Will tablets ever replace computers?

[Opti]

Also depending on the device, it may or may not like your personal electric fingers.

I prefer mice over touchscreen. I would like to be able to talk/shout at my computer like they do on Star Trek.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jul 30, 2015 9:50:32 GMT -5 souldoubt said:

Jul 29, 2015 20:13:58 GMT -5 Tiny said:

I think the traditional desktop PC is a thing of the past... even at work that "PCs" we use are pretty small. Mostly just need a screen and input device (a keyboard for those of us that can type and a mouse or a touch screen).

I think it depends on what you do or the industry you're in.  I work in the finance industry and tablets just don't cut it for what we do with the exception being checking and responding to emails and most people use their phones for that when they're out of office.  We work with huge amounts of data, have programmers, work with spreadsheets and the list goes on.  As leaping lizard pointed out there's no way I can use excel on a tablet but part of that is probably due to me being familiar and comfortable with it on a desktop/laptop.  That's not to say that younger generations won't become more accustomed to doing some of this on tablets but we hire kids straight out of college and none of them seem to care that they use a desktop.  Currently we have tablets for people to use when they travel but no one is walking around the office using a tablet.  As older generations retire and technology changes who knows what the workplace will look like in 10, 20 or 30 years.  Personally I'm not getting anything installed or inserted that's just creepy and 1984'ish.       

Exactly.  I have worked with huge spreadsheets and manipulating them on anything other than a regular computer was a royal PITA.  It was so bad that I bought a monitor to use for my laptop (my thesis data was on my laptop).  The data I received for my thesis was over 8000 rows, 200 columns.  Even this was painful on my large monitor until I broke it down to manageable bites.

These days, I have my AutoCAD and Solid Works (both engineering drafting programs) on a desktop to work on.  While I have them on my laptop, it is VERY painful to do any amount of work on it so I only use it as a last resort.

[souldoubt]

I actually just got done working on multiple spreadsheets and it made me think of this thread.  I use dual monitors at home and at work and it makes life so much easier when I've got multiple spreadsheets and other documents open.  I even nerd out at home when I update my retirement projections, budget and so on using multiple sheets and browser windows.  Some of our programmers actually have 3 monitors and they use all 3 at once.  I'm sure with a tablet or similar device it's possible to have multiple outputs but for someone like me I don't see the point in switching when I'm content with a desktop that does all of that and has more functionality.  Maybe that's just a sign of me being "old" since I graduated high school in 2000 and was really part of the big group in this country that started using computers to go online, do research, write papers and so on.  

[Deleted]

I hate when I catch myself at the laptop trying to touch move on the screen... its luck, duh... But I do it, all the time if I'm actually on the laptop.

[Phoenix84]

Jul 30, 2015 9:25:42 GMT -5 busymom said:

iPads are now standard equipment for students in our school district, but frankly, I think they are a major PITA. Many times that thing has stalled out on us, & DS has ended up doing his homework on our home computer.

And, for those of us who are too frugal to use a smartphone,  I think there are a number of us who are content using their home computer.

Does the school provide then, or do you have to buy them?

What kind of school work can you do on a tablet? Obviously not write papers or prepare graphs or presentations.

[Deleted]

I bought the Miller Levine Biology textbook for the kids- $100. We were going to Florida and I didn't want to lug it, started looking, same book $20 ibook. And it was linked to explanations/ definitions/ further sources. And had practice quizzes.

Ipads have Pages and Numbers and keynote capabilities. Not to mention social media, notes, etc.

Actually, you can even get word and excel now I'm pretty sure. Just haven't gotten there yet. I did not like Numbers. But if I can get excel, my laptop might go away for good...

[Phoenix84]

Jul 30, 2015 8:53:30 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

Jul 30, 2015 0:00:18 GMT -5 Opti said:

Sheesh so Windows 10 bridges a gap between computers(traditional PCs) and tablets? Oy.

I don't know what the future holds. Consumers and companies are capricious. Sci Fi writers have been exploring this issue for years and there is no consensus. I think tablets are great as a secondary stripped down computer that is portable, but I don't see desktop computers disappearing any more than mainframes have disappeared. In other words, both will remain. Who has what, how many ... IDK.

Stay tuned and see what happens.

Yeah, now this is not something I've heard.  I thought Windows 10 was to replace the hated Windows 8, return to something more like 7 that most are comfortable with.  Windows 8 was definitely designed for touch screen devices, but it's really stupid for non-touch monitors, and too much of a change in use for most PC users (in one step).  They learned their lesson, and brought back what works for the majority.  Of course, beyond the user interface, some things will work differently.  We've been warned at work to wait before upgrading to 10.  Our system is not compatible at this point, and our last upgrade was just this month, next is not scheduled until spring 2016.  Also concerns about peripherals' device drivers not being compatible.  And to wait for the inevitable glitches and bugs to shake out first.  We have a year.

From what I've read, windows 10 can run on anything, pcs, tablets, smartphones, game consoles, even vr devices.

They will have a mode that makes it like the current windows 7 that everyone is used to, but it can automatically or manually transfer into a touch screen mode.

[busymom]

Jul 30, 2015 11:31:42 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

Jul 30, 2015 9:25:42 GMT -5 busymom said:

iPads are now standard equipment for students in our school district, but frankly, I think they are a major PITA. Many times that thing has stalled out on us, & DS has ended up doing his homework on our home computer.

And, for those of us who are too frugal to use a smartphone,  I think there are a number of us who are content using their home computer.

Does the school provide then, or do you have to buy them?

What kind of school work can you do on a tablet? Obviously not write papers or prepare graphs or presentations.

  The school provides them (thanks to a grant they received), BUT the parents have to buy insurance each year in case your student damages them.  If you refuse to buy the insurance, plan on reimbursing the district $400 if damage occurs. 

  DS actually DID put together a class presentation on his iPad.  Mostly he does normal homework (fill-in-the-blank stuff), & he can watch Google videos that tie into whatever they're studying in class.  Schools no longer send home textbooks with the kids like they used to...

[wyouser]

Hmm.....lets see, Hammurabi's law codes were done on tablets of clay maybe 4000 years ago. They came from clay out of the Tigris- Euphrates  river valleys and not out of Silicon Valley. Looks to me like they predate computers?

[garion2003]

Jul 30, 2015 9:43:20 GMT -5 oped said:

Jul 30, 2015 9:25:42 GMT -5 busymom said:

iPads are now standard equipment for students in our school district, but frankly, I think they are a major PITA. Many times that thing has stalled out on us, & DS has ended up doing his homework on our home computer.

And, for those of us who are too frugal to use a smartphone,  I think there are a number of us who are content using their home computer.

And that's fine. But there are limitations. And going forward there will be more.

The other day while another mom and I waited for the girls to get out of a class, I used my phone like 4 times, to look up a program, to investigate an upcoming cultural event and post it on meetup, something else... and the other mom was like. Oh, ok. ... Seriously, if I had to wait till I got home to do everything, most of it would never get done... (and only half because I would never remember it later, lol...)

There are times my fairly new laptop (running Windows 8, blech) is slower than my phone. I basically do most of my email checking and web surfing on my phone now.

[TheOtherMe]

Guess I'm old school.  I don't know if I will keep the smart phone when the contract is up in December.  I may go back to a flip phone.  I do love my iPad.  The screen is to small on the iPhone for me to see.

I have a laptop running Windows 7 and an old desktop running Windows XP.  Can't tell you the last time the desktop has been turned on.

At my tax season job, I have two screens.  I thought it would be hard to use two screens, but it's so easy.  Many of the people have three screens.  They use a desktop, but the tower is very, very small.  I'm guessing when I return in January, they will have switched to Windows 10. 

I don't see myself ever being able to handle large spreadsheets on the iPad and I do have the app installed.  Laptops have gotten so much lighter over the years, too. 

Some things I do on my computer can't be done on the Apple operating system so I need my Windows laptop for that.

Somebody said they were old since they graduated in 2000.  I graduated in 1969!

Last night on the news, there was a story about a woman who was turning 102 and she said she loves her computer!

[Deleted]

Have desktop (XP), IPad and IPhone and use them all for different things.  Desktop is for serious number crunching (Excel) and document production (Word) plus Quicken and online financial transactions.  Tablet is for casual research like "which cabinet knob should I buy" and phone is for everything else.  My volunteer commitment uses software that is really data-heavy and get this, only runs on IE  .  I am a Google Chrome sort of girl for everything else but have to run IE for that app and to pay my car note b/c Kia Finance only runs on IE.  For the record, I hate IE.