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Story: Will your next PC be running Android?Total Replies: 12
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tracyanne

Jun 08, 2011
8:54 AM EDT
Not on your nellie.
JaseP

Jun 08, 2011
9:28 AM EDT
Android is fine for phones, light tablets, small embedded functions,... but not PCs or even full tablets. For those you need power apps full office apps, graphics editors, CAD, full accounting & database apps... Android is perfect for games, simple web based functions, simple PIMs, an embedded control interfaces (like smart home, heating/cooling interfaces, smart TVs & fridges, etc). It's no good for meaty computing applications.
skelband

Jun 08, 2011
12:53 PM EDT
Like I've said before somewhere else, TA's response is very true of the kinds of people that frequent these pages.

However, I do see the future for a large proportion of the population seeing a great advantage to a low power, always-on machine in the home, a sort of convergence device that doesn't look or act like the PC does. Some of the functions of that machine are performed by a PC, but let's not kid ourselves: for a lot of the things that most people use a PC for, it is not the most effective device.

To check emails, you switch it on, wait for it to boot, log in, wait for the DE to initialise, start your browser of choice and only then can you actually do any work. I see my wife do this because that is mostly what she uses the PC for. The kids are the same for email and Facebook and the occasional game.

Compare that experience with the typical modern smartphone. It is a low-power efficient device which for most people is always on. Accessing your media is a few button presses or finger flicks away. You could even go so far as to say that for a lot of these people, they don't actually need a PC anyway because smartphones are quickly filling that niche.

Whether they will have one of these mythical convergence devices in the future will depend a lot on what else that machine would do in the house that a smartphone would not. Some things that come to mind could be performed by a decent NAS I guess: mass storage; some kind of PVR functionality; home protection; communications hub (aka router).

Does anyone else have a vision of the future?

Edit: Although I don't entirely agree with it, I just saw this and it says a lot of what I mean: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06/08/disk_troika_face_con...
azerthoth

Jun 08, 2011
1:07 PM EDT
Wrong market. I use it on my phone and on my Nook Color. That being said I have been known to use it to wake up my desktop, ssh in, and then set it to work in a screen session all from my nook. It's all about what the intended use is. A computer is a computer is a computer is the worst mindset to get into. It's that same as saying a tool is a tool is a tool, no a hammer drives nails and a screwdriver turns screws, neither is well adapted to do the job of the other.

Will I use android, yes. On a device that is used for intensive work, not on your life.
ComputerBob

Jun 08, 2011
1:13 PM EDT
Quoting:...Some of the functions of that machine are performed by a PC, but let's not kid ourselves: for a lot of the things that most people use a PC for, it is not the most effective device.
Just as, IMO, for a lot of the things that some people use a cell phone for, it is not the most effective device.

Apparently, we don't yet have the mobile devices that we're going to be using in the future, so it's probably anybody's guess what those devices will be running -- but for those of us who will still be using a PC for "the things that it is the most effective device for," we're not going to be running Android.
skelband

Jun 08, 2011
1:28 PM EDT
@ComputerBob:

Yes, I agree entirely with you.

My main point was that whereas in the past everyone who wanted to look at photos, read/send email etc got a PC. These days, the advent of the smartphone has taken a large chunk out of that market. A great many people who have PCs just don't need them any more.
ComputerBob

Jun 08, 2011
3:43 PM EDT
@skelband, The other day, one of my college work study students -- a young, single mother with a 6-month-old son -- told me that her cell phone company had just threatened to cancel her smartphone service, because she was behind on paying its bills.

She pays $250/month for it.

I have no idea how she can afford that much (and apparently, maybe she can't).

I also have no idea why she thinks that she "needs" such an incredibly expensive device in her life.

And she's only one of the many, many students I see who are in very similar life situations -- who also pay similar smartphone bills.

I would never have predicted that "smart" people would have such "dumb" priorities -- which is probably one of the main reasons why I'm not a hugely successful business tycoon.
skelband

Jun 08, 2011
4:51 PM EDT
@ComputerBob:

Yeah. I've got a mobile phone, but it is not anyway smart. Just for calls (and texts, which I have used approx 4 times).

I'm actually more interested in the technology of the smart phone itself than the mobile wireless services supporting it.

I've been tempted on one or two occasions to get either a small Android tablet (7" probably) or a cheaper smartphone but primarily for wifi use at home/at work. That way you get the benefit of the tech, but not the big bills.

So far though, I have not seen anything cheap enough (for my Scrooge budget) or has just the right features.

However, tt the moment, I just can't justify getting one because I just wouldn't use it that much.
Fettoosh

Jun 08, 2011
5:36 PM EDT
Guys, You might want to take a look at the Motorola Altrix.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWIe8wQBqS0

Better yet, do a Google search for all in one computers and let your imagination go wild to see what the future holds.

I think we need to determine what makes a device a Desktop, a Netbook, a Tablet, or a smart phone.

Is it its size, hardware resources, peripherals, DE Interface, software it runs, or what?

To me it is none of the above individually but what I can do with it.

A smart phone with decent processor, disk storage, enough memory, network interface, keyboard and good size display monitor can be a good desktop.

Also take a look at KDE Plasma Desktop, Plasma, Netbook/Tablet, & Plasma Mobile. You can use any of those and depending on the hardware you have at the time.

http://www.kde.org/announcements/4.6/plasma.php

http://www.slideshare.net/qtbynokia/kde-plasma-for-mobile-ph...

tracyanne

Jun 08, 2011
8:27 PM EDT
@skelband

Quoting:Like I've said before somewhere else, TA's response is very true of the kinds of people that frequent these pages.

However, I do see the future for a large proportion of the population seeing a great advantage to a low power, always-on machine in the home, a sort of convergence device that doesn't look or act like the PC does. Some of the functions of that machine are performed by a PC, but let's not kid ourselves: for a lot of the things that most people use a PC for, it is not the most effective device.


I too want a low power, always-on machine in the home... in fact I have several right now, and none of them are powered by Android, they are powered by a less invasive (of my privacy) Ubuntu, as will my new Tablet.
jdixon

Jun 08, 2011
11:42 PM EDT
> To check emails, you switch it on, wait for it to boot, log in, wait for the DE to initialise, start your browser of choice and only then can you actually do any work.

I come home, sit down in my chair, turn on the monitor, type fetchmail, wait for it to get my mail, then type elm. The computer is on all the time, barring power failures, and the browser and a terminal window are always open.
tmx

Jun 09, 2011
12:00 AM EDT
I really think Meego is picking up interest among manufacturers which I will prefer, and look how much security problem Android is having.

@skelband Wait a few months and you will have plenty of devices to choose from.

There are lots of new technology coming out now and companies are also throwing out the last of last generation hardwares as well (so don't buy these last-gen devices). There are Intel OakTrail and CedarTrail APU, AMD Fusion APU, ARM APU, next-gen Intel and AMD cpus and gpus. All these are being release now and probably will be abundance during back to school time and Christmas.

Meego is going to be popular and they'll be both 7" ARM and x86 tablet for it. Whether ARM or x86 devices, they'll be able to run Meego, Android and Windows. Android, Meego and ARM combination are going to be able to put out $200 and $300 tablets and netbooks. With Windows 8 licensing I don't know how they'll compete in price, as well as potential confusion of ARM vs x86 softwares. I hope they'll be wide adoption of Meego, only time will tell, or if it just dies off. There are many choices for users, Android, Chromium, Meego, WebOS, iOS, Windows 8. But it looks like truly the portable space is where linux will be able to compete with the might of Apple and Windows on the consumer level. Of course, Apple and Windows knows this which is why they covers themselves with ARM support.
tracyanne

Jun 09, 2011
1:07 AM EDT
@skelband
Quoting:A smart phone with decent processor, disk storage, enough memory, network interface, keyboard and good size display monitor can be a good desktop.


Of course it will. Just so long as I can get one that doesn't have Android, iOS or Windows on it I'll be happy to use one. If I can run a good Linux based OS on it (note I said good, so none of your Google shite), I'll be very happy, otherwise over my cold dead body.

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