Any articles I've seen regarding android revenue are around a year old. Android is a far larger market now, and with my eye on the ball, it has a long way to grow still. I'm a fan of cross-platform solutions. When I write something, I want it to hit as many targets as possible. This includes the desktop, which is still a 1bn install base. The Chrome store another target you can get if you code with multiple platforms in mind.
If you start from the get-go with an eye to portability, you wouldn't use objective-C, and you wouldn't use Java. You'd use C, or C++, or even Actionscript 3/AIR, or HaXe NME, and just write the code once and change your compiler targets to the platforms you want. You can spend a week or so solving issues that may crop up on specific platforms, but to get into the big market (Android), it's well worth it.
However, the metro ecosystem can be fired off from the desktop/laptop metro ecosystem. If you build a metro app on the desktop, there's a good chance it's going to work on Windows 8 RT as well. It will be a wait-and-see.
And how many Windows 7 licenses have been issued to date? 600 million? Different markets, different sales slopes. iPhones don't replace PCs for the overwhelming majority.
I don't get why there is such a focus on NASA. Sure, there needs to be a way to make them more effective, but they have increasing public liability. When they lose astronauts, they suffer a blow politically and publicly. The people of the US, in effect, are too risk intolerant. The Apollo 1 incident didn't stop the space program in the 60's - likely because it was politically mandated, and the public was aware of and accepted the risks. Besides, people need to look at where hundreds of times more money is spent - the military - before worrying so much about NASA.
> Computing power and wifi speeds will continue to increase.
Wifi speeds can't increase indefinitely. They need ever higher frequencies in order to keep PSNR down. There is a limit on the frequencies they can use.
Also, computing power will increase, but even today it takes a good amount of time to compile a large library such as boost, or a large project. For developers, there is no such thing as enough computing power. For gamers and enthusiasts (some 5% of the market, or 50 million), same thing.
I don't see tablets going the direction of being serious work machines. Can they drive 2 30" monitors? What about a couple of the upcoming 4k resolution ones? I'd be willing to bet that the number of people doing serious work on such a computation hampered device would be so low that no tablet manufacturer is going to bother.
> You will get also only a low storage, low capability mongoloid version of the Surface Pro for your $1000 or so. The high end one with an SSD large enough to actually install some of your old Windows software, with enough RAM to run them, and 3G will be well north of that again.
At least the x86 pro is worth it because it can actually replace my laptop. I can install Office. I can install Dev. Studio, and I can install steam and run games on it.
Unlike the iPad, which is just a supplemental device to a laptop, the surface can actually replace it.
There is no configuration to do: You just use the desktop. It's an icon on the start screen. It's a bit different but not so much so that it's an issue. If you lock or sleep the system while using the desktop, it unlocks to the desktop when you get back. If you run multiple screens, all except your primary one will show the desktop. I'm not a huge fan of the start screen over the start menu myself, it's jarring, but there are other benefits like uberfast boot times, continuous backup, USB boot, and an improved task bar that are so much better than before I can look past it. The price can't really be beaten right now either: I'll get Win8 for $50 just for running the release preview.
I'm running win8, and I'm multitasking in the same way I always have. The desktop works the way it always has. The only complaint I have is that just hitting the windows key creates a jarring switch to the start screen on my active monitor (but not on the secondary monitor, which always shows the desktop, even at boot). From what you've posted, I'm not convinced you've actually used Win8, and are instead referring to opinion pieces online to make your point.
Up in Canada, no OTA update has appeared. At least our phones are not being downgraded. Every time Apple pulls this, I hate the company just a bit more. They remain what they always have been: A pitiful terrified company who'd rather litigate than compete. I imagine it's because in reality, they *can't* compete. They are just another microsoft, except they breed even more ignorance.
I see win8 as something that is trying to add single-task based computing onto 7, not the other way around. MS owns the PC enthusiast space, and it may be the only space they own if their surface product doesn't go over well. They will continue to treat the desktop has a first-class citizen.
The option to customize is not going away, so stop thinking this is the case. The custom build PC market is going strong, and growing. Desktops are not going to go away, at least not for many years yet.
Desktops aren't going away. Thank the gamers and enthusiasts, because they will always insist on being able to build their own custom, powerful systems, and there are tens of millions of them. The custom build desktop space is lucrative for hardware manufacturers too because this group has money for their hobby and spends it. Many upgrade a major component every year. It is also a growth market. So yeah, powerful systems are going to be available for a long time to come yet, and they're going to stay well ahead of the mobile space in terms of power.
Mention that that is for the low storage, low capability mongoloid version. The high end one of north of $800. That's getting close to ultrabook territory. The x86 surface could easily dominate up there. I certainly know that it's the first "tablet" I actually would want.
I agree with your assessment. Metro is fine. I spend all my time on the desktop anyway. I pin my programs, and I now windows key+F to do a system search for programs and files, and just windows key+type when I need to find something in real time. I do find the filters in start menu search annoying though. I just want a flat search...
They are toys. Sure there are use-cases for them that are good - pilots use ipads because it's faster and better than flight manual. They also make good clipboards. But some niche penetration doesn't mean that the average user can pick one up and use it for work. People buy these things to supplement their PCs on which they actually do work, manage photos, store videos, play games, etc. iPads are great for the elderly and the very young because they are so restricted in their use. They will cease to become toys when they start becoming unrestricted - though what's more likely to happen is that laptops will just become more tablet-like.
There is nothing cheap about a tablet. A cheap mobile device that is not hampered in the way a tablet is is called a laptop. Laptops can be had for less than even the cheapest tablet. Tablets absolutely are toys. They are highly restricted, reduced functionality toys. You can't write code for a tablet on a tablet. In fact, thanks to those teeny tiny screens, you can't write code comfortably at all. You need a full PC to develop for these things.
That's not to say laptops and tablets won't merge - they will. However, the current paradigm of the laptop (not the desktop - desktop has been niche for years now), is not going to go away, it will simply evolve.
Thirded. It's like any other common skill. People can't really maintain their own houses or cars these days, I honestly and discouraged by this. I hope computing doesn't go the same way.
>I never did understand though why apple fanbois get all butthurt when you point out its fashion and then jump through logic hoops trying to justify the increased cost.
Yes, it a funny thing is that they don't factor in the most justifiable reason to buy apple: It's the product they prefer, and they'll will to pay for it. This is a totally justifiable reason. The cost of apple is high, and it is high to most people, but there is always a segment that pays extra for the status and/or OSX. In rich countries, this is about 1 in 5 people - plenty for revenue for apple to innovate. We actually *want* apple to be successful because they do a fair bit of market experimentation with their extra cash, but they have to be overpriced in order to have that cash, which will necessarily reduce their market penetration. I don't see them ever going away, and I don't see them ever taking over the world, but I always see them as one force mixing up the market and pushing it forwards.
>Oh, and he always claims how he can get x specs for y dollars, yet he never provides concrete, verifiable examples.
I just checked the HP website. I just picked a random 15 inch laptop there (the pavillion dv6tqe), and specced it, as close as I could, to the 15 MBP. I got the price up to $1200 ($1450 less $250), but it had more RAM (8 GB) an HD antiglare display, a kepler 650M with 2 GB of GDDR5 (the MPB's kepler comes with 512 MB). I also threw in a 9 cell battery which is rated at 9 hrs of battery life and a 750 GB HDD at 7200 RPM (the MBP has a 500 GB 5200 RPM HDD). The 15" MBP is still $1799 without options. If I had just upgraded the pavillion's graphics and display and nothing else, it would cost about $1100, but would still have double the RAM and HDD space and a higher resolution display. A $700 price difference is big when you consider that the cheaper system is specced higher. The retina MBP is more interesting, but when I was mucking about with it I had a hard time finding a way to actually use the high pixel density. I like pixel density, and I like that apple is pushing it, but 15" laptops don't need resolutions that high - it's just not usable.
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Any articles I've seen regarding android revenue are around a year old. Android is a far larger market now, and with my eye on the ball, it has a long way to grow still. I'm a fan of cross-platform solutions. When I write something, I want it to hit as many targets as possible. This includes the desktop, which is still a 1bn install base. The Chrome store another target you can get if you code with multiple platforms in mind.
If you start from the get-go with an eye to portability, you wouldn't use objective-C, and you wouldn't use Java. You'd use C, or C++, or even Actionscript 3/AIR, or HaXe NME, and just write the code once and change your compiler targets to the platforms you want. You can spend a week or so solving issues that may crop up on specific platforms, but to get into the big market (Android), it's well worth it.
> Perhaps people that aren't as prone to spend money to impress others are just less likely to blow it in general.
I believe this is probably the majority of people.
Windows. Because the tools are better. Monogame makes it possible on other platforms however.
The money was spent 5 years ago, and is just being written down now. MS gross revenues increased.
However, the metro ecosystem can be fired off from the desktop/laptop metro ecosystem. If you build a metro app on the desktop, there's a good chance it's going to work on Windows 8 RT as well. It will be a wait-and-see.
XBox doesn't require windows. B2B products like Media Room don't require windows. These are also money makers for MS.
I think things are playing our differently. People will own two devices. One phone and one ultra-portable PC.
And how many Windows 7 licenses have been issued to date? 600 million? Different markets, different sales slopes. iPhones don't replace PCs for the overwhelming majority.
Also, check your numbers.
I don't get why there is such a focus on NASA. Sure, there needs to be a way to make them more effective, but they have increasing public liability. When they lose astronauts, they suffer a blow politically and publicly. The people of the US, in effect, are too risk intolerant. The Apollo 1 incident didn't stop the space program in the 60's - likely because it was politically mandated, and the public was aware of and accepted the risks. Besides, people need to look at where hundreds of times more money is spent - the military - before worrying so much about NASA.
> Computing power and wifi speeds will continue to increase.
Wifi speeds can't increase indefinitely. They need ever higher frequencies in order to keep PSNR down. There is a limit on the frequencies they can use.
Also, computing power will increase, but even today it takes a good amount of time to compile a large library such as boost, or a large project. For developers, there is no such thing as enough computing power. For gamers and enthusiasts (some 5% of the market, or 50 million), same thing.
I don't see tablets going the direction of being serious work machines. Can they drive 2 30" monitors? What about a couple of the upcoming 4k resolution ones? I'd be willing to bet that the number of people doing serious work on such a computation hampered device would be so low that no tablet manufacturer is going to bother.
> You will get also only a low storage, low capability mongoloid version of the Surface Pro for your $1000 or so. The high end one with an SSD large enough to actually install some of your old Windows software, with enough RAM to run them, and 3G will be well north of that again.
At least the x86 pro is worth it because it can actually replace my laptop. I can install Office. I can install Dev. Studio, and I can install steam and run games on it.
Unlike the iPad, which is just a supplemental device to a laptop, the surface can actually replace it.
There is no configuration to do: You just use the desktop. It's an icon on the start screen. It's a bit different but not so much so that it's an issue. If you lock or sleep the system while using the desktop, it unlocks to the desktop when you get back. If you run multiple screens, all except your primary one will show the desktop. I'm not a huge fan of the start screen over the start menu myself, it's jarring, but there are other benefits like uberfast boot times, continuous backup, USB boot, and an improved task bar that are so much better than before I can look past it. The price can't really be beaten right now either: I'll get Win8 for $50 just for running the release preview.
I'm running win8, and I'm multitasking in the same way I always have. The desktop works the way it always has. The only complaint I have is that just hitting the windows key creates a jarring switch to the start screen on my active monitor (but not on the secondary monitor, which always shows the desktop, even at boot). From what you've posted, I'm not convinced you've actually used Win8, and are instead referring to opinion pieces online to make your point.
Up in Canada, no OTA update has appeared. At least our phones are not being downgraded. Every time Apple pulls this, I hate the company just a bit more. They remain what they always have been: A pitiful terrified company who'd rather litigate than compete. I imagine it's because in reality, they *can't* compete. They are just another microsoft, except they breed even more ignorance.
I see win8 as something that is trying to add single-task based computing onto 7, not the other way around. MS owns the PC enthusiast space, and it may be the only space they own if their surface product doesn't go over well. They will continue to treat the desktop has a first-class citizen.
The option to customize is not going away, so stop thinking this is the case. The custom build PC market is going strong, and growing. Desktops are not going to go away, at least not for many years yet.
Desktops aren't going away. Thank the gamers and enthusiasts, because they will always insist on being able to build their own custom, powerful systems, and there are tens of millions of them. The custom build desktop space is lucrative for hardware manufacturers too because this group has money for their hobby and spends it. Many upgrade a major component every year. It is also a growth market. So yeah, powerful systems are going to be available for a long time to come yet, and they're going to stay well ahead of the mobile space in terms of power.
Mention that that is for the low storage, low capability mongoloid version. The high end one of north of $800. That's getting close to ultrabook territory. The x86 surface could easily dominate up there. I certainly know that it's the first "tablet" I actually would want.
I agree with your assessment. Metro is fine. I spend all my time on the desktop anyway. I pin my programs, and I now windows key+F to do a system search for programs and files, and just windows key+type when I need to find something in real time. I do find the filters in start menu search annoying though. I just want a flat search...
They are toys. Sure there are use-cases for them that are good - pilots use ipads because it's faster and better than flight manual. They also make good clipboards. But some niche penetration doesn't mean that the average user can pick one up and use it for work. People buy these things to supplement their PCs on which they actually do work, manage photos, store videos, play games, etc. iPads are great for the elderly and the very young because they are so restricted in their use. They will cease to become toys when they start becoming unrestricted - though what's more likely to happen is that laptops will just become more tablet-like.
There is nothing cheap about a tablet. A cheap mobile device that is not hampered in the way a tablet is is called a laptop. Laptops can be had for less than even the cheapest tablet. Tablets absolutely are toys. They are highly restricted, reduced functionality toys. You can't write code for a tablet on a tablet. In fact, thanks to those teeny tiny screens, you can't write code comfortably at all. You need a full PC to develop for these things.
That's not to say laptops and tablets won't merge - they will. However, the current paradigm of the laptop (not the desktop - desktop has been niche for years now), is not going to go away, it will simply evolve.
Thirded. It's like any other common skill. People can't really maintain their own houses or cars these days, I honestly and discouraged by this. I hope computing doesn't go the same way.
>I never did understand though why apple fanbois get all butthurt when you point out its fashion and then jump through logic hoops trying to justify the increased cost.
Yes, it a funny thing is that they don't factor in the most justifiable reason to buy apple: It's the product they prefer, and they'll will to pay for it. This is a totally justifiable reason. The cost of apple is high, and it is high to most people, but there is always a segment that pays extra for the status and/or OSX. In rich countries, this is about 1 in 5 people - plenty for revenue for apple to innovate. We actually *want* apple to be successful because they do a fair bit of market experimentation with their extra cash, but they have to be overpriced in order to have that cash, which will necessarily reduce their market penetration. I don't see them ever going away, and I don't see them ever taking over the world, but I always see them as one force mixing up the market and pushing it forwards.
>Oh, and he always claims how he can get x specs for y dollars, yet he never provides concrete, verifiable examples.
I just checked the HP website. I just picked a random 15 inch laptop there (the pavillion dv6tqe), and specced it, as close as I could, to the 15 MBP. I got the price up to $1200 ($1450 less $250), but it had more RAM (8 GB) an HD antiglare display, a kepler 650M with 2 GB of GDDR5 (the MPB's kepler comes with 512 MB). I also threw in a 9 cell battery which is rated at 9 hrs of battery life and a 750 GB HDD at 7200 RPM (the MBP has a 500 GB 5200 RPM HDD). The 15" MBP is still $1799 without options. If I had just upgraded the pavillion's graphics and display and nothing else, it would cost about $1100, but would still have double the RAM and HDD space and a higher resolution display. A $700 price difference is big when you consider that the cheaper system is specced higher. The retina MBP is more interesting, but when I was mucking about with it I had a hard time finding a way to actually use the high pixel density. I like pixel density, and I like that apple is pushing it, but 15" laptops don't need resolutions that high - it's just not usable.