The desktop is not going away in 2013. I doubt Kim Commando would have
said this, but I'd be curious to know the context of her statement.
Remember, Kim Commando is a journalist and not a professional in the
computer industry. The laptop also won't be going away any time soon. It
also isn't true that 99% of the computers sold this last Christmas were
tablets and smart phones, although I'd be surprised if this number still
wasn't pretty high, given the tablet and smart phone announcements at
the end of the year and the fact that a smart phone or a tablet makes
for a better Christmas present. Therefore, I wouldn't assume that a
seasonal shopping statistic is a portent of things to come.
It is true that smart phones and tablets are becoming the device of
choice for content consumption. This is not true for content generation
though. Although some people do some word processing and other content
creation on their smart phones and tablets, I know very few people who
spend eight hours a day writing programs, generating web content, doing
word processing and so on on their smart phones and tablets. This will
obviously change somewhat over time, but smart phones and tablets will
always be lagging desktops and laptops when it comes to computing power
and storage space.
I don't thing anyone in this thread disagrees that smart phones and
tablets are computers. I think the pertinent discussion is what is on
topic for this list. If this list will cover absolutely anything with a
microprocessor in it, then we'll quickly exceed the 10 posts a day and 2
posts a day per person limits set out on this list. I join lists because
they cover the material I'm interested in. I look for the most specific
lists I can find. I'm already on lists covering iPhones, smart phones,
book readers and so on. If this list becomes too broad then IMHO it will
become irrelevant, at least for me. I still think there's a place for an
all purpose list geared towards traditional computers. Obviously, I'm
just one member of the list, and if the nature of the list changes then
I'll just have to decide whether it's still worth my time or not.
As an example, I had a Booksense and a few MP3 players running Rockbox.
There was a list specifically for accessible MP3 players and book
readers. This list didn't cover computers, smart phones or screen
readers. The list consciously chose to allow discussions of iPhones and
iPods along with VoiceOver. When the list made this decision, I opted to
drop the list. I still wanted information on Mp3 players and book
readers, like the Booksense, Rockbox, and so on, but this information
was quickly lost in the overwhelming flood of questions regarding the
iPhone and iPod. I don't begrudge the list for making this change, there
was obviously a need, but I felt that a valuable resource on other
options was lost.
I would ask the list to revisit what it considers on topic for the list.
IMHO, a list doesn't have to be broad or have a lot of list traffic to
be valuable. In fact, there's something to be said for a targeted list
covering a specific topic. I'd vote for the list sticking to traditional
computer issues and redirecting people to the already abundant lists on
smart phones, tablets and so on. Ditto for all of the other devices
including microprocessors and computing power.
On 01/05/2013 10:53 PM, Harry Brown wrote:
> Hi all,
> Well folks, even though there are separate lists for IPhones and Android
> phones, (also called smart phones), they, are the computers of the future.
> As a matter of fact, the rumor on the street has it, that Apple will
> come out with a bigger IPhone, and soon, converge the IPhone with the IPad.
> Another thing is, desktops will be going away in 2013, says Kim Komando,
> a computer expert for 25 years who has talked with people in the know
> about these things, in the industry.
> Eventually, laptops will be gone as well, but not in 2013. This
> Christmas 99% of the computers that were sold were not desktops or
> laptops, but tablets, and smart phones, instead.
> Also, a story I just saw last week said that smart phones are taking
> over, they are the new computers of the future. Everett is right, and
> Everett, you're a part of the biggest technical revolution in our history.
> So, no doubt, you'll probably see more messages on this list, about
> IPhones and Android phones, and tablets.
> As a matter of fact, at my local best buy, I saw a windows 8 machine,
> running windows 8 pro, that booted up in, are you ready for this? How
> about 6 seconds!
> And with the new Haswell chip coming from Intel to replace the sandy
> bridge chip, at the end of March, these machines will boot up and load
> programs even faster, and these will be quad core chips for smart phones
> and tablets!
> Harry
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Everett Gavel <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> *To:* [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> *Sent:* Saturday, January 05, 2013 4:38 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [VICUG-L] iPhone Messages -- 5 Apps: The best camera
> apps for blind and visually impaired iPhone users
>
> Hi Ana, and all,
>
> No worries, I didn't take your post as snippy. I
> hope no one will take my response as anything more
> than the friendly response it's meant to be, to
> give an alternate point-of-view.
>
> I'd like to take a minute and share my recently
> developed notion on my 3.5-month-old iPhone, since
> it has been brought up in relation to being proper
> or not on a computer list. An iPhone is more of a
> computer than my recently exterminated 10-year-old
> PC.
>
> I enjoy this list and the people n it. It's got
> much less junk put through here than on a few
> other lists I'm on. But this list is named,
> "VICUG," which is an acronym for Visually Impaired
> Computer Users Group. Below I'll share why I
> believe the iPhone is merely the latest version of
> a computer that's taking market share, and it's
> far more accessible than any off-the-shelf
> computer in history.
>
> It is merely my opinion, but I'd argue with anyone
> that an iPhone is easily considered a handheld
> "laptop" computer. Merely a newer, smaller version
> of the original PC. Yes, I get the differences
> between PC & Mac, but that's not what I'm
> referring to here. They're both, unarguably,
> computers.
>
> I've had an iPhone for almost 4 months now, and
> I've recently come to realize it really is a
> handheld computer. I've now downloaded to my
> iPhone all the programs I used regularly on my PC.
> I've now got E-mail, Facebook, Skype, Twitter, and
> LinkedIn. I've got PayPal, Amazon, & eBay on my
> iPhone as well. I've got the WeatherChannel and
> the WeatherBug, I have Spotify, Pandora, and
> Netflix on my iPhone now, too.
>
> I've got Bloomberg, CNBC, and some stock-trading
> apps as well. I've got even more than I had on my
> PC, though, too. I've now got GPS navigating
> programs, barcode scanning programs, OCR,
> print-to-speech programs, Newsline, the Wall
> Street Journal, and the Washington Post. I've also
> got unlimited-length audio recording programs that
> can record meetings and classes for me. Apps are
> simply another, newer name for "programs."
>
> I've also got Quickbooks, Evernote, GoogleMaps,
> Dropbox, and GoogleEarth on my iPhone. Then
> there's the simpler stuff like Notetakers,
> reminders, alarms, and a built-in Web browser too.
> It's most everything and more that I used
> regularly via my PC just months ago, but now use
> on my iPhone -- no matter where I am. It's merely
> a hand-held, portable computer. And it's very
> accessible to the blind, for a much lesser cost
> than a typical PC + Assistive Tech software costs.
>
> Yes, the iPhone is a computer. I'd argue that
> being a phone is merely the tool that it used to
> get into and take over a market share, very
> successfully. But the phone aspect of it is not
> what it truly is. It is merely part of it. Anyway,
> that's my story, er, opinion, and I'm stickin' to
> it. ;-)
>
> BTW, Happy New Year to each of you here! May 2013
> end as your best year yet!
>
>
> Seize the Day!
> Everett
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> > Hi all,
> > My intension isn't to sound snippy, but I have
> > the feeling that I'll sound snippy anyway.
> > This is a great list for help on computer
> > related issues. There are occasional
> > digressions, but I don't mind them because the
> > content is generally interesting and often
> > indirectly relevant.
> > Lately a lot of messages have come through the
> > list about iPhone apps. some of the messages are
> > indeed worth reading. the announcement about
> > BrailleTouch, an app which allows braille input
> > via a touch screen, is a great example because I
> > can imagine such technology eventually making it
> > to computer mouse pads, but I think most iPhone
> > related messages don't belong here. It might be
> > a good idea for the sender to connect them to
> > the main focus of the list before posting.
> > Just my two cents.
> > Ana
> >
>
>
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--
Christopher (CJ)
chaltain at Gmail
VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
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