# The Ubuntu Forum Community > Ubuntu Community Discussions > Mobile Technology Discussions >  Are the days of the desktop numbered?

## exploder

Landfills no longer take computers and they have to be recycled. Manufacturers are saying profit margins are slim for desktop computers. Mobil devices are selling and most everyone has a cell phone.

Combine these things with the current trend of making a computer the size of a credit card. Everything changes and it sure is looking like computers are changing weather we like it or not. All of this makes me wonder if Canonical is heading in the right direction with the Ubuntu phone. 

Think about it, phone, computer and TV in a device you can fit in your pocket. Cell phones are cheaper than most computers and with the cradle you can have your keyboard, mouse and big monitor. 

To be perfectly honest, a post on another forum got me to thinking about this and it really woke me up to the way things are heading and changing. The Ubuntu phone came to my mind because I saw it demonstrated and I liked it. What do you think about where things are heading? Do you think the Ubuntu phone with it's docking cradle might be the way of the future?

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## mamamia88

You mean desktop like a tower?   Then yes you might be right.  But how about all the students who need word processing/presentations/etc.  or about professional photographers or music production?  I think that there will always be a need for something similar to a desktop pc.

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## whatthefunk

Im guessing you mean Ubuntu for Android because there is no such thing as Ubuntu Phone.

As far as this taking over the desktop any time soon, I doubt it.  Phones dont have the computing power or memory space that many users require. Comparing an iPhone5, which just came out a month ago, or a Samsung Galaxy 3, which also came out recently, to my year old mid-range computer, there is no comparison.  It is laughable.  In every category, my computer blows the smart phones out of the water.  Running a CPU intensive, GPU intensive program off an OS inside another OS on a smartphone?  Ha.  Of course they will get better over time, but so will desktop computers.  I dont see this as a threat to the traditional desktop at all.

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## nothingspecial

_Thread moved to Mobile Technology Discussions._

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## exploder

Sorry, I forgot this section of the forum was even here. 




> Im guessing you mean Ubuntu for Android because there is no such thing as Ubuntu Phone.


Yes, this is what I meant but you knew what I was referring to anyway.

I just got to realizing how computers were getting smaller and smaller. Current smart phones are not near as powerful as desktops but they are quickly getting there. The ideas Canonical demonstrated on a smart phone seem very advanced when you look at other ideas that are being developed though. I was impressed by what such a small device could do and what was presented could do a lot for what it is. The whole idea makes sense from manufacturing down to the end user.

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## nothingspecial

> Sorry, I forgot this section of the forum was even here.



It's new  :Smile:

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## graabein

There's a lot of work you can't get comfortably and efficiently done on small touch devices. So for consumers, maybe so, but for work there's still a market.

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## Sableyes

For me... Nearly  :Smile: 



With Kingsoft Office and Opera I can do 99% of things on my mobile devices. I have more games on my Androids than I do for Linux. The only thing I struggle with is processing photos and playing Second Life. Photos, there are a lot of filter / photo apps, but not sure my android can process 10 mb pictures of my HS30EXR. Second Life which has 2 clients on Android (one even has 3D), but they arnt quite up too spec yet. 

A lot of modern androids now have HDMI as well, so they have a chance of replace desktops for me  :Smile:

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## Sableyes

> There's a lot of work you can't get comfortably and efficiently done on small touch devices. So for consumers, maybe so, but for work there's still a market.


Size wise, what work can you not get done on a tablet that has USB Host and HDMI out?

Plug in a mouse and keyboard, and hook it up too your monitor? I would say if anything, a £60 tablet like mine is better for small business than tower PCs now.

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## exploder

Sableyes, what you have set up looks interesting. I might just have to dig out my tablet from the drawer and try what you have done. Nice post!

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## Buntu Bunny

> Nor do I,but I prefer a full featured computer with keyboard and mouse.


Ditto. In fact I'm going to have to get a mouse of some sort for the laptop someone gave me. The touchpad drives me nuts. I like having mobility, but I love my desktop more.

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## micahpage

i doubt it. Even if a smart phone would be able to have 2TB HDD, 3.66 Ghz mutli core processor the same as an average desktop today.  By that time, programs would would require maybe  100GB per game, for example. The small devices never will live up to a desktop. 

Plus there are some of us that actually despise touch screens, would rather use mouse and keyboard, would rather have a large monitor. Hard core gamers rely on desktops to fullfill the need and we look at the ipods, etc. as useless. If we need it on the go, the laptop would suffice and will always also be better than those types of devices.

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## Copper Bezel

> Ditto. In fact I'm going to have to get a mouse of some sort for the laptop someone gave me. The touchpad drives me nuts. I like having mobility, but I love my desktop more.


Gah, this is the one thing I can't stand about using a desktop. All (three) external trackpads for desktops I've seen are fairly pricey, but I'm really looking forward to getting rid of this floppy lasery thing at some point. (I _hate_ that I can't scroll horizontally.) What I really want is a desk-mounted trackpad the size of my Nexus 7. 

And yes, there's an app for that, but it's terrible. = )

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## Bakuda

hmm...66. though i think some of these questions were really unnatural. like all the ones about abandoning social interaction. i guess the notepad one makes sense but i can just remember all my ideas anyways. 

EDIT: really toasty? raito?

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## vasa1

> hmm...66. though i think some of these questions were really unnatural. like all the ones about abandoning social interaction. i guess the notepad one makes sense but i can just remember all my ideas anyways. 
> 
> EDIT: really toasty? raito?


Go easy on the eggnog  :Wink:

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## pompel9

Desktop will never stop to be made.

I have one very good reason for this conclusion. You cannot run any corporate software on a pad. Imagine how you are going to make a really slow interface like citrix work on a pad. It isn't possible, and will never be possible.
I work in a shop, the cash cannot be a pad. Even a desktop is slow on cash registers, a pad can't handle the workload.

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## ckrescho

No! I am excited to build a computer form scratch in the coming months.

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