Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 18th Oct 2010 16:00 UTC
An interesting discussion is currently raging through the world of computing, or more accurately, through the world of bloggers and analysts. It basically comes down to this: should the iPad be included in laptop and desktop sales figures? If it is included - Apple becomes the largest PC manufacturer in the United States. But, if the iPad should be included - why not the modern smartphone?
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RE[2]: It cannot be included
by M.Onty on Mon 18th Oct 2010 19:21
in reply to "RE: It cannot be included"
Member since:2009-10-23
Or maybe we should look at the Wikpedia definition:
A personal computer (PC) is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user with no intervening computer operator.
That makes the iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone, my Moto Droid, my netbook, my commodore64 and several other machines personal computers...
A personal computer (PC) is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user with no intervening computer operator.
That makes the iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone, my Moto Droid, my netbook, my commodore64 and several other machines personal computers...
True, except that there is an alternate, far more common usage for 'PC' which refers to IBM Compatibles (after all it sounds a bit daft to call them 'IBM Compatibles' today).
RE[3]: It cannot be included
by aesiamun on Mon 18th Oct 2010 19:44
in reply to "RE[2]: It cannot be included"
Member since:2005-06-29
True, except that there is an alternate, far more common usage for 'PC' which refers to IBM Compatibles (after all it sounds a bit daft to call them 'IBM Compatibles' today).
I don't believe this is far more common. Apple made people think that this is the true meaning of it during their "I'm a mac, I'm a pc" advertising campaign.
Even then, Macintosh computers are PCs...by the original (and I believe canonical) definition.
RE[3]: It cannot be included
by RIchard James13 on Tue 19th Oct 2010 05:08
in reply to "RE[2]: It cannot be included"
Member since:2007-10-26
RE[2]: It cannot be included
by Googol on Mon 18th Oct 2010 23:36
in reply to "RE: It cannot be included"
Member since:2006-11-24
"What makes you define a personal computer as having to run an ftp server or any of that?"
Dude, that's you making it up. I said it cannot do 3800 things my netbook can do, or my PC, including but not limited to running an FTP. That is what a PC is about and an iPad is not. Of course I said that already the first time. See, the point is that a PC can do pretty much ANYTHING. Is that a laymen's definition of a PC you would go by? Of course. And an iPad CANNOT do pretty much ANYTHING at all by that measure. And of course you go by that as well.
So, sure, you CAN call an iPad a PC, but that devoids "PC" of any meaning, so let's not.
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/25/13 0:45 UTC
"So in summary... Google has pulled the plug on support on a protocol they've helped popularize, after years of promising interoperability, for reasons that are dubious at best, and in a way that leaves people who don't jump to the new Hangouts app unable to talk to their contacts without any feedback that their IMs aren't getting through... And they've done that with no warning to anyone. I imagine there's a bunch of people out there wondering where some of their buddies have gone, or why their messages aren't getting responses, because this isn't documented anywhere." Google really messed this up. Such a dick move.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 23:59 UTC
The Tizen Greek Community has some screenshots of a very recent build of Tizen running on a Samsung GT-i8800. It looks wholly unremarkable.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 22:33 UTC
Joint statement to The Next Web from Microsoft and Google: "Microsoft and YouTube are working together to update the new YouTube for Windows Phone app to enable compliance with YouTube's API terms of service, including enabling ads, in the coming weeks. Microsoft will replace the existing YouTube app in Windows Phone Store with the previous version during this time." Good to know these children stopped acting like little pricks. Can we have full Google support in Windows 8 now, please?
Linked by Howard Fosdick on 05/24/13 21:41 UTC
Yahoo is acquiring Tumblr, the microblogging and social networking website, for $1.1 billion USD. Tumblr offers little revenue but lots of eyeballs if Yahoo can monetarize them. Now Yahoo is bidding for Hulu, the streaming video service. After years of ineffective responses while Google, Facebook, and others took large chunks of the online advertising market, Yahoo is fighting back. Can Yahoo reignite the momentum it had at the turn of the century? What do you think?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 14:44 UTC
"Sources have described iOS 7 as 'black, white, and flat all over'. This refers to the dropping of heavy textures and the addition of several new black and white user interface elements." I couldn't be happier.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 23:22 UTC
"Ilja van Sprundel, a security researcher with IOActive, has discovered a large number of issues in the way various X client libraries handle the responses they receive from servers, and has worked with X.Org's security team to analyze, confirm, and fix these issues."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 22:04 UTC
"Google is facing a new antitrust probe by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission into whether the company is using its leadership in the online display-advertising market to illegally curb competition, people familiar with the matter said." Sucks to be Google today, apparently.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 22:01 UTC
"In the midst of the major press blitz surrounding its annual I/O Conference, Google dropped some unfortunate news about its instant messaging plans. In several places around the web, the company is replacing the existing 'Talk' platform with a new one called 'Hangouts' that sharply diminishes support for the open messaging protocol known as XMPP (or sometimes informally Jabber), and also removes the option to disable the archiving of all chat communications. These changes represent a switch from open protocols to proprietary ones, and a clear step backward for many users." That's why I always say: only suckers trust companies.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 17:52 UTC
"The wave of departures is a sign of internal struggle, but amidst all the bad news, there is a glimmer of hope. According to an anonymous HTC executive cited by WSJ, the crucial HTC One is selling 'pretty good so far'. The executive revealed that HTC sold about five million One units since launch, a performance that is deemed encouraging. However, sales have been limited by the persisting supply issues that still plague the production of the HTC One." Finally some good news for HTC. Five million units amidst supply constraints is very impressive.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 22:23 UTC
"Sony gave the PS4 50% more raw shader performance, plain and simple (768 SPs @ 800MHz vs. 1152 SPs & 800MHz). Unlike last generation, you don't need to be some sort of Jedi to extract the PS4's potential here. The Xbox One and PS4 architectures are quite similar, Sony just has more hardware under the hood. Weâll have to wait and see how this hardware delta gets exposed in games over time, but the gap is definitely there. The funny thing about game consoles is that itâs usually the lowest common denominator that determines the bulk of the experience across all platforms. On the plus side, the Xbox One should enjoy better power/thermal characteristics compared to the PlayStation 4. Even compared to the Xbox 360 we should see improvement in many use cases thanks to modern power management techniques." AnandTech does its usual in-depth thing.More News »
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Member since:
2005-06-29
Can I rip CDs?
Can I play either of them?
Can it run an FTP server?
Can it run flash?
Can it burn disks?
Can I mirror a web server with it?
Can I remote into my PCs and vice versa?
It cannot do 3800 things I do every day and that includes all typical everyday PC tasks.
That is the definition of what a PC is NOT.
What makes you define a personal computer as having to run an ftp server or any of that? The commodore64 was a personal computer...it didn't do any of that. My netbook doesn't have an optical media drive, yet it is a PC. I can run a ftp server on my Moto Droid...is that a PC? In fact I can do most of those tasks with my Moto Droid which is decidedly a phone...but does that make it a PC?
Or maybe we should look at the Wikpedia definition:
A personal computer (PC) is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user with no intervening computer operator.
That makes the iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone, my Moto Droid, my netbook, my commodore64 and several other machines personal computers...