If tablets are today's fad...

[TheQuestForChaos]

Ha! you are all Wrong, oh so terribly wrong. You want a future fad? That future exists and it is described in this video here:


It takes 8 min. You will be impressed. The Pandora would be a great platform for something like this. The lady takes some sweet time explaining. But keep with it, it gets better every minute.


It has actually been around for years. I think it may very well be ripe within the next 5 years.

 

[bzar]

Mr Rob: What you're saying, but substitute "America" with a larger portion of the world. If I'd say I hope the next fad will be getting internet for everyone in Finland, you'd think I was a bit silly


About flexible/foldable screens: I'd like to see someone making the "global communication link" device from the TV show "Earth: Final Conflict". It's basically a handle-shaped object small enough to fit in your palm that has a belt clip. The display is rolled up inside the handle (like a tape measure, I think) and can be pulled out to varying degrees for different uses. In the show it's shown to have at least two lock positions: rectangular display for video calls and small apps, and widescreen for maps and data visualization.

I think this kind of device would be nice because it shields the breaking components nicely (even better than a clamshell), minimizes the device size (can be used closed for displayless applications, quick photo shooting, audio calls), while still allowing rich applications to be used when necessary.

 

[laserbeams]

tl;dr: The further "consolization" of PCs into the forms of tablets and smartphones, and subsequent shrinking (not death!) of the PC market.


The accessibility and ubiquity of smartphones and tablets means that many people who did not or would not otherwise use PCs, often the young and old, frequently use these. To be honest, most people really don't need complicated, vulnerable, expensive PCs. (I suppose most people on this forum are not 'most people' at large.) Locked down tablets and smartphones can solve all three of those problems... for better or worse.


The most serious deficiency of tablets and smartphones in my opinion is input, and we're seeing the beginning of this being solved with optional keyboards, with things like the Eee Transformer, Zagg iPad keyboard case, and the Motorola Atrix.


This would be my best prediction as to the direction things are going to go. People who don't need computers for anything beyond facebook and 'Apps' and the occasional word processing... having all those basic features on smartphones and tablets that have GOOD input options and the ability to print means PCs aren't needed. I can see the laptop and inexpensive desktop market being further hurt (not killed) by this. Once people realise they really don't need PCs, they'll stop buying them. This is why the PC gaming market has shrunk so heavily. If all you need the PC for is games, then a console starts to look like a good idea. The same could be said for net connection and facebooking and whatever other silly things kids these days are into.


Edit: I guess this isn't really a fad... I'm bad with fads

 

[Hoodoo]

What's complicated, vulnerable and expensive about PC?

 

[Null]

What's complicated, vulnerable and expensive about PC?

 

[gadgetoid]

Ha! you are all Wrong, oh so terribly wrong. You want a future fad? That future exists and it is described in this video here:


http://www.ted.com/t...ixth_sense.html

The best thing about this technology is that while I pretend to be talking to someone, I can actually be using an air-paint program to draw penises on their face!


Man's quest to draw penises on every surface and at every opportunity is finally going to be realised with enormous potential.

 

[Hoodoo]

What's complicated, vulnerable and expensive about PC?

Windows logo here

But you don't have to use it. Well maybe you do, because of some specific software, but not everybody has to.

 

[milkshake]

@Hoodoo i like windows, I like mac and I like linux there is enough love for everyone.

 

[Null]

but not everybody has to.

Good luck trying to change popular opinion.

 

[craigix]

The certain death of Windows. It isn't needed anymore.

 

[milkshake]

windows will never die, infact I think its only going to get better (windows 8 looks amazing so far), if/when apple is at the top kinda like now, the only way you can go is down.


but all the OS's are good on their own merrit.

 

[Hoodoo]

If only the companies which develop them didn't play these dirty patent games and stopped that marketing wars it would be just great.

 

[milkshake]

+1

 

[TheQuestForChaos]

Ha! you are all Wrong, oh so terribly wrong. You want a future fad? That future exists and it is described in this video here:


http://www.ted.com/t...ixth_sense.html

The best thing about this technology is that while I pretend to be talking to someone, I can actually be using an air-paint program to draw penises on their face!


Man's quest to draw penises on every surface and at every opportunity is finally going to be realised with enormous potential.

That is so very wrong... so very very wrong. Funny though. I could see doing that sometime... I love this community more every day!

 

[DarkCheetah]

Now that they actually have bendable LCD screens I can see smartphones and the like be presented in more wearable ways. Smartphone bracelets...trousers you can watch a movie on...best of all sweatbands for scrolling messages on them.LMAO

 

[Linux-SWAT]

Wintel is dead last year, thanks to ARM devices.


Microsoft will be brought on knees by Google suing them for claiming Linux/android stole their code.

 

[craigix]

What I can't quite understand is how people cannot see, that for the majority, Windows and Intel are dying and soon to be dead, dead, dead.


ARM and Android (with iOS coming second) are here to stay at least for the next 5-8 years.


Talking about Windows will be like 'lol myspace' in a few years.

 

[Exophase]

You guys live in an interesting world..


For a dying company Intel sure continues to make an awful lot of money, with profits only going up. Tablets and smartphones are very popular, but people aren't going to completely throw out their desktops and laptops. Businesses in particular would be insane to expect any level of similar productivity out of today's mobile platforms. Companies are going to need to start at least trying to put high-end ARM CPUs in real computers before that market can take off, and it won't happen overnight. In bigger devices the power consumption benefits just don't matter, and no one wants to trade a lot of performance for it. For that matter, today's tablets cost even more than complete desktop systems..


On that token, Linux has failed to ever gain substantial market share on these devices, so Windows isn't really going anywhere just yet. And I wouldn't totally write off Windows 8 in ARM tablets, we know it's going to ship and there's no reason to blindly assume it'll be a total failure.

 

[milkshake]

What I can't quite understand is how people cannot see, that for the majority, Windows and Intel are dying and soon to be dead, dead, dead.


ARM and Android (with iOS coming second) are here to stay at least for the next 5-8 years.


Talking about Windows will be like 'lol myspace' in a few years.

In this instance you are wrong, and I never said anything about Intel anyway I'm talking windows 8 which will run on ARM!!


All info/videos I have read/seen of windows 8 so far really make me think "wow" i can really see Microsoft are starting to get back on the ball.


Its quite clear to anyone who actually takes notice (instead of wearing apple goggles) that Microsoft have realized that not innovating like Apple was getting them no where and cost them alot of "mindshare" etc, but now they have really woke up!


I like where they are going with windows phone and windows 8 looks amazing.

 

[Sugar_Kane]

Windows is still the absolute standard in most offices I can't see that changing for a long time, and microsoft certification is still a highly regarded qualification.