Comment I Don't Buy It (Score 1) 296
Why this movement to *replace* PCs? Can you imagine graphics editing or programming or writing anything longer than a short note on a screen the size of, say, a paperback. Laptop keyboards are bad enough to try to use - fingers start cramping halfway through the second page. This is definitely a case of smaller not being better.
Voice recognition: could be fun. I like it, especially for educational uses (ie - taking notes). I'd be terrible trying to use it for dictation - I can't start at the beginning of a letter or note and just talk through it. I have to go back and edit every other sentence. It's faster and easier just to type it. Until you get an AI-type ala Star Trek or Babylon 5 to help out with that process, that's not likely to change. However, for brief notes to self or the like, or for general "navigation" processes, voice recognition would be great, and save the hands and arms much mouse-clicking and button-pushing. Still wouldn't replace my keyboard and monitor.
Does anyone remember that story about the guy who was showing off voice recognition software at a conference, and somebody reformatted his drive from the back row? Have they solved the issue of sound pickup? Can you pick up only my voice unless I choose otherwise?
This whole bit about being able to use a desktop-style machine as a storage unit and accessing it using cellular or broadband communication - Okay, so far as it goes. There's a great deal of concern by cellphone users over other people using their accounts without their knowledge or permission, or breaking into the cellular communications. Will that be less of a problem in the future? Or will we just breed the next generation of hackers? I can keep hackers out of my desktop by unplugging a phone line. With built-in cellular communications (or whatever the replacement is), integrating pagers, cellphones, internet access, and all, it would still be a comfort to have a machine that was separated from all that.
BTW, make sure I can turn off those cellphone and pager functions! I have no desire to be constantly find-able.
I love PCs, and while a hand-held, integrated device would be fun and useful, it will never become my *only* computer. I like the idea of being able to download and read books, but there's something about turning the pages that is a pleasurable part of the reading experience. I could never get as into a story reading it on a screen. There would be advantages though, like being able to resize the fonts and adjust things like color and contrast, or not losing my bookmarks when I drop the book. Of course, it might be a problem getting a computer to take as much abuse as my paperbacks do.
One more item of interest: disk drives. I have a floppy drive, a zip drive, and a CD-ROM drive. I could add a few more, no problem. I could add another hard drive, more memory, more cards, or replace or rearrange what I've got. Before such a small device can become as flexible as a desktop, you'll have to convince all the different manufacturers of disks to create a standard and stick to it. One type of disk. One type of input/output for external devices. There's just not room for much more. There are severe limitations to how much you can add to a PDA post-manufacture.
There are advantages to *adding* small, integrated devices, but they can never replace the security, ease of use, and comfortable use of a desktop PC. Just my opinion, of course, take it for what it's worth.
Morgance
Voice recognition: could be fun. I like it, especially for educational uses (ie - taking notes). I'd be terrible trying to use it for dictation - I can't start at the beginning of a letter or note and just talk through it. I have to go back and edit every other sentence. It's faster and easier just to type it. Until you get an AI-type ala Star Trek or Babylon 5 to help out with that process, that's not likely to change. However, for brief notes to self or the like, or for general "navigation" processes, voice recognition would be great, and save the hands and arms much mouse-clicking and button-pushing. Still wouldn't replace my keyboard and monitor.
Does anyone remember that story about the guy who was showing off voice recognition software at a conference, and somebody reformatted his drive from the back row? Have they solved the issue of sound pickup? Can you pick up only my voice unless I choose otherwise?
This whole bit about being able to use a desktop-style machine as a storage unit and accessing it using cellular or broadband communication - Okay, so far as it goes. There's a great deal of concern by cellphone users over other people using their accounts without their knowledge or permission, or breaking into the cellular communications. Will that be less of a problem in the future? Or will we just breed the next generation of hackers? I can keep hackers out of my desktop by unplugging a phone line. With built-in cellular communications (or whatever the replacement is), integrating pagers, cellphones, internet access, and all, it would still be a comfort to have a machine that was separated from all that.
BTW, make sure I can turn off those cellphone and pager functions! I have no desire to be constantly find-able.
I love PCs, and while a hand-held, integrated device would be fun and useful, it will never become my *only* computer. I like the idea of being able to download and read books, but there's something about turning the pages that is a pleasurable part of the reading experience. I could never get as into a story reading it on a screen. There would be advantages though, like being able to resize the fonts and adjust things like color and contrast, or not losing my bookmarks when I drop the book. Of course, it might be a problem getting a computer to take as much abuse as my paperbacks do.
One more item of interest: disk drives. I have a floppy drive, a zip drive, and a CD-ROM drive. I could add a few more, no problem. I could add another hard drive, more memory, more cards, or replace or rearrange what I've got. Before such a small device can become as flexible as a desktop, you'll have to convince all the different manufacturers of disks to create a standard and stick to it. One type of disk. One type of input/output for external devices. There's just not room for much more. There are severe limitations to how much you can add to a PDA post-manufacture.
There are advantages to *adding* small, integrated devices, but they can never replace the security, ease of use, and comfortable use of a desktop PC. Just my opinion, of course, take it for what it's worth.
Morgance
