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Do we really need PCs?

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Give me a call when there's a tablet that will allow me to keyword, post-process, and catalogue 21Mpx RAW images. Or join friends from around the world in some online flight-sim'ing or FPS action. Until then I'll continue to use the best tool for the job. :)
 
MoodyBlues said:
For me, I simply cannot imagine a tablet or phone replacing a full-sized keyboard and nice, big screen that go along with laptops (and desktops). The laptop I'm typing this on has a full-sized keyboard complete with numeric keypad to the right; it's able to be that big because of the size of its screen. I like that. I type fast, as in blazingly fast, and I just can't see that happening on a touchscreen--and DEFINITELY not on a phone! I managed to knock out one reply here on AF yesterday on my phone, and it took forever and I could barely see what I was doing. Ugh.

So, for me, it's PC all the way until they become obsolete. If I ever buy a tablet it'll be just for fun, as an adjunct to my REAL computers. (And by PC I mean "personal computer" not "personal computer running window$." *MY* PCs all run Linux. :D)
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The slow, but progressing step being taken by Asus and pretty soon Samsung is to produce dual-booting tablet/laptop AIO devices. Asus already has one out as of April and has another one on way. Samsung also has one coming soon. The ability to have both Windows 8 & Android on a single machine is a pretty interesting concept. Not exactly cheap though because you need two different sets of hardware.

If all you need is android, the Asus Transformer series offers A LOT more functionality than a traditional tablet does due to having a standard keyboard dock that contains a second battery and a touchpad mouse. I can do many things using mine, though not everything.
 
MoodyBlues said:
Not ALL of us ever needed micro$oft. Me, for example. :D I'm Linux only, and have been forever. UNIX before that. When I was forced (like at work) to administer some window$ machines, I'd PULL MY HAIR OUT because of the slowness, the lack of sophisticated built-in tools, the lack of security, the constant rebooting, etc. What I never understood was how/why M$ managed to convince the masses that their horrible, slow, bloated, virus-laden, so-called operating system was worth anything!
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Windows 3.1/DOS was pretty good, at least quick and sturdy, compared to XP which is what my out-of-service PC is still on. Seems each subsequent OS got heavier and less efficient.

I still want to fix my desk top because of the huge multimedia collection I have on several HDDs. But I have been dreading finding out how bad off it might be due to the frustrating slowness of dealing with it. :(
 
mrsmumbles said:
Windows 3.1/DOS was pretty good, at least quick and sturdy, compared to XP which is what my out-of-service PC is still on. Seems each subsequent OS got heavier and less efficient.
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I wouldn't say Windows 3.1 was pretty good. It was a clumsy and slow graphical shell sitting on top of dos. It was rather easy to bring it to a grinding halt, just open a dos window and format a floppy disk while doing anything else.
 
Codegerm said:
I wouldn't say Windows 3.1 was pretty good. It was a clumsy and slow graphical shell sitting on top of dos. It was rather easy to bring it to a grinding halt, just open a dos window and format a floppy disk while doing anything else.
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I guess I didn't do that. :D It crashed sometimes sure, but it recovered very fast compared to ME and XP. It was limber. :cool:
 
jhawkkw said:
The slow, but progressing step being taken by Asus and pretty soon Samsung is to produce dual-booting tablet/laptop AIO devices. Asus already has one out as of April and has another one on way. Samsung also has one coming soon. The ability to have both Windows 8 & Android on a single machine is a pretty interesting concept.
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Well, of course, for me, window$ would be gone in a flash. So it would be Linux and Android on one machine. :D
 
Codegerm said:
I wouldn't say Windows 3.1 was pretty good. It was a clumsy and slow graphical shell sitting on top of dos. It was rather easy to bring it to a grinding halt, just open a dos window and format a floppy disk while doing anything else.
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Yeah I lived through the whole lifecycle. I'd say the best Microsoft OS's were old-school DOS, XP Pro, and Windows 7. Everything else I've seen has pretty much sucked, although I haven't had much contact with Windows 8.
 
redpill2016 said:
Yeah I lived through the whole lifecycle. I'd say the best Microsoft OS's were old-school DOS, XP Pro, and Windows 7. Everything else I've seen has pretty much sucked, although I haven't had much contact with Windows 8.
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I happen to like it a bit. Its less annoying than Linux.
 
mrsmumbles said:
I guess I didn't do that. :D It crashed sometimes sure, but it recovered very fast compared to ME and XP. It was limber. :cool:
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Problem is when it crashed, it would often take your unsaved work with it. Might recover and boot quickly, but you lost what you done, unless you were hitting like "save" every minute. Don't think Word had document recovery in them days.
 
yea we still need PCs... cant imagine trying to type up 10-20 page essays on a phone lol. phones cant even begin to approach large screens for data analysis either. most of my CAD programs wouldnt run on the low end GPUs used by phones.
 
Seems a few in this thread are trying to compare PCs to phones. Which are totally different things of course. Jon the OP talked of using a tablet instead of a PC, and not a phone, specifically a 10 inch tablet. One thing, the screens on most phones are really too small to view full websites and large documents easily. It's messy IMO with pinching, zooming, tapping and a lot of scrolling.

This is what the full version of AF looks like on my 4.8 inch phone.
Screenshot_2013-09-23-18-51-57.jpg
It's zoomed in so can read it, but obviously a lot of sideways scrolling to be able to read the complete threads and posts. On a 10 inch tablet I dare say this would be no problem.

My father has done that, dumped his PC and just uses a 10 inch Samsung now. His needs are quite modest, mainly surfing, VOIP, email, viewing photos and playing music. Myself, I don't really need a PC when I'm travelling and staying a few days somewhere, a tablet, or even a smartphone would be fine. Although I do definitely need a PC laptop for my work and at home.
 
Slug said:
No? I would.... at the time it was bloomin' amazing! ;)
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I wouldn't say amazing either. The lowly Amiga 500 I had with its 7Mhz (yes that's right just 7) and only 1 meg of ram, would run rings around my 386DX-40Mhz with 4 megs of ram and windows 3.1.
 
mikedt said:
Problem is when it crashed, it would often take your unsaved work with it. Might recover and boot quickly, but you lost what you done, unless you were hitting like "save" every minute. Don't think Word had document recovery in them days.
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Word was a total PITA. Word Perfect had its own GUI in DOS, and it would save your work. I hated Word in Dos, and I still miss "reveal codes"
 
I still need a desktop. My embroidery and sewing software does not run on Android. Since I use a tablet mostly, I need to sit at a desk.
 
zuben el genub said:
I still need a desktop. My embroidery and sewing software does not run on Android. Since I use a tablet mostly, I need to sit at a desk.
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Didn't you say once that your embroidery machine software would only work on XP? - not on a later version of Win and certainly not on Android or a Mac. Like because the original company either no longer supports it or is out of business?
 
mikedt said:
Didn't you say once that your embroidery machine software would only work on XP? - not on a later version of Win and certainly not on Android or a Mac. Like because the original company either no longer supports it or is out of business?
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What does that prove? Android is a new OS but we cant even get updates for our devices.
 
mrsmumbles said:
What does that prove? Android is a new OS but we cant even get updates for our devices.
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What has that got to do with "Do we really need PCs?" The guy apparently has some legacy machinery that only works with PC control, which is quite common.

What device have you actually got? If it's a cheapo thing you bought from Shenzhen or Ebay or Walmart...good luck. :rolleyes: You want direct and immediate updates for Android, buy a Nexus device.

Thing with some other OS's, you might have to pay money for major updates and new versions, like Windows and Mac OS.
 
mrsmumbles said:
What does that prove? Android is a new OS but we cant even get updates for our devices.
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Proves that there is still some software that you need a PC for

mikedt said:
Yes because updates come from the manufacturers and carriers. You want direct from Google updates for Android, buy a Nexus device. What device have you actually got?

Bearing in mind for some other OS's, you might have to pay for major updates. Windows and Mac OS.
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:ditto: this. It really depends on whether or not the hardware will support a newer version of Android but ultimately it's one giant popularity contest. If a device is not popular, it might not get updated quickly or at all
 
I still use my PC and laptop for mobile or stationary tasks that my Nexus 10 and Galaxy Victory just don't have the power to do (or the OS, in many cases), so yes, I still need mine.
 
mrsmumbles is getting a new LG Optimus F7 for Boost Mobile, purchased from Best Buy if I'm not mistaken.

Either way, not everyone gets fair treatment for OEM-supported updates.

That just makes rooting that much more attractive.

Not sure how anything is being proved any which way going down this path. :confused:
 
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