the smart card reader, and has the supporting middleware and encryption.

The only phone that is supported is Blackberry, and my boss doesn't think I'm important enough to have a Government issued Blackberry; so I have to use a Windows PC. I usually use my netbook, but tether my HTC EVO 4G for the data connection.

[Namekuseijin]

Originally Posted by devilsadvocate

The name "netbook" came about because it was thought that, with their lighter weight and lower power, they would primarily be used to surf the 'Net. After personally seeing people with gargantuan 19" laptops doing nothing more than Facebook and email I can see where they would get that impression.

yup. Plus, with that tiny keyboard, unless you're a kid surfing the web is your only bet really. Tablets just get that out of the way altogether.

strangely enough, I've had a far easier time with the virtual swype keyboard in my smartphone than with the damned tiny and useless netbook keyboards... I can only imagine it's the same with tablets...

[Namekuseijin]

Originally Posted by speedlever

Do any work with Quicken or do you keep it all in the cloud?

last I checked, I still had 6 GB worth of free card space -- and certainly web storage is always welcome. In any case, I don't do any Quicken, but I suppose documents in it wouldn't take gigabytes, right?

[wodin]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Actually, hardware has just caught up to allow full OS's in small packages. The Asus EP121 is the first example. A really powerful computer that in tablet form. Sure, the battery life is only 3-5 hours, but this a Windows 7 system. With the Sandy Bridge processor you could get 6-8 hours out of it. Meaning we will finally tablets without compromises. Great for work and great for entertainment. I would rather buy something like that, that can function as a real laptop replacement and is a much better media device than Android or IOS can ever be. I have enough devices as it is.

So the tablet factor will live on, but those giant "phoneless" phones of today will be like the PDA's of old --- destined to die out when better hardware for real computers becomes cheap enough.

Yes, that's exciting. Much better than my rather crippled Asus Eee T91 MT. It still has some issues though:

1. Price
2. Battery life
3. Size/weight, my netbook is more portable than this

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by Anke Wehner

I thought it was netbooks that had no CD drive, while notebooks had one?

Originally Posted by devilsadvocate

That's correct.

There's probably a difference depending on where the speaker lives but at least here in the States:

Notebook = Laptop, and

Netbook < Notebook in terms of size.

The name "netbook" came about because it was thought that, with their lighter weight and lower power, they would primarily be used to surf the 'Net. After personally seeing people with gargantuan 19" laptops doing nothing more than Facebook and email I can see where they would get that impression.

It's a little fuzzier than that. Generally, a true netbook has a different screen resolution (more scrolling), less memory and a netbook processor (ie, Atom). Many of them run XP or a stripped down Vista / Win7. There are some extremely small laptop/notebook computers with full or HD resolution screens, more memory and a more powerful (though still CULV) processor. They don't have optical drives, but they aren't true netbooks either. I'm typing this on one right now - a Dell Inspiron 11z.

I wanted the smallest laptop I could find that was not a netbook, and this fit the bill. With the battery upgrade, it gets up to 6 hours on a charge (in reality, not just on paper). I've owned a lot of computers over the years, and this one is by far my favorite.

[boxcorner]

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

... Some people must be able to do work on tablets, though, because companies are buying them by the thousands ...

Not just companies. 12,000 school children, plus 800 teachers, in this département of France, have been given iPads, pre-loaded with 50 applications, plus equipped with protective covers, at a cost 1.8 million €uros, which included installing WiFi in the schools, and setting up the necessary support infrastructure. Lucky kids, and nice business, if you can get it!

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

... Many of them run XP or a stripped down Vista / Win7 ...

Also, some run Linux, for example:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ok#post1335776 Post #5