I can't use my calculator to do much beyond simple calculations-- it's programmable, but I never bothered learning the language. I certainly can't write an email, or use the web, or play games on it. I can use my tablet to do many of those things, and it's rather more portable than any traditional PC.
A tablet is a PC if you can use it for the same things you would be using a more traditional PC for. It's an appliance if the things you use it for form a markedly smaller subset of PC tasks.
For example: Try using a flash website on an iPad.
Sigh. Will flash ever die? A more pressing issue seems to be licensing. Because the iPad is a "mobile" device, and not a computer, it's subject to different licensing regimes. Hulu runs on a PC, for free. But only Hulu+ users can use their iPads. For a brief period, this segregation of content into "mobile" and "computer" might have made marginal sense, but thanks to lawyers, it'll live on.
Perhaps you should think about things like memory, storage space (If you don't have a file server), CPU and GPU, where PCs still enjoy a considerable advantage..
Your data and apps will be stored on a server--either yours, or in some "cloud" provider. How you choose to interact with that data will determine which device you use.
For instance, I have both an ipad and an imac. The imac has large screens and a keyboard. The ipad, I can use anywhere-- in my kitchen,on my sofa, outside. When I need more power, or the ability to work with multiple apps at once, I use my imac. It's a little clunky. Sometimes, the data can't be exchanged transparently. But this sort of thing is probably the future.
It all comes down to who controls your computer. If you can install your own programs on it, it's a microcomputer. If you have to ask your boss, it's a minicomputer, If you have to fill out a form in triplicate, and wait for the results to be mailed back to you along with a bill, it's a mainframe.
Tablets are personal, inasmuch as they are designed to be used by a single user, according to their whims. However, the vendor generally restricts what you can do with the machine.
Every couple of months my FIOS connection decides to enter into a reset behavior pattern, where the time between resets decreases with time Towards the end of the pattern, the connection won'nt stay up for more than a minute or two. And when my Internet goes, my landline goes as well. The rest of the time, it's pretty solid. Of course, I am on a rather low tier, so my baseline speed may be what other customers grumble about getting when they've paid for so much more.
Diameter - This is an estimate based on the absolute magnitude, usually assuming a uniform spherical body with visual albedo pV = 0.154 (in accordance with the Palermo Scale) but sometimes using actual measured values if these are available. Since the albedo is rarely measured, the diameter estimate should be considered only approximate, but in most cases will be accurate to within a factor of two.
Slashdot Mirror
There's something about using the internet for something as basic as a clipboard that just bugs me.
The Nexus 7 uses its megapixels to look pretty.
I can't use my calculator to do much beyond simple calculations-- it's programmable, but I never bothered learning the language. I certainly can't write an email, or use the web, or play games on it. I can use my tablet to do many of those things, and it's rather more portable than any traditional PC.
A tablet is a PC if you can use it for the same things you would be using a more traditional PC for. It's an appliance if the things you use it for form a markedly smaller subset of PC tasks.
For me,my ipad is a PC.
Sure. Codea allows you to write your own games.
Xcode doesn't run on the ipad. Codea does.
For example: Try using a flash website on an iPad.
Sigh. Will flash ever die? A more pressing issue seems to be licensing. Because the iPad is a "mobile" device, and not a computer, it's subject to different licensing regimes. Hulu runs on a PC, for free. But only Hulu+ users can use their iPads. For a brief period, this segregation of content into "mobile" and "computer" might have made marginal sense, but thanks to lawyers, it'll live on.
Bluetooth.
Perhaps you should think about things like memory, storage space (If you don't have a file server), CPU and GPU, where PCs still enjoy a considerable advantage..
If I was 80 years younger, I'd box your ears!
I always thought the difference between a micro and a mini was that a mini had virtual memory. Thus PCs became minis around the 386 era.
Hmm. So the PDP-11 was a microcomputer, not a minicomputer?
I think the definitions of PC that try to limit the term to productivity tools are better captured by "Workstation".
Can it compute a megaflop?
Does it have a megapixel display?
Does it have a megabyte of RAM (not just disk space)
Does it cost under a megapenny?
Your data and apps will be stored on a server--either yours, or in some "cloud" provider. How you choose to interact with that data will determine which device you use.
For instance, I have both an ipad and an imac. The imac has large screens and a keyboard. The ipad, I can use anywhere-- in my kitchen,on my sofa, outside. When I need more power, or the ability to work with multiple apps at once, I use my imac. It's a little clunky. Sometimes, the data can't be exchanged transparently. But this sort of thing is probably the future.
Eniac predates Von Neuman architecture
Apple's not going to like that.
I think not.
The IBM PC was introduced on August 12, 1981.
Yet, here is a 1978 Computerworld article, slinging the phrase about with abandon
You probably also believe that English words should be more like Fortran constants.
So? The VAX I used in college also had keyboards (each attached to its individual vt320). It wasn't used as a personal computer.
It all comes down to who controls your computer. If you can install your own programs on it, it's a microcomputer. If you have to ask your boss, it's a minicomputer, If you have to fill out a form in triplicate, and wait for the results to be mailed back to you along with a bill, it's a mainframe.
Tablets are personal, inasmuch as they are designed to be used by a single user, according to their whims. However, the vendor generally restricts what you can do with the machine.
Every couple of months my FIOS connection decides to enter into a reset behavior pattern, where the time between resets decreases with time Towards the end of the pattern, the connection won'nt stay up for more than a minute or two. And when my Internet goes, my landline goes as well. The rest of the time, it's pretty solid. Of course, I am on a rather low tier, so my baseline speed may be what other customers grumble about getting when they've paid for so much more.
Don't you need a Mac to program for iOS?
Fees are routinely waived if you show them in a good light.
It's just a flesh wound.
> Also, there's a rumor that EA Sports pays licensing fees to NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, etc... to use real teams names and logos in their games!
They don't just pay licensing fees, they negotiate for exclusive rights in order to preempt any competition.
Burleigh & Stronginthearm Piecemaker Mark IX
The journalists are to be commended for coming up with a analogy that appropriately captures the uncertainty
Nasa says
Grandma doesn't care about the Cloud, or straming media, or apps. All she wants is for her son to fix the damn thing so she can write FORTRAN.