The part about confusing was that it reflected my experience with Windows Mobile application development.

So any notes apps that are like Vesper? Or any read later apps like Instapaper? Or even anything like Urban Spoon? Or... and I could go on.

The thing about the app space now is that while yes, part of this is a move in technology (we now have very fast mobile CPUs on relatively fast wireless cellular connections), the other half is that the ecosystem itself is more than just a build toolchain and the ability to side load from the internet.

Also, it helps that iOS is way more regular people friendly than the Psion was.

If you're still using an Osborne I've got a lot of questions for you.

Mobile apps? no

Mobile *ecosystem*?

That's a different story. Scrublands in the desert is an ecosystem. I wouldn't call it as lush as a rainforest. The mobile ecosystem prior to the iPhone was pretty barren. I used to use a Windows mobile 5 iPaq back in the day and the ecosystem was bare AND confusing(Are you using a MIPS CE device? ARM? Do you even know? etc.).

QFT.

I think though, that you're overselling the size of the vocal anti-Apple Android user base. I think they've just grown accustomed to hacking around bad design.

This quote comes to mind.

Android users think they're adapting tech to themselves, Apple users think Apple is adapting the tech industry to their whims.

In the end, the question is, who's design decisions do you trust, yourself or Apple's? I opt for Apple.

I slipped and busted my ass on a patch of ice outside of my apartment this morning.

That's who's to blame!

The point you're missing about maps is that maps in car play is fed via Apple maps. Which updates more frequently than maps for car systems.

Car manufacturers don't mind giving up control over things like the entertainment system provided it works better than what they can do. A lot of makers are signed up for it. From BMW to Hyundai to ford and GM.

How it'll do in the future... No one knows.

USB OTG not good enough? Bluetooth not good enough?

The problem with expansion, especially using ExpressCard, is that there's a horrendous chicken/egg problem. very few express card peripherals exist, thus few express card slots are being included in modern machines.

It has nothing to do with intellectual competition. It's just that, most people's wants are served on board. Expansion's existed but as time has gone on, the need for PC Card and ExpressCard has gone away thanks to USB.

I used Needle to describe something thinner than a stylus. :(

Flying from LA to Chicago or Seattle to Phoenix? Sure. Economy's just fine.

From NYC to Shanghai? Dallas to Rio? Anywhere to Honolulu or Juno?

More than 4 hours on a flight and pay the outrageous fees. your sanity will thank you for it.

Because typing on that tiny keyboard looks impossible with out some kind of typing needle.

If the game supports generic flight sticks, sure. But that's true on PCs as well.

Yes, there is joy2key, but, holy crap is that a bad experience.

Shouldn't games be fun to begin with?

Vita, 3DS and PS3 can run their web browser while playing games. Not sure about 360, XB1 or PS4.

Also if I'm going to be doing that I'd rather just look down at the tablet that's as likely to be in my lap.

The overheating PS problem was fixed in the 2nd rev of the console. The rest of this screed is basically, "Optical media sucks." Which it kind of does, but, again, not a console specific problem. How else do you ship a large volume of data when customers may or may not have broadband?

Numbers? 360 failed at a rate of 33%, and over many different revs of the console. PS2 and PS1 both were sorted out by the 2nd and 3rd revs of the console and at much lower rates of failure.

Had you bought a PS3, you could've just opened the latch on the side, pulled the disk out, put a new one in and transferred your data. How is this a problem with consoles on a fundamental level? You bought a console that was designed by people with no taste.

TF2 has the save behavior. Although I don't think that's endemic to PC gaming specifically, but I do see it more often on PCs rather than consoles.

Except games design isn't an engineering problem where you worry about 'use cases.'

Games design is about the expression and engagement of human being in a virtual world. It's not like you're driving a damned spreadsheet. Imagination and engagement have a place here.

This isn't a, "Who's really got the crappy driver problem? nVidia or AMD?"" kind of question. The input issue and the internal storage issue are squarely problems with Microsoft and Nintendo. This isn't anything inherent in having a console itself. Kiss my ass.

Some games like Minecraft lend themselves well to modding. However, I don't see the general purpose, "MODS! MODS EVERYWHERE!" attitude is a benefit for PC gaming. I want to play the base game. That someone can replace the dragons in Skyrim with The Macho Man Randy Savage isn't exciting to me because the base game isn't exciting to me.

Further more, mods open up an avenue for cheating too. Which is rampant in PC gaming.

This is so subjective it hurts.

Again, why are you crucifying all console gaming with the problems Microsoft had? That's an Xbox problem, not a console problem.

Just because a PC can check email, go on IRC or be used to order pizza doesn't mean that I think it's lacking that the Xbox One or PS4 can't do either of those things. We're talking about a games console. For playing games on.

The thing you're missing is that there's a deep experience in the ability to just put in a disc and play.

Further more, on a lark, when I started getting in on this flame war, I decided to reboot into Windows so I could try some PC gaming. Fired up MWO and waited 2 hours for the game to patch itself with several gigs worth of patches. Generally console games don't see those kinds of updates. How the hell is that acceptable? Console games can get maybe 1 or 2 gig sized patches but it's never been PC gaming levels of bad.

Further more, games have been hanging, crashing and choking since the NES days. Sometimes rendering games completely unplayable. This has nothing to do with consoles being PCs with fancy memory architectures.

Also, I'm not sure what that means; this has been the case since the 2600. The 2600 and NES used 6502 variants, similar to what was in the C64 and Apple II. Genesis used a 68k chip, similar to the Mac and x68k. SNES used a 16 bit variant on the 6502. N64, PS1 and PS2 used MIPS chips. They're all just PCs with fancy architectures. This fact hasn't changed in 40 years.

You're missing my point. That games feel different with different control schemes. That not relying on WASD and a mouse can make for a very compelling experience.

Really, your only valid point. However, many MMOs still cling to subscription models. Plus the Wii U has free online.

This isn't a console problem specifically. That's a nintendo/microsoft/3rd party dev problem. Ps2, Ps3 and Ps4 all support standard devices over USB should the developers so choose. Unreal Tournament, Dust, Silent Scope and a bunch of other games supported using standard devices on the PS.

...and? They're actually bad for the industry It's not like console games broke the bank to begin with. Not unless you were crazy and imported.

That's a feature on consoles. Games should be able to stand on their own.

Graphical fidelity isn't bad to begin with on consoles. There's also a human limit to which graphical fidelity can be achieved. Making more graphical detail costs money, time and man power.

Also, at what cost? Fiddly drivers, OSes and other things to futz around with? Not to mention to power all of that means I need some big noisy video card and CPU or fiddle around with low noise cooling solutions. Generally, not my idea of fun.

I also can't imagine how the PC gaming world is sustainable with games being so cheap, but yet somehow also looking so much better.

This is an Xbox/Nintendo problem, not a console problem.

Other than controllers, and even then developers can opt to support non-officially supported peripherals, the PS4 can use all manner of standard USB devices. Same with PS3, PS3 even goes further with controllers.

Again, that's not feature.

Seriously, not having to deal with other processes running in the background? Feature.

Any worth playing? Any worth making the absolute remark that PC gaming is superior? Should I trash my PS3 because I can't play Papers Please on it?

Sure, but, again, like point above, should I completely ignore other gaming outlets over this? Some AAA titles are still worth the hype because they're lead by really smart people with a lot of resources at their fingertips.

Yet somehow I still get called racial, ethnic, sexual and sexuality based slurs online. The abuse is actually worse on PC than it is on either XBL or PSN.

Sure, if it makes you feel better about it.

I'm not discounting the PC as a gaming platform where fun games can exist, but *superior*? You PC gaming people are nuts.