That sounds terrible. I want what an AC said, the super-powerful tablet that is easily docked and immediately starts acting like a desktop computer when I want it to.

The appliance model is a waste of money and resources - not just raw materials, but R&D. And the appliance model doesn't even last in the wild. Cell phones took about five years to be "ubiquitous, but just a phone" to "ubiquitous, and I can debug code on them".

Consumers have pretty clearly demonstrated a desire for one object that does everything; yes, my home has a work laptop, a home laptop, and an Android smartphone. Is that contradictory? Nah. I'd argue the marketplace hasn't yet evolved into offering that single omnidevice, so instead we have different products that do 90% of what the other devices do, and 10% is something special.

We'll get there, but I don't think it'll happen in five years, and I think it's going to look a lot more like a laptop with a bunch of modular accessories than a flat sheet that remains as it is.

Ah. Yeah, I'd be totally for that. I'd also like a touchscreen, AND a keyboard, AND a mouse.

Me too, but I don't have arthritis.

I have to do that several times a week, at least. And maybe you haven't performed that specific task, but fast switching between applications, and bringing over data from one to the other, is just tougher to do with a touch screen than a keyboard + mouse, and it's pretty common in a business setting.

That's a laptop without a hinge, so I have to go find something to support the screen. At the airport, that isn't happening.

No! This is completely untrue!

Copy a few cells in your favorite spreadsheet program, then paste those cells into your favorite word processor, in a tablet. Format it with headers in a different font and color. Then, do that at a desktop computer with keyboard and mouse. Which was easier?

I know that tablet technology is rapidly changing, but once you have a big enough screen to capably handle windowing, you've basically got a laptop without a keyboard, not a tablet. And who wants that for business use?

That's a good point that I didn't address in my earlier post..the casual user who uses their computer for 30 minutes of e-mail and Facebook a day is also one of the last people to completely scrap existing technology for a entirely new format.

Some of them may buy a tablet in addition to their "real computer", but as for the Fall of Wintel, I'd say not yet.

But I also give it 3-4 years before Google has a desktop/laptop version of Android.

Tablets, in the style of the iPad or the recent Android models, just aren't useful for 8-10 hours of real work. I would say that almost anyone who has to work on a computer for their job needs to have more than one window open, too. It's hard to pull that off and maintain any level of productivity on a 7" or 10" screen.

I'm thinking of getting one to bring to meetings and such as a replacement for my bulky laptop, since I can type notes faster than I can write them (plus being able to record what's going on is great), but that would only be to make my "real work", back in my office, at a desktop computer, easier. I don't see how manufacturers can get around that while still keeping a tablet look and feel.

For home use? Sure, it's a great alternative for many people, mainly the e-mail, Facebook and Skype-only types.

Probably way late, but the car noises are being lobbied for by the American Federation for the Blind.

Ah. Is this where you discovered the trisexual puppies?

Seriously, log into a different account if you're going to try to be a tough guy.

Yeah, these blind motherfuckers are ruining it for Good Americans. Fuck them and their medical condition.

The problem is that #1 and #2 don't happen regularly, and it's easier to attach a $5 speaker to a car than to hope human nature transforms in response to electric cars becoming more available.

Yes. Nobody will be able to figure out how to attach a small speaker to a car and make it beep when the car is below a certain speed. Damn you, big oil.

"A biker can turn on a dime, stop on a dime, and swerve in the blink of an eye."

Swerve where? Out of the bike lane, into the automobile traffic lane, while having no time to look and see if it's clear? I'll take the car door in my face, thanks.

And, of course, there are plenty of anecdotes where the racist joins the military, goes to war with black, white, Latino, Asian, Jewish soldiers, and realizes within a week what an ignorant ass he's been.

I'm not in the military, but I have friends and family who were/are. I can't think of a class of the US population less likely to be racist (well...maybe Islamophobic, which is, of course, bad) than those who have done active duty. I imagine the same thing would happen with gays and lesbians vs. homophobes.