Is the Desktop Becoming Legacy?

The traditional Workstation disappeared because the regular desktop became powerful enough to be able to do the _SAME_ things as the much more expensive workstation.

There is _NO_ way a small mobile device can do all the things a desktop system can do. Therefore the answer is: "No, the desktop is not becoming a Legacy".

Maybe when I can buy a mobile device with 20", high-res screen, a full-sized keyboard and a mouse and still be able to put it in my pocket the death of the desktop will have arrived. I would hate to do video or even picture editing on a tiny mobile device. Especially with me becoming more and more long-sighted as I gain in years.

I don't even read this type of article anymore. The desktop will not go away.

One reason not on your list: many businesses will continue to use desktops because it's a lot tougher to stick a desktop in your bag and walk out than to put a laptop in your bag and walk out. I know of one business that is worried about both the cost of the machine (can be $2000 or more) as well as the cost of a lawsuit over lost data (many times more than $2000).

You know what? I love my netbook. I use it for just about everything. I had to take a close friend to the doctor this morning (she was in the hospital last night) and I'm sitting in the waiting room using my excellent little mobile computer. Having said that... I still bought a new desktop late last year because there are some things that just plain are better with a large screen, a 64-bit processor, and 4GB of RAM.

Can some mobile devices replace a desktop in a lot of circumstances? Sure. A desktop is still the better tool for some jobs.

I acknowledge that performance of traditional desktop applications is better than their cloud alternatives, but I'm giving in to the convenience of Web-based mail and document-editing. For development I can't use Google Docs, but for everything else I am.

.... when they pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

Quoting:I acknowledge that performance of traditional desktop applications is better than their cloud alternatives, but I'm giving in to the convenience of Web-based mail and document-editing.

You are also trusting the security of your documents to others. What if they decide to misuse your docs, mine them for data without telling you and sell it off to whoever wants it without informing you? What if their security is less than adequate and someone steals your precious data?

Convenient? Perhaps. Security is generally inconvenient. Lack of security, or trusting others too much, often bites you know where at the worst possible time.

I've written about Google Docs and the cloud in general for non-geek audiences, and I always say the acceptability of Google safeguarding your data is relative. Many smaller companies (and probably some large ones, too) and the great majority of individuals do not have secure, redundant systems in place, so something like Google is more secure than their own solution, and in that case the cloud works.

With that in mind, there's nothing wrong with a private cloud or other networked storage solution ...

...including solutions which have been in place for decades (Samba, NFS, Novell, AppleShare), a lot longer than "the cloud".

Novell, AppleShare???

Actually we do use AppleShare at my shop.

But OS X's native FTP capability outside AppleShare? Steve Jobs ought to hang his head in shame. I use that dog FTP client (Fetch?) because OS X won't accept long filenames (and I use very long filenames).