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The Decline Of The Desktop
Lam1969 writes "Robert Mitchell of Computerworld has written an article about the decline of the desktop in the workplace. He also notes in his blog: 'This theme of 'squeezing' more hours out of workers came up a few times as this story came together. Using technology to increase productivity is a good thing, but in some cases productivity wasn't increasing -- employees were simply expected to work more hours.'" From the article: "After almost a quarter of a century as the personal computing device of choice for business, the desktop PC is sliding off its pedestal. It has withstood assaults by technologies such as the Windows terminal, the Web and the network PC, but the mighty desktop has been humbled by user demand for the one thing it can't deliver -- mobility."
The mighty desktop has been humbled by user demand for the one thing it can't deliver -- mobility.
Persoanlly I don't move around my 5 square foot cube enough to necessitate a laptop, maybe when I'm OUT of the workplace...
Wah Sig!
The one thing holding me back from buying a notebook for personal use (got one from work), is that I DON'T want to take a PC everywhere with me. Sure, there's folks that can really use that sort of mobility. But when I'm done with a computer, I want to leave it behind, you know?
Then again, I'm not a gadgeteer of any sort either. Guess that makes me kind of a loner...here among...loners.
*crickets*
"There are some things that never change:Broadband over powerlines is just around the corner The desktop PC is dying"
Don't forget about these either:
*Linux is almost ready for the consumer desktop.
*Apple/BSD/Sun/Palm/PalmOS/TiVo is dying.
*Windows ___ is the best version of Windows ever!
* ____ is the Microsoft killer!
and
*Duke Nukem Forever - coming soon!
"Right now, somewhere in this world, Scott Baio is plowing a woman he doesn't love," - Peter Griffin, *Family Guy*
I can increase my hand-eye coordination the old fashion way, with porno magazines... I don't need a portable computer.
And a laptop is...?
Not a desktop, you intellectually challenged individual.
Mod down people who tell people how to mod in their sigs
And JUST when Linux was going to be ready for the desktop!
"Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under." - H.L. Mencken
You young 'uns and your fancy schmancy "mobile computers". In my day, we didn't have these flimsy little "laptops". No sirreee, none of these tiny little plastic computers for us.
We lugged them heavy duty 100% cast iron Sun workstations in to work every morning and carried them home on our backs when the day was done.
Yes sir. We built character lugging our Sun workstations about and balancing them on our laps. To say nothing of more resilient balls.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
The only reason I want a laptop at work is so I can work from home legitimately. Do I have any real reason to work from home? Not really. I just feel more productive in my underwear and music blasting.
Of course, when I do present my request for a laptop, it will hinge on "bad weather" and my above average distance from work, rather than any pressing need to write code in my 'roos and a beer on my desk.
But shh. Don't tell my boss.
it takes no more extra time to take a desktop someplace than it does to take a laptop
:)
Clearly, you're flying a different airline than I am!
"Just once, I'd like to meet an alien menace that wasn't immune to bullets." -- The Brigadier, Dr. Who
While the moderation of this comment is technically correct, it indicates the need for a new rating of "-1 Too Informative".
How to solve most of our problems: 1.Lots of nuclear plants. 2.Cure aging.
WAAAAAYYYYYY back in the day, AT&T (Bell Labs), GE, and MIT collaborated on a project known as MULTICS. Their idea was to build an ultra-scalable machine that could handle any number of users in a multi-user environment. The thought these companies had was that they'd be able to sell computer power like they sold power. Home users would have a network cable strung to their home, and they'd be able to "plug in" appliances that could make use of that power.
Sadly, the project was very difficult to pull off with the technology of the time. As a result, a fellow by the name of Ken Thompson created a much simpler, single user version of the system (don't laugh, I'm not joking) called "UNICS". UNICS caught on under the name "UNIX", and the world has been striving to regain the idea of remote computing power ever since.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
If I'm 'sick at home' I'm probably not home at all - just needed an extra vacation day so thought I'd use on of the 5 sick days the company allots annually. How handy is that laptop going to be then?
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You obviously haven't seen my awesome 6.8GHz laptop with 1 Terabyte of RAM. Eats those dual Xeons for lunch!
The 56" widescreen is a bit difficult to fold, or use outside on a windy day, though... still, it's worth it to be mobile!
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
Sadly, too many computer professionals only follow your last point, and stay well rounded. You know what I mean.