Future of the Desktop??

[KrazyPenguin]

OK. Ubuntu is trying to win the desktop market, but my understanding is that the future isn't desktop, it is smartphones and tablets at the moment.

So basically I am using Ubuntu and Android at the moment, I find android more useful then Ubuntu.

If I had to give up one of my toys, Ubuntu Laptop or Android Phone, it would be the Ubuntu Laptop believe it or not.

My Android phone is just way to functional personally, business wise, sharing across devices, etc, plus new apps coming out everyday, i now question why I need a desktop at all.

I do believe smartphones and tablets are getting the most sales now, that is the direction.

Awesome time for technology right now, hope ubuntu jumps on , but again they are so far behind, over 300000 apps for android, how will they catch up LOL

[screaminj3sus]

Desktop is still a huge market and will continue to be. I don't even own a smartphone.

[Santaji]

I think tablets will replace desktops/laptops for most normal people with basic needs (E-Mail, Web Browsing, FaceBook, Music, Pictures, Word Processing and stuff like that).
But normal desktops/laptops will still be around for more advanced users(Programmers/Developers, Web/Graphic Designers, Professional Photographers, etc)

Basically tablets like the iPad will be used for simple tasks like sending e-mail & word rocessing, and mostly consuming content, While Desktops/Laptops will be for creating content.

[Old Marcus]

Yeah, the iPad and similar devices are not that great when it comes to making content, but good for consumption. I doubt the desktop/laptop will disappear any time soon.

[teachop]

Tablets are a bit of a fad, they will start to fall back to niche status, but not go away, is my guess.

Phones and computers will be an "and" not an "or". My phone gets tons of use because it is with me almost always. But the computer is way nicer when available.

[Zlatan]

I think tablets will replace desktops/laptops for most normal people with basic needs (E-Mail, Web Browsing, FaceBook, Music, Pictures, Word Processing and stuff like that).
But normal desktops/laptops will still be around for more advanced users(Programmers/Developers, Web/Graphic Designers, Professional Photographers, etc)

Basically tablets like the iPad will be used for simple tasks like sending e-mail & word rocessing, and mostly consuming content, While Desktops/Laptops will be for creating content.

I wonder how do you write emails or do word processing on a tablet? Is touch screen really that useful? I've heard different opinions from business people.

[Sashin]

Touchscreens are unergonomic for work, as far as I can see the desktop does have a future.

[el_koraco]

Tablets are gonna replace paper and mahjong on the desktop. Everything else will be left unchanged.

[sectshun8]

I haven't actually used my desktop in ohhh, 3 years??? Between my larger widescreen laptop, which doubles in desktop duties and my netbook (which to me is the perfect platform for Ubuntu).. I just don't have the need.

[teachop]

I haven't actually used my desktop in ohhh, 3 years??? Between my larger widescreen laptop, which doubles in desktop duties and my netbook (which to me is the perfect platform for Ubuntu).. I just don't have the need.
I was thinking for this discussion that laptop/desktop are lumped together. Being vs. tablets and phones.

[KrazyPenguin]

Actually to make content with a tablet they have brackets to hold them up like a computer monitor.

Then you connect a bluetooth keyboard, and you are off to the races.

I can even connect a bluetooth keyboard to my phone, haven't tried, but they do make them.

Rock N Roll was also a called a fad, and still a fad over 50 years later ;-)

So just to look at this more openminded this is the direction of the tablet and smartphones in the near future, just like everything else:
they will get faster, more storage space, more ram, improved o/s, and easier to use (not that they are hard to use already), and consume less power, and should be cheaper to make and ship due to size and weight.

Ipads don't come with an usb plug, but i heard the ipad 3 will have one.

When laptops first came out, people were still buying desktops, and now laptops outsell desktops.

Ok maybe I am wrong, nobody can predict the future LOL
But for somebody to come on here and say they never used one therefore laptop/desktop still has a big future is nonsense.

Here is a small list of things I can do with my smartphone: www, push email, phone calls,text messaging (which can also be done to email addresses with attachments), take photos and edit them and hit button and have them uploaded to facebook and send them out in an email within seconds, social networking (apps for all the sites like facebook, msn, twitter, etc), alarm clock, mp3 player, music downloader, gps system (can find beer, liquor stores, walmarts, canadian tire eh, best buys, restarants, etc, etc, etc) , evernote synced to pc for gtd (getting things done system in my pocket) , dropbox with ability to sync push and pull the folders i want, ff sync (sync firefox bookmarks from my laptop to my phone), grocery list sharing app ( i add something my wife sees it , both of our phones sync the list, very handy), google contacts synced between computer/phone 2 ways, google calender synced between computer/phones with sharing with wife, very handy, weather, live sports scores and plays, print a document to my wireless printer, google googles to solve suduko puzzle and tell me what things are (really cool), ereader, ebook, newsfeeder, photo viewer with galleries, gasbuddy (good on the go), stop watch (for workouts , etc), games, plus 1000's of apps i haven't tried and new things coming out everyday. etc etc

What my laptop can do is it is better for typing, like what I am doing now, but then again, if I hooked up a keyboard to my phone then it would be easy.

Laptop has a bigger screen, which is handy sometimes, but not all the time.

Laptop has usb for hooking up devices. (but then some devices can be connected to phone/tab using bluetooth - again could change in near future).

Mutlitasking is easier on a computer, again could change with future o/ses and speed of tabs/phones. For example i can still multitask on my phone, like listening to music, downloading something, and browsing the www at the same time.

Gaming would be better on a computer, but then it is even better on a stand alone console.

/end rant LOL

[KrazyPenguin]

O and forgot to mention, Ubuntu must feel that tabs are the direction, which is why they are trying to create unity. Problem is trying to play catch up with Google. HUGE uphill battle, ubuntu comes up for air, and android steps on ubuntu's face back underwater and flushes the toilet LOL

I Love Ubuntu, but hey, they sit back and watch apple and google take over, now they want a piece of the pie, good luck!!! ;-)

[teachop]

O and forgot to mention, Ubuntu must feel that tabs are the direction, which is why they are trying to create unity.
I thought that at first too, it looks that way on the surface doesn't it? But to use Unity well, it takes a keyboard, it really emphasizes keyboard control combinations, which is a very different direction from tablets/smartphones.

[KrazyPenguin]

I thought that at first too, it looks that way on the surface doesn't it? But to use Unity well, it takes a keyboard, it really emphasizes keyboard control combinations, which is a very different direction from tablets/smartphones.

And the developers see this as well. The techno is changing so fast it is hard to keep up, but they do have "slide out keyboards" for phones and tabs, and you can hook up a keyboard to a tablet, heck I can even connect a keyboard to my wii.
LOL

And these touchscreen apps keep getting better designed and easier to use all the time as well.

They even have hidden screens you can pullout from the sides.

My samsung galaxy s has 7 desktops , i just squeeze my fingers and can view all 7. I can put different apps/widgets on each one.

When I hit one of the 7 desktops, it goes right there, we are talking a couple of seconds to get the app I want. Very handy indeed.

[Swagman]

My mobile phone is used for.....

Making phone calls. <--- Fancy that !!

[PaulW2U]

And these touchscreen apps keep getting better designed and easier to use all the time as well.

They even have hidden screens you can pullout from the sides.

My samsung galaxy s has 7 desktops , i just squeeze my fingers and can view all 7. I can put different apps/widgets on each one.


This is the direction in which a lot of us, dare I say older users, don't want to go. I have a Samsung Acton, a very basic touch screen phone. It totally confuses me whenever I use it. :sad:

[ronacc]

as someone else already said , tablets are great for consumption and not so great for creation . Touch screen os's work great on tablets but suck on desktops and desktop os's suck on tablets , I predict that MS will get their head handed to them with their windows 7 tablet and so will Ubuntu if they try to make one OS (unity) work for both environments .

[ranch hand]

Actually to make content with a tablet they have brackets to hold them up like a computer monitor.

Then you connect a bluetooth keyboard, and you are off to the races.

I can even connect a bluetooth keyboard to my phone, haven't tried, but they do make them.

Rock N Roll was also a called a fad, and still a fad over 50 years later ;-)

So just to look at this more openminded this is the direction of the tablet and smartphones in the near future, just like everything else:
they will get faster, more storage space, more ram, improved o/s, and easier to use (not that they are hard to use already), and consume less power, and should be cheaper to make and ship due to size and weight.

Ipads don't come with an usb plug, but i heard the ipad 3 will have one.

When laptops first came out, people were still buying desktops, and now laptops outsell desktops.

Ok maybe I am wrong, nobody can predict the future LOL
But for somebody to come on here and say they never used one therefore laptop/desktop still has a big future is nonsense.

Here is a small list of things I can do with my smartphone: www, push email, phone calls,text messaging (which can also be done to email addresses with attachments), take photos and edit them and hit button and have them uploaded to facebook and send them out in an email within seconds, social networking (apps for all the sites like facebook, msn, twitter, etc), alarm clock, mp3 player, music downloader, gps system (can find beer, liquor stores, walmarts, canadian tire eh, best buys, restarants, etc, etc, etc) , evernote synced to pc for gtd (getting things done system in my pocket) , dropbox with ability to sync push and pull the folders i want, ff sync (sync firefox bookmarks from my laptop to my phone), grocery list sharing app ( i add something my wife sees it , both of our phones sync the list, very handy), google contacts synced between computer/phone 2 ways, google calender synced between computer/phones with sharing with wife, very handy, weather, live sports scores and plays, print a document to my wireless printer, google googles to solve suduko puzzle and tell me what things are (really cool), ereader, ebook, newsfeeder, photo viewer with galleries, gasbuddy (good on the go), stop watch (for workouts , etc), games, plus 1000's of apps i haven't tried and new things coming out everyday. etc etc

What my laptop can do is it is better for typing, like what I am doing now, but then again, if I hooked up a keyboard to my phone then it would be easy.

Laptop has a bigger screen, which is handy sometimes, but not all the time.

Laptop has usb for hooking up devices. (but then some devices can be connected to phone/tab using bluetooth - again could change in near future).

Mutlitasking is easier on a computer, again could change with future o/ses and speed of tabs/phones. For example i can still multitask on my phone, like listening to music, downloading something, and browsing the www at the same time.

Gaming would be better on a computer, but then it is even better on a stand alone console.

/end rant LOL
My wife and I both have Android phones. She loves hers, I am not so keen. My fingers do not work well on the touch screen.

I do not think either of us has actually seen a tablet. However, I do follow these things. What you are saying is pretty much what I was telling the wife the other night.

Some tablets (maybe all, I do not know) will connect to a monitor so you can have a decent sized display for real work. I know of folks (different forum) who have a tablet working as a desktop part of the time, mouse, keyboard and monitor.

They do not have the power, quite, to be a heavy duty production box yet but they will very shortly (months?, next week?). The convenience of being able to pick up your computer and have close to a fully functional production box in your pocket (need a big pocket - bib overalls chest pocket would work) would be great. Get somewhere with a monitor and a keyboard and you are off. In between you still have everything there, just not quite as easy to use. Plenty easy for casual things though.

With a portable external drive for mass storage you are all set to take your box anywhere there is a possibility to connect (saddle bag computer). In this area you would need your Android phone with you to tether it for a connection in a lot of places.

Pretty neat if you ask me.

I am a grumpy geezer and will probably stick, primarily, to a desktop but the possibilities are truly mind boggling.

[teachop]

The convenience of being able to pick up your computer and have close to a fully functional production box in your pocket (need a big pocket - bib overalls chest pocket would work) would be great.
The point I would add here, in relation to this thread topic, is that this device would have two very different GUI requirements, depending if it was running in desktop mode, or tablet/phone mode. It would still have a full desktop OS in addition to the touch GUI, or it wouldn't fly.

[VanR]

Well when touchphones have a 25" screen maybe I'll change over otherwise no.

[ranch hand]

The point I would add here, in relation to this thread topic, is that this device would have two very different GUI requirements, depending if it was running in desktop mode, or tablet/phone mode. It would still have a full desktop OS in addition to the touch GUI, or it wouldn't fly.
That is very true but the buggers already have plenty of memory for that. Think of all the treads of folks using The Ubuntu desktop version on their tablet because they couldn't get the NB edition to work right.

We are supposed to have touch screen support on any version that we are using as I understand it. Wouldn't know as we don't have a touch screen to try it on.

[ranch hand]

Well when touchphones have a 25" screen maybe I'll change over otherwise no.
You are just too hard core. I am sure that even a 17 inch screen would be fine for me. Maybe even the size of a tablet screen. Make for a large phone.

[julianb]

Well when touchphones have a 25" screen maybe I'll change over otherwise no.

It's coming sooner than you think - smartphones can already connect to tiny projectors that project a 25" screen size, still portable to the point of putting them in your pocket.

And then there's this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projection_keyboard

[Thewhistlingwind]

A device I can't install what I want on it is no device at all.

Understand, a tablet like device would be cool if it had USB plugs up and down every side to get somewhere close to the power the of the desktop, but it's not happening.

For perspective, I'm typing this from a laptop.

[murderslastcrow]

Consumers will likely move to handhelds and use a personal laptop to type reports and get a nicer keyboard and mouse for more focused work without getting their hands in the way. So far as I know, having invisible hands doesn't really help the usability problem with typing on your workspace.

So for work, I don't think desktops will be easily replaced. It will likely take a few iterations and not come in the form of handheld consumer devices like tablets and phones. But I do think it's highly likely we can produce technology in a few years time to have interactive work interfaces that get much more personal than a screen- it isn't likely to come soon though, since society at large and manufacturers aren't interested in reaching the end of the road that fast.

I think something will replace desktops, but it's going to be something that does what a desktop is made for better. And touch devices aren't made to improve the keyboard and mouse with a separate work monitor setup. They do a good job of managing around it, but until we have better processors and a way to mind-control our devices, I don't see this happening any time soon. Apple and Microsoft may abandon the desktop so far as big updates go, but Gnome 3 and Unity are pretty good examples of how open source won't stagnate despite the shift of focus.

(Windows XP is still the most used desktop OS- but if you use Linux, you wouldn't say the desktop has been dead since 2001)

[Bandit]

This is a excellent thread I am glad the OP brought up.


One thing the current market is doing with all these Smart Phones and Tablets is bringing the way humans interface with PDA style electronics. Touch screens have always been traditionally very expensive and normally not very clear. From having just played around with a Samsung Galaxy S the other day, one can say the days of poor touch screens are gone. The Galaxy S display is awesome, super bright and extremely clear. Now that users have got a taste of good touch screens the tablet market is now at our doorsteps. The more and more tablets are being made, more manufactures will start stepping up to the plate to produce displays of higher quality and this will force cost to drop on touch displays. What this will lead to is the eventual removal of the mouse and it will be replaced by touch screens for desktops for the household. This trend may take 5 year or more, but this is clearly the direction technology seems to be heading in. I expect within 3 years for there to be large clear touch displays for PC enthusiast at a premium.
This is one reason I feel the move to the newer Gnome Shell and Unity to be promising. Users need a easy to use interface that works easily with touch displays on a daily basis that is both easy on the eyes and one that may even help speed up work productivity.

Cheers,
Exo

[NormanFLinux]

Unity is not a touch-intuitive interface. The old netbook remix would have worked well. Just touch an icon with your fingers and the application comes to the front.

Personally, I don't need one. I'm happy with a desktop PC computer with an old fashioned CRT monitor that has been going strong for over a decade now.

[ranch hand]

Unity is not a touch-intuitive interface. The old netbook remix would have worked well. Just touch an icon with your fingers and the application comes to the front.

Personally, I don't need one. I'm happy with a desktop PC computer with an old fashioned CRT monitor that has been going strong for over a decade now.
If you want to work on images the LCD screens have a way to go to beat the predictable color of the CRT.

[Onoku]

I still have found no use for a tablet. I have thought about it and I can't think of a single reason that I would want one. A laptop does everything I need and has way more computing power than a tablet and is still small enough that I don't mind carrying it around in a bag. I'm not sure what would convince me to go the way of the tablet, there has not been a substantial argument for me yet.

[aysiu]

Future of the desktop? Are we talking about the mass populace, or the people on the Ubuntu Forums?

The answer is very different, depending on which population you're discussing.

[krapp]

I'll use a tablet the day it does everything a desktop does and more.

Mice or rats may be on the way out, but full-size keyboards aren't going anywhere, even if they become all fancy and holographic or capacitive or whatever it is, etc.

[wolfen69]

I don't even use my netbook anymore. Tablet? No thanks. I value being able to build my own computer, and love my dual 20" lcd's. I don't have a need for a computer when I'm out and about town.

Technological overload is what is really hurting our societies. People should spend less time on their portable devices and learn how to interact with people.

[ranch hand]

I don't even use my netbook anymore. Tablet? No thanks. I value being able to build my own computer, and love my dual 20" lcd's. I don't have a need for a computer when I'm out and about town.

Technological overload is what is really hurting our societies. People should spend less time on their portable devices and learn how to interact with people.
Good Gods man, what is wrong with you? What the economy needs is blind consumerism and you want people to interact!!

You are supposed to get in your own little world and be fearful of other people. Get with the program.

Basically, I think you are right.

[cespinal]

I think tablets will replace desktops/laptops for most normal people with basic needs (E-Mail, Web Browsing, FaceBook, Music, Pictures, Word Processing and stuff like that).
But normal desktops/laptops will still be around for more advanced users(Programmers/Developers, Web/Graphic Designers, Professional Photographers, etc)

Basically tablets like the iPad will be used for simple tasks like sending e-mail & word rocessing, and mostly consuming content, While Desktops/Laptops will be for creating content.

Beg to differ. I do not find it feasible that you can make a 50 page report on an Ipad... so no... word processing? no...

Laptops will still be there for business and production environments the same reasons desktops will still be there: a good old keyboard!. Processing power is also vital.

I a agree with all the rest. Smartphones are tablets will just merge into a same market for people wanting just different screen sizes and price ranges. Everything will exist to provide social, online experiences and some cool game every now and then.

I do believe desktops will be seen less and less at home. Laptops and netbooks are already a very affordable option while tablets are the next step for people willing to pay more. at the end the experience is pretty much the same.

[Copper Bezel]

The distinction between tablets and netbooks is going to be the first to go; touchscreens will become ubiquitous, the machines will be lighter and thinner, and everything that used to be a netbook running XP will be a tablet with a keyboard dock running Android. Tablets will go on replacing laptops for light use in the way that netbooks have been doing. There's nothing I used my laptop for in school that wouldn't have been as easily served by my Eee, or presumably by an Android tablet with a physical keyboard. It wouldn't necessarily have to attached, either, although I personally appreciate being able to actually use a laptop in my actual lap.

The idea that a larger keyboard is faster is just a matter of attenuation; I'm a reasonably quick typist, but I've used relatively small laptop keyboards since high school and my netbook keyboard is a perfect fit, while I don't know what to do with a desktop keyboard. Touchscreen keyboards aren't going to be comparable until there's some kind of tactile feedback, and that's some way off at this point.

I don't know that I care to predict beyond that. Obviously, touchscreens for large surfaces are impractical and unwieldy in most applications, best suited so far to applications where the user is standing. A 17" laptop is unlikely to leave the house, and a 17" tablet would be equally unsuited for portability. Not all computers need to move around at all, so I can't imagine desktops disappearing entirely, either.

So really, the only class that's likely to die any time soon is the netbook, and only because it's going to be absorbed into the tablet class.

I don't know what y'all are on about regarding social interaction, as in my circle, my Eee gets passed around like a joint for pulling up references in conversation. Presumably an iPad would be still better suited to the purpose.

[krapp]

I don't know what y'all are on about regarding social interaction, as in my circle, my Eee gets passed around like a joint for pulling up references in conversation. Presumably an iPad would be still better suited to the purpose.

There are even Luddites among Linux users!

[ronacc]

I still have found no use for a tablet. I have thought about it and I can't think of a single reason that I would want one. A laptop does everything I need and has way more computing power than a tablet and is still small enough that I don't mind carrying it around in a bag. I'm not sure what would convince me to go the way of the tablet, there has not been a substantial argument for me yet.

I think if you actually used one for a day or 2 you would be surprised how fast it grows on you . I own both a laptop and a netbook but the thing that is (almost) always with me is my Ipad . Is it a desktop or laptop replacement ? Not for me ,but it just might be for that large number of people who just use their laptop/desktop for surfing and reading email .

[keithpeter]

Future of the desktop? Are we talking about the mass populace, or the people on the Ubuntu Forums?

The answer is very different, depending on which population you're discussing.

I think all the people who need a desktop PC are going to be paying more in a few years time as the economy of scale reduces.

Designers, video makers, programmers, Ubuntu forum members, people who write complex documents with more than plain text, people who write books - there will be a premium on the desktop / good laptop with keyboard simply because it won't be the commonest form factor.

What interests me is how that will impact on people becoming those things. At present if someone buys a netbook or consumer laptop, they get a keyboard and often a CD drive &c. So if they pick up some software (Ubuntu Studio?) they can start creating. Soon , they will have to find different hardware... the barrier gets higher.

http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2011/05/car-boot-sale.html

This link leads to a fairly serious discussion of what people sell in car boot sales and second hand. The types of technology being disposed of are changing...

[ronacc]

Good Gods man, what is wrong with you? What the economy needs is blind consumerism and you want people to interact!!

You are supposed to get in your own little world and be fearful of other people. Get with the program.

Basically, I think you are right.

I agree with you about interacting , but technology can AID that also , look at this "community " we are spread across the globe , far beyond the possibility of face to face interaction . I really think that the "web" has done more to bring the world together as a single community than all the politicians in history .

[Hyporeal]

Ubuntu is trying to win the desktop market, but my understanding is that the future isn't desktop, it is smartphones and tablets at the moment.

How can "the future" be something "at the moment"?

[RiceMonster]

How can "the future" be something "at the moment"?

It's fairly obvious that KrazyPenguin was saying that "the market appears to be heading in this direction at the moment".

[neu5eeCh]

I think tablets will replace desktops/laptops for most normal people with basic needs (E-Mail, Web Browsing, FaceBook, Music, Pictures, Word Processing and stuff like that).

Tablets for Wordprocessing? I can't help laughing when I see people carrying around keyboards with their tablets. So, instead of having a netbook or laptop, they have a netbook or laptop that comes in two pieces instead of one. :rolleyes: Tablets are fine if you're a passive internet consumer - movies, porn, E-Books, news - but if you actually want to contribute, then you're going to want a keyboard. And if you're going to have a keyboard, and you want portability, a laptop or netbook makes much more sense than a tablet or pad.

[Hyporeal]

It's fairly obvious that KrazyPenguin was saying that "the market appears to be heading in this direction at the moment".

Of course. Likewise, it should have been at least somewhat apparent the I was asking how the future can be predicted by an erratic market that is continuously embracing and discarding fads.

[Zlatan]

Tablets will be dead, this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i2aBMNZhBw) is what's going to happen;)

[ranch hand]

Tablets will be dead, this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i2aBMNZhBw) is what's going to happen;)
My goodness that is impressive.

With the jump to 3d bridge technology in chips quad core would be very doable in a similar phone.

[ZarathustraDK]

Desktops will never go away.

Reason: When the technology allows for your phone/tablet to do what a desktop can, then some crazy dude will cram 10 times of that tech into a pc-case and call it a pc.

Phones and tablets may get quicker/better, but the size-to-performance ratio will remain the same as the tech is the same.

[aaaantoine]

I expect there to be a great deal of hardware category fragmentation in the future, and that fragmentation will (hopefully) promote more open standards.

Desktops will never die. Never. At worst they will become dumb terminals / thin clients again. Business needs employees anchored to their cubicles. ;)

[aysiu]

Desktops will never go away. They don't have to, but if they become niche products that only serious producers (as opposed to consumers) use, that will affect us all.

I have to confess, as far as computer use goes, I'm primarily a consumer, not a producer. I don't type long documents. I don't edit videos. I don't program. I'm not a graphic designer.

A touchscreen tablet does pretty much everything I need, as does a netbook.

[Bandit]

If you want to work on images the LCD screens have a way to go to beat the predictable color of the CRT.

It is very hard to find a quality LCD that produces truer image colors. But then again CRTs are going down in quality and I have had two of them that the color was way off even after adjusting the settings. The Asus LCD I have now I know isnt perfect, but its darn close.

[Drenriza]

I wonder how do you write emails or do word processing on a tablet? Is touch screen really that useful? I've heard different opinions from business people.

When you get a smart phone, its always different from a regular mobile phone. You need to "learn" how to type on it. Its the same on a tablet. I bought myself an ipad 2, its best for me atm. And i use it to team view to my server. Where i use visual studio to code in C#.

Its not hard to code on the tablet or extensive, its just different. Also it dosen't go that much slower. As anything else its an adjustment of what your used to.

[BrokenKingpin]

I don't see why a normal desktop OS (Ubuntu) wouldn't work on netbooks or tablets, so in that regard the desktop will be around for a long time, as tablets are not going anywhere anytime soon (unfortunately).

Desktop will always have their place for work. Typing out huge word documents, or application development just does not work on tablets (or smartphones lol).

On top of that I can't stand all this smartphone crap. When I go outside I don't need to be "connected" 24/7. I hate those people who never get off their phones, even if they are out at dinner or hanging out with friends.

[Fedz]

At home I use the PC but, when out use the cellphone/mobile (Nokia 5800) for limited browsing (mobile formatted sites), email (pop & http), reading RSS feeds (which is sync'd with Ubuntu on the desktop), tweeting, facebook ... etc.
Luv my PC & luv my fone ... the TV can go however :D

[aysiu]

On top of that I can't stand all this smartphone crap. When I go outside I don't need to be "connected" 24/7. I hate those people who never get off their phones, even if they are out at dinner or hanging out with friends. You don't have to be rude just because you own a smartphone. If I'm out to dinner or hanging out with friends, I'm out to dinner or hanging out with friends. The smartphone comes out for these express purposes: Taking a picture Looking something up to settle a friendly debate Finding out when the next bus is coming Finding another nearby restaurant if the one we're going to is closed or too crowded Smartphones are great. Rude people will be rude, no matter what technology they have available to them.

[StrayEddy]

Well I do understand BrokenKingpin,

I really love all new technologies, but these few last years, people seem really too exited about communications and knowledge right here right now.

It's really nice to be able to have all the knowledge avaible at all time, whereever you are, but it's also important to not abuse of that.

For me, when i m with friends, i dont want to get everything planned, everything prepared, i just wanna have a good time.

Think about it ;)


As for desktop future, won't end. You can create and work with desktops, but with tablets even if you can do it, no sure it's fastest-easiest

[wolfen69]

On top of that I can't stand all this smartphone crap. When I go outside I don't need to be "connected" 24/7. I hate those people who never get off their phones, even if they are out at dinner or hanging out with friends.

I agree. I use my cell phone to make important calls and texts, nothing more. I'm on my desktop computer a lot when home, so the last thing I want to do when I go out is to be "connected".

[Zlatan]

I agree. I use my cell phone to make important calls and texts, nothing more. I'm on my desktop computer a lot when home, so the last thing I want to do when I go out is to be "connected".

Some of us are a little too busy with eg kids to spend all our time at the desktop at home;)

[danbuter]

Desktops are easily the best bang for your buck. Until that changes, they are going nowhere.

[Onoku]

You don't have to be rude just because you own a smartphone. If I'm out to dinner or hanging out with friends, I'm out to dinner or hanging out with friends. The smartphone comes out for these express purposes:

Taking a picture
Looking something up to settle a friendly debate
Finding out when the next bus is coming
Finding another nearby restaurant if the one we're going to is closed or too crowded
Smartphones are great. Rude people will be rude, no matter what technology they have available to them.

I have had to scold my wife many times for pulling out her phone at the table at a resaurant. Eventually she will learn some manners ^^

[NightwishFan]

I am not really into being "connected" with people all of the time. Certainly not on something like a phone with just would interrupt what I am currently doing. On the flip side, they are invaluable for making plans on the go.

[pookiebear]

picture this.

your phone...with its 3.5 or 4 inch screen in your pocket.

As you walk into your cubicle your big monitor and keyboard come to life using the phone as the processor.
(all wireless a la bluetooth). It connects to the office private network and you can see your files and do your work. then leave.

When you go home and walk into your living room (tv room) your TV comes to life, you can check facebook, email and queue up the new episode of your favorite TV show and stream them on the HD 52 inch screen. While making a call, and changing your thermostat settings.

In your car your phone feeds the GPS directions to the car to display on its 7 or 8 inch screen. And streams pandora radio through the 7.1 speaker system.



Consider the phone the processor to your equipment. It also brings the web to those devices.

You no longer need a home phone company... or a cable company. or a playstation. Or a 10mp camera or a flip camera. You just need a better processor in the phone to make it happen. AS in they have to be close to real desktop speed.

The beauty is that since android is open source, all the TV, keyboard and other manufacturers can build their apps and devices to work with it without having to pull teeth from the makers of closed systems.

Maybe it will happen. That would end the desktop.

[aysiu]

picture this.

your phone...with its 3.5 or 4 inch screen in your pocket.

As you walk into your cubicle your big monitor and keyboard come to life using the phone as the processor.
(all wireless a la bluetooth). It connects to the office private network and you can see your files and do your work. then leave.

When you go home and walk into your living room (tv room) your TV comes to life, you can check facebook, email and queue up the new episode of your favorite TV show and stream them on the HD 52 inch screen. While making a call, and changing your thermostat settings.

In your car your phone feeds the GPS directions to the car to display on its 7 or 8 inch screen. And streams pandora radio through the 7.1 speaker system.



Consider the phone the processor to your equipment. It also brings the web to those devices.

You no longer need a home phone company... or a cable company. or a playstation. Or a 10mp camera or a flip camera. You just need a better processor in the phone to make it happen. AS in they have to be close to real desktop speed.

The beauty is that since android is open source, all the TV, keyboard and other manufacturers can build their apps and devices to work with it without having to pull teeth from the makers of closed systems.

Maybe it will happen. That would end the desktop.
Have you see the Atrix?

[timZZ]

I am surprised that topics like this are coming up.

I will admit that smart phones are becoming more and more like computers every day.

However computers are so modular serving so many purposes that it would be costly to run smart phones within the same market as computers.

You mentioned you would give up your Ubuntu Laptop for an Android Phone but what if it was the other way around.

An Android Laptop and an Ubuntu Phone.

My point is are you targeting the operating system or the hardware and comparing it to your usage scenarios?

[DZ*]

TVs don't seem to get any smaller. I think that a smartphone connected to a TV screen and a keyboard is just a desktop computer. That thing, and therefore, desktop environments designed for large screens will stay.