On Saturday 23 June 2012 12:22:05 john lewis wrote:
> On Sat, 23 Jun 2012 10:56:16 +0100
>
> Samuel Penn <sam@???> wrote:
> > On Friday 22 June 2012 23:29:46 john lewis wrote:
> > > I had a very brief acquaintance with the ipod so this isn't even the
> > > beginning of a real review but my first impression is that it is a
> > > nice (expensive) toy but not really serious computing kit.
> >
> > What does this even mean? What is "serious computing kit"? Were you
> > expecting to be able to run a climate modelling application on it?
> > Or maybe just run a web server for a small business?
>
> My comments were based on what I need a computer for and for me tablets,
> smart phones and similar "modern" devices are useless.
So you don't like them. That doesn't make them toys.
Saying that they're toys is an objective statement, which is why I'm
saying you're wrong.
> Even my EeePC is not used for anything other than as a portable store
> for my genealogy database that I can take to genealogy group meetings.
> It is a bit more convenient than lugging a full size laptop around (and
> my idea of a full size laptop is a Sony Vaio PCG-FX601)
If that's all you need, why wouldn't a tablet work? There are plenty of
genealogy apps for tablets, and some genealogists would disagree with
your view of them being useless:
http://www.slideshare.net/mhelmantoler1/st-georgefamhistexpohelmantoler1
> > Given the rate at which the hardware and software is improving on
> > tablets, and given what I can do with my phone now[1], it's not
> > going to be long before the difference between mobile devices and
> > PCs starts to become very blurred indeed (especially if Ubuntu
> > starts shipping on such devices).
>
> It worries me that the situation could arise when people in similar
> situations to me will no longer be able to have the interface they
> need because of so-called improvements to software.
>
> Gnome 3 looked like doing this but for now at least there is still the
> Classic option to use. Designers need to realise that not everyone
> needs/wants mobile devices and that desktop systems are likely to be
> wanted for many years.
Desktops will be around for many years. Gnome has been simplifying
for the last 10+ years, KDE is still as full featured as it always
was.
> I wouldn't be able to do my genealogy research using a non-gui web
> browser for example as many sites I obtain data from wouldn't be
> available without 'flash' and the like. I make very extensive use of
> data I've purchased/downloaded in pdf format and don't know if there is
> a non-gui reader that would allow me to use them.
Where did non-GUI come into this? Android phones and tablets can
display PDFs just fine. Many can display Flash as well.
> Anyone who makes extensive use of a keyboard for programming would I
> suspect also think something like an ipod as 'non-serious for that task.
I assume you mean ipad. There's a full Android IDE for Android,
which works fine. My tablet has a keyboard attachment. As per the
link I added, I can hook my phone up to a full sized screen, and
add keyboard and mouse and it can be used like a PC.
I can even run X11 on my tablet, or share a PC screen onto my tablet.
> So, to sum up, I have very specific requirements for a computer system
> and those requirements are very unlikely to be fulfilled with an OS or
> device designed with touch screens/mobility in mind.
>
> It is in this context that I call my daughters ipod a toy.
You keep on saying ipod, I'm assuming you mean ipad.
I have no use for a boat, but that doesn't make all boats toys.
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Sam. Posts: http://www.google.com/profiles/samuel.penn
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