>Another viewpoint would be that in 2013, grandpa boxes are a
>minority hobby. ;-)
Grandpa boxes. Whoda thunk?
>>>I'm waiting for the days when my mobile phone can plug into a large screen
>>>cradle for tablet-like functionality, and then also to some dock for desktop-like
>>>functionality (full keyboard, mouse, printer, just like my machine today).
>
>That's easily available via bluetooth and/or recent wifi printers. The next
>generation does away with the screen altogether-
>e.g.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c6W4CCU9M4 .
Screen's still there. Just different. :-)
>>>Mobile machines are great. They're not yet a replacement for desktop,
>>>and won't be any time soon (in my opinion).
>Bluetooth keyboards mean you can have a grandpa box wherever you go
>and the specs on newer devices aren't so different from your average desktop.
You can't change them. On a desktop PC you can swap out components, add new ones, etc. Highly configurable.
>But technologies like Google glass are transformational- probably as
>transformational as Windows in the days when DOS ruled.
That's a most frightening prospect.
>Don't get me wrong- I just bought a new notebook. But people who plan to
>invest (wo)man years in a development project need to be looking a year or two
>ahead IMHO. Will people still perceive benefit in dedicated desktop apps when
>mobile devices can cast truly gigantic private screens whenever and whenever
>we want them?
I don't know. It's a frightening future in that regard.
I recently saw a movie about Fidel Castro, recorded in the late 2000s. He was talking about how much things had changed since he was in school and came to power. He was asking big questions like, "Why? Why has it changed so rapidly in such a short period of time?"
An old co-worker and I were having this conversation. We concluded it more or less all began with electricity. Prior to electricity, some kind of mechanical or chemical energy had to be harnessed locally. But with electricity, a couple wires and you're in business. Made labor cheap, the ability to do things cheap, the ability to work beyond daylight, beyond weather, for businesses. And even personally ... we have servants in our homes today. Some fetch water, light our lamps and candles, wash our dishes, wash and dry our clothes, vacuum the floor, compress the garbage, everything. We're all the equivalent of millionaires compared to 100+ years ago.
So rapidly are the times changing. Just amazing.
