Well, a fifteen-inch laptop is still a far cry from an iPad--let
alone an orignal Mac (or an Osborn). I'm sorry your brother and his
co-workers have to use a 15-inch laptop to code on all day; but here,
we're getting into the issue of workers versus corporations, rather
than consumer choice (of iPads and smartphones versus computers).
And iPhones may be cool, but they're still much too expensive for a
lot of people. The mere fact that an iPhone does a lot of stuff does
not give me (or anybody else) the money to buy one, or the
wherewithal to pay the telephone bill. This is serious money, folks;
and for something that can't do a lot of everyday functions, like
writing a book report or typing a letter. It's really about how many
people can afford a luxury item, like a smartphone or an iPad. For a
lot of us, the money just isn't there; and if it were, we would
probably spend it on a more useful device, like a computer of some
kind. Or even on food and rent.
--Constance
On Jun 30, 2010, at 9:09 AM, phartz...@gmail.com wrote:
On Wed, Jun 30, 2010 at 2:38 AM, Constance Warner
<cawar...@his.com> wrote:
At the present day, I just don't see itty-bitty machines with itty-
bitty
screens taking the place of laptops or desktops for serious work,
either in
the home or the office.
My brother works for a large, worldwide IT firm that does a lot of
work for governments. He codes all day long, working on databases.
No one who does this work in their little cubicles is allowed anything
other than a laptop fitted with nothing bigger than a 15 inch screen.
No external keyboard either. This is worker punishment, and my
brother feels the exhaustion by the end of every work day.
Sure, kids like smartphones, and those iPads are just so cute; but
they're
just not convenient to work on. And consider this: a lot of us
don't have
unlimited funds any more--in fact some of us are rather short on
funds,
thanks to the Great Recession. This means we have to choose
carefully which
computer-type devices we buy and maintain.
It is not just kids who are gravitating to ever tinier devices that
they use to do their computing. I kniow of a number of adults, over
45 who have almost abandoned their traditional computers in favor of
using an iPhone or something similar for just about everything. What
does that tell me? The tells me that they were never doing anything
"serious" with their desktop or laptop computer to begin with. Their
traditional computer was overwhelming and confusing and confounding
them to begin with. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard
people say that they no interest whatsoever about how computers work
and they also do not care. All they want to do is be able to do a
little click here or a little click there to get something done.
Steve
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