Tre Lawrence
Android Expert
This.
I pop out my device frequently, versus going to find the laptop, booting,etc...
I routinely look to do more on my device. I paid good money for it, so I do what I can on it.
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This is how smartphones will replace computers
- Thread starter ZDroid1
- Start date
This.
I pop out my device frequently, versus going to find the laptop, booting,etc...
I routinely look to do more on my device. I paid good money for it, so I do what I can on it.
IOWA
Mr. Logic Pants
Agreed.
Obviously you may want to take a class on how computers work. With newer and better games, even todays, and tomorrows MMO's, despite character information being stored server-side, the graphics themselves are rendered *gasp* ON THE CLIENT. Why do you think people are making such a big deal of GPU, and it's a billion dollar industry? Gee, maybe because they are NEEDED? Not to mention the video streamed to your phone, yeah, it's stripped down to a degree so the processor/gpu can handle it properly.
Another reason cloud computing won't take over, connectivity. First, the ENTIRE WORLD that uses the internet needs to be blanketed in high speed, I mean 100mbps+, internet for this to be even remotely feasible. And if an office building for some reason or another loses connection, servers go down, what, the whole office can't be productive for that day? Yeah ok bud.
Bringing OnLive into the argument further strengthens my point. Run your own cloud/node (like I do), or use a smaller private one with good control of your content/storage, and set it up to do some small GUI processing client side.
No perceivable GUI lag in many cases, all the hard processing is done on the server. VNC and the like can't do that without serious bandwidth.
No perceivable GUI lag in many cases, all the hard processing is done on the server. VNC and the like can't do that without serious bandwidth.
As far as photoshop, displaying the actual image does indeed tax the video card, but considering quite a few phones on the market have specs that included displaying 1080p video, displaying the image shouldn't be to much of an issue. All the filters/effects, the actual hard processing, is still done server-side.
As far as 3D work goes you're just displaying what's being worked with, not the end result. In most 3D suites a model is usually displayed rather minimally, and quite a few allow things to be displayed in Bounding box modes so that all that has to be rendered in the workspace is a rectangular prism. The end result with all the light calculated (possibly ray-traced), shaders applied, procedurals/textures applied, etc, is what's going to take the most processing, and is what's going to be done server-side.
Mind you, this still doesn't work well for games, but I think I've made my point.
I have a feeling the smartphone will replace the the general public's laptops/desktops a lot sooner than many are imagining. Why do you think Intel is scrambling so hard to get their foot in the mobile chipset business now. I know many people that have decided to not buy laptop/desktop replacements because their smartphones are adequate enough for there needs (internet, email, banking, etc.). The next thing that is needed, like the original poster mentioned, is an easy way to dock our smartphone so they can be displayed on or TV's and monitors. As for business use, I will just use my work laptop.
Another thing that Android desperately needs to ramp up is its Google Docs, on the mobile phone. While they are now tolerable, they have a lot of work to do to make it mobile friendly.
Another thing that Android desperately needs to ramp up is its Google Docs, on the mobile phone. While they are now tolerable, they have a lot of work to do to make it mobile friendly.
IOWA
Mr. Logic Pants
Yeah ok, try running Adobe photoshop CS4 or CS5 without a GOOD graphics card. I actually had to UPGRADE the graphics chip in my laptop that I only purchased last year to run most of the programs in the CS4 Master Collection, which is already superceded by CS5. Your point just got tore into pieces. People don't want to wait for a 6-100GB files to get transfered to the server(do you have any idea how long it takes to transfer just one gigabyte even on a 50mbps connection, not to mention the slower upload speeds) then you have to wait for the render, and re-download? Yeah ok chief. If you have that much time to waste that's fine with me, but real professionals don't have time to wait for shit like that.
We are not talking present tense here obviously. On-Live the technology is what you should focus on, not the actual company itself. A similar service.. (imagine google owned, they do like cloud based services, it fits) could offer this type of service with what ever structure you can think of. As far as not possessing hard copies, you may be more comfortable with disks in hand, but thats just clinging to out dated technology your comfortable with. Direct2Drive and the system Android Market are all one very small step away from not even keeping your software on your system. Give the world 10 years and see if cloud computing takes off or if we are still forced to buy $5000 cinder blocks to play our games on.
Megs
Well-Known Member
I am an ex-WoW/Lotro/L2/Aion player (I played them...never said I was the best at 'em!). I could not imagine playing anything that complicated on my cell phone. The tiny screen makes it almost impossible. I like my mouse and keyboard. Even if I "docked" my cell into something that allowed the images to be larger (say on my 22" monitor) I still can't see how the cell phone wouldn't overheat and die. Too much going on.
I am also a geek in other ways. Notably, my minor obsession with manga online. I've got the Samsung Spica and I've read some manga on the screen. Its a pain in the ass. Seriously. The images are far too wide for the screen and having to read it right to left is hard - since the browsers automatically start left to right. I only do that when I have to. Oh and before anyone says that I should just make the images smaller on the hosting sites, you can't - need to be able to read the text too ya know
. For that reason I much prefer to use my computer. The images (I doubt) will be getting smaller and the screens on the new smartphones certainly aren't getting much bigger than about 4" so it doesn't make sense for my phone to replace my PC for that.
One way my cell *has* replaced my computer is regular web surfing. If I'm upstairs reading (yeah the old fashioned books...so last year I know) and I come across a word I don't know, I'm much more likely to google it on my cell than go all the way downstairs to find a dictionary/my PC. If I find something interesting to look up on the bus or while I'm out somewhere, I google it on my phone.
Having said that...right now I'm using my PC to type this out instead of my cell - responding to posts on my cell is terribly time consuming for me and drives me nuts still. Next gen of phone, maybe that will change?
I think computers will hang around for a bit longer. I doubt that smartphones will take over the world any time soon. The networks still need a lot of work and there's still areas that I'm sure coverage (even with satellite phones) isn't all that great. Smartphones are great for on the go (in shopping lines, beside the bed at night, etc.) but you'll still be using a PC at work and one at home.
My 2 cents...
P.S. Any spelling mistakes I blame on not being able to see the screen. I had nose surgery last week and can't fit my glasses over the cast. I've even got the page magnified like crazy and still can't read it. >.<
I am also a geek in other ways. Notably, my minor obsession with manga online. I've got the Samsung Spica and I've read some manga on the screen. Its a pain in the ass. Seriously. The images are far too wide for the screen and having to read it right to left is hard - since the browsers automatically start left to right. I only do that when I have to. Oh and before anyone says that I should just make the images smaller on the hosting sites, you can't - need to be able to read the text too ya know
. For that reason I much prefer to use my computer. The images (I doubt) will be getting smaller and the screens on the new smartphones certainly aren't getting much bigger than about 4" so it doesn't make sense for my phone to replace my PC for that.One way my cell *has* replaced my computer is regular web surfing. If I'm upstairs reading (yeah the old fashioned books...so last year I know
) and I come across a word I don't know, I'm much more likely to google it on my cell than go all the way downstairs to find a dictionary/my PC. If I find something interesting to look up on the bus or while I'm out somewhere, I google it on my phone.Having said that...right now I'm using my PC to type this out instead of my cell - responding to posts on my cell is terribly time consuming for me and drives me nuts still. Next gen of phone, maybe that will change?
I think computers will hang around for a bit longer. I doubt that smartphones will take over the world any time soon. The networks still need a lot of work and there's still areas that I'm sure coverage (even with satellite phones) isn't all that great. Smartphones are great for on the go (in shopping lines, beside the bed at night, etc.) but you'll still be using a PC at work and one at home.
My 2 cents...
P.S. Any spelling mistakes I blame on not being able to see the screen. I had nose surgery last week and can't fit my glasses over the cast. I've even got the page magnified like crazy and still can't read it. >.<
Photoshop doesn't use OpenCL, and until CS4 it didn't even use any sort of Hardware accelerated graphics. Even now they use OpenGL, but the improvements barely extend beyond the UI. Here is an actual list of the changes:
GPU and OpenGL features and preferences | Photoshop and Bridge CS5, CS4
I think you may be confused. Laptops rarely have GPUs that aren't directly soldered onto the motherboard. RAM on the other hand is something can be bought off the shelf and upgraded yourself. An increase in RAM would allow you to work with larger files in photoshop without constant drive writes. You can buy SO-DIMMs of newegg, where as you can't purchase laptop GPUs much less replace them.
I don't think you quite understand how X11 forwarding works, since the files are kept locally on the server. VNC also doesn't transfer files, infact, it literally transmits frames from the desktop of the server.
I didn't show you any disrespect and I'm not interested in a flame war. Perhaps you should do some research into the actual technologies I'm talking about?
Tre Lawrence
Android Expert
How many tasks which were exclusive to desktops ten tears ago are now able to be done effectively on a phone?
Using that criteria, an argument can be made that they are already supplanting computers.
Using that criteria, an argument can be made that they are already supplanting computers.
darkbob
Newbie
no lol i like my home theater pc too much for that to be the future. i do see the desktop computer desk being a thing of the past.
ZDroid1
Android Enthusiast
I think the argument being made can be summarized as follows:
1- Better technology will always require bigger equipment. By the time we reduce the size of the current technology, faster and better technology will emerge in "regular" size.
2- We will always need the leading edge technology.
For example, most of today's laptops have better graphics than desktop computers had 10 years ago, but today, desktop computers have even better graphics than that, and today's games need that kind of power to function.
I disagree with that argument. To give you an extreme example: If the argument were true, we'd all be needing arrays of super computers (the leading edge) and thinking desktop computers are crap.
What actually happened is that desktop computers reached a point where they became usable and satisfied the needs of enough people, and it doesn't matter than mainframe or super computers are better.
And laptops came along and now smartphones are getting to that point. It doesn't matter that desktop computers will always be better than smartphones in terms of processing and storage. Once smartphones can handle the common usage scenarios well enough, no one will care that desktops are faster except for certain enthusiasts and professionals who need specialized equipment/software.
I don't care if there are cars out there that can travel at 200 MPH. The maximum speed I need is well below 100 MPH, and that makes a car like the one I got good enough for the vast majority of people. Smartphones are getting to this 100MPH range and nobody cares if desktops reach a million MPH.
1- Better technology will always require bigger equipment. By the time we reduce the size of the current technology, faster and better technology will emerge in "regular" size.
2- We will always need the leading edge technology.
For example, most of today's laptops have better graphics than desktop computers had 10 years ago, but today, desktop computers have even better graphics than that, and today's games need that kind of power to function.
I disagree with that argument. To give you an extreme example: If the argument were true, we'd all be needing arrays of super computers (the leading edge) and thinking desktop computers are crap.
What actually happened is that desktop computers reached a point where they became usable and satisfied the needs of enough people, and it doesn't matter than mainframe or super computers are better.
And laptops came along and now smartphones are getting to that point. It doesn't matter that desktop computers will always be better than smartphones in terms of processing and storage. Once smartphones can handle the common usage scenarios well enough, no one will care that desktops are faster except for certain enthusiasts and professionals who need specialized equipment/software.
I don't care if there are cars out there that can travel at 200 MPH. The maximum speed I need is well below 100 MPH, and that makes a car like the one I got good enough for the vast majority of people. Smartphones are getting to this 100MPH range and nobody cares if desktops reach a million MPH.
This right here shows the flaw in your argument. Today's desktops are as powerful as the supercomputers of not that long ago! Today's Intel Core i7 980 XE has a peak performance of almost 108 GFLOPS. This is almost twice as powerful than the Thinking Machines CM-5/1024 (59.7GFLOPS) used by Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory and the National Security Agency in 1993.
Today's horsepower wars show you to be in the minority. The famously bland Toyota Camry is available with a 268 horsepower V6 for the 2010 model year. This is more power than the 80's Ferrari 308 GTB/GTS. Horsepower and processing power aren't advancing at such a breakneck pace because people need it. It's because people think they need it. Just try to sell a Camry with a 100 horsepower engine these days. Unless it's getting 100+mpg or costs half (or less) of what the competition does, the sales would be in the toilet.
For home computing, "smaller" isn't sexy. "Faster" is. As long as people keep buying "faster", software will be developed to use that speed and anything small enough to be hand-held won't be practical as a replacement.
Ynomrah
Well-Known Member
I love technology. I think its safe to say we all do. There is a interesting article made by phonearena. Its really hard to see any smartphone potentially replace a laptop or desktop, but with the rate at which everything is changing, its really hard not to atleast consider it once in a while. What i personally have come to consider is me living without my PC, and just my smartphone. At this point no, BUT i could certainly see myself sacrificing the normal laptop and desktop screen sizes,in exchange for a 4' screen on my smartphone-- which is really the biggest challenge maybe for most people besides speed. But with the acceleration of CPUs speed wont be a problem anymore. So if you can deal with the screen size, then soon maybe the only differences will be very subtle like laptop vs desktop.
heres the article. its a good read.
Snapdragon vs. Hummingbird vs. OMAP - the mobile CPU war beyond 1GHz (Phone Arena News)
heres the article. its a good read.
Snapdragon vs. Hummingbird vs. OMAP - the mobile CPU war beyond 1GHz (Phone Arena News)
Ynomrah
Well-Known Member
this is good.
Tre Lawrence
Android Expert
I like this argument.
IOWA
Mr. Logic Pants
And until we reach 1Gbps fiber ISP networks, this is not feasible. Period. And ALL computers will still need all the parts they do today.
ZDroid1
Android Enthusiast
That argues for my side. Today's camry has more horsepower than the best cars of the 80s, but does it have the power and features of today's best cars? And is that causing the masses to not buy the camry to be their main car and insist instead on buying race cars?
ZDroid1
Android Enthusiast
In the original post, I never said the smartphone's screen was going to replace a computer screen. I said there would be docking stations with keyboards and monitors to run each individual's smartphone.
IOWA
Mr. Logic Pants
ANd what happens when you drop(and break) said smartphone? You go without a computer?
ZDroid1
Android Enthusiast
Well gee, let's see. How about you get it fixed or get a new one?
I mean what happens when your computer stops working?
Ynomrah
Well-Known Member
And? so? What in my post made it seem like i was opposing what you were saying? what im saying is in direct correlation with your ideas. So if we could sacrifice screen size, then the differences would only be subtle because speed would not be the issue. So a docking station idea would definitely be a great idea.
No, if it argued for your side, today's top-of-the-line V6 Camry would still have the 156 horsepower that it had in 1990. It would just be making it with a 1.5 liter engine instead of the 2.5 that it used in '90.
Your argument about people wanting more power = people should be wanting race cars makes no sense. What you continue to ignore is that "mainstream" is not a static measurement, and that today's "extreme performance" will be tomorrow's "mainstream". At the same time, today's "mainstream" will be tomorrow's "barely usable".