IBM PC daddy: 'The PC era is over'

So how many of these 80 something posts have been sent from a tablet?

QED

@arglborps

A Mac most definitely is a PC and only shit-for-brains marketroids will have it otherwise. Well, them or the clueless people brainwashed by stupid advertising to think that a personal computer is either a Mac or a PC -- a PC being "Something what runs Windows.".

PC stands for Personal Computer and has been pretty much defined as "A computer designed to be used directly by an individual, usually small enough that each person can have their own." since they emerged. Examples include, but are not limited to, the Sinclair Spectrum, the Commodore Pet and the IBM PC/AT.

By that definition an iPad probably is a PC, as is your phone, and there is nothing wrong with broadening the definition to include them. After all, this is about "the traditional PC" being replaced.

But video...

...did kill the radio star.

Be fair

You can have background tasks on most tablets and phones these days, though why anyone would want to use such a limited device as a general purpose computer is beyond me.

not wanting to get all technical

but that was exactly what use cases were designed for.

a writer will, primarily, want to create and format text, do some research, maybe move about for 'inspiration' ie they want a reliable machine with a good keyboard, probably a laptop.

a graphic designer will want a good display, input choices and a good display. likely a desktop machine with lots of processor grunt, a very large, high end display and graphics tablet, possibly combined. so a desktop based system

a gamer will want a machine with lots of grunt, processor and graphics, high memory, low response times, good display. They will want a desktop or very high end laptop, serious gamers want a desktop.

a developer will want lots of memory, good keyboard, good processor, possibly graphics, depending on what they develop. high end laptop or desktop.

If, however, all you want to do is faff about on twitter and facebook, watch youtube, browse the net, send the odd email, play angry birds. Then yes a tablet is ideal.

if you think you may want to do a bit more, possibly write something more substantial than a paragraph, create a few basic graphics, do some calculations with a spreadsheet. Then you need a bog standard pc as well as your tablet.

alternatively, you could always have a tablet, with a stand, and add on keyboard, with external memory/disk... but that would just be silly, especially when there are better tools designed specifically for those scenarios.

@ Oninoshiko

"and is a case-study in why consoles are better for gaming then PCs (hardware predictability)"

That predictability also implies that the graphics quality you get in a console is always below that of a middle-range PC graphics card. Ditto for processing power, that plays an important part in most modern games. And don't get me started on console controllers. For a vast majority of games, a keyboard+mouse beats any console control pad.

Crysis 2 on PC (and PC gaming in general)

Also Crysis 2 on PC was updated to run in DX11 mode (far more advance than any current console), and had a free high quality downloadable texture pack (1.7GB), which has much better textures than the console version.

Currently I run at 1080P (1920 x 1080) with DX11, the texture pack, and all settings on Ultra.

The game looks astounding. A comparison with the console version, and the XBox version looks like it's running on a budget laptop with a mobile GFX card.

Also console controls will never beat keyboard and Mouse in an FPS (in a 3rd person game, yes sometimes console control is better, but never 1st person).

Also, I have nVidia 3D vision, and can still run with Ultra details when in stereoscopic mode :-)

Basically current consoles = mid range PC from about 2-3 years ago.

A modern mid range PC, even a reasonable Laptop, will be at least twice the CPU and GPU power of any current console.

A modern high end PC will utterly destroy any console.

For comparison, the current consoles (XBox 360/PS3) GFX card is basically equivalent to an nVidia 7800GTX or ATI X1900.

That was current tech back in 2006 when these were being created, that's 5 years ago now! These chip sets are so old, no one sells them any more.

To make matters worse, modern tablets (Tegra 2 etc.) and catching up rapidly with the consoles. The current versions aren't quite as fast as a console, but the next versions, due later this year or early next, will be.

If the PS3 and XBox 360 aren't replaced within the next 6 months (which they won't), then they won't even be able to keep up with mobile phones and tablets!

Current consoles are not 'next gen', they are not even 'current gen', they are 'past gen' and by several generations as well.

@Giles Jones

The iPad is just a toy. Until Apple allows developers to install apps on the iPad without going through App Store and Apple taking 30% of revenue, you will never get any serious software installed on it.

Developers are waiting for Windows 8 and Windows 8 tablets.

You will see the iPad dumped in businesses for a Windows 8 tablet especially when they will be able to use MS Word and Excel for their work.

"With a bluetooth keyboard a tablet is much better for typing"

So by the time you're lugging around a keyboard, and presumably a mouse to make your tablet "much better for typing", and something to keep the tablet in an orientation thats useful how is it any different from a badly designed, underpowered netbook? Albeit one thats probably incapable of running the software you routinely use on your desktop...?

Horses for courses...tablet <> desktop replacement or indeed notebook replacement.

@Volker Hett

"This can't be real work since he does not need a keyboard and mouse to do it."

You obviously haven't been at the controls of a modern combine ...