"The first computers were gigantic, filling rooms and requiring constant care and maintenance. [...] The computer stayed on the desk until the laptop computer, a smaller, more portable, but just as powerful machine, made it nearly obsolete. And then, the iPhone was released, followed shortly after by Android and the Palm WebOS, and the next step in computing was clear. What we did not immediately understand was if mobile computing was an accessory, or a replacement, for the traditional desktop machines." Jon-Buys at Ostatic believes the phone-becomes-computer paradigm is the next step.
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Member since:2006-06-22
I have a slightly different vision:
Imagine you walk in the office, place you phone on a charger/dock and ... built in projector lights up the wall (or a projecting canvas) and a laser traces a virtual keyboard on your desk ...
Member since:2006-07-14
Same general idea, your cpu & storage is always with you and is adaptable to the best input/out put mechanisms at hand, whatever you define those to be.
But,would you really enjoy the lack of feedback a laser displayed keyboard would provide? I'm a touch typist, I don't need the letters to actually be ledigble on a keyboard as I never look at them while typing. I think its a terrible idea. Give me a real keyboard anyday. I don't care if its a projector, LCD, Plasma, CRT, or E-ink as long as the display is crisp, readable and sufficiently large enough for me to work.
Member since:2005-06-30
Member since:2007-09-22
The Mozilla community had a concept phone with such an idea:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Mozilla+Seabird+Concept...
Member since:2006-02-15
A projector built in a smartphone ain't gonna replace a real display for work. For one thing, it just can't put out the same amount of light, and therefore you're much more readily at the mercy of ambient light around you. Secondly, you'll have to place the phone/its doc in rather awkward places so as to keep the image uniform and still not have your head or office tools constantly obscuring the image, let alone the other people in the office!
On a similar note, a virtual keyboard is a lot, lot worse to write on than a real one. It might work for people who have very little need to write anything, but it sure as hell won't work for codecs, translators, book authors, in general anyone who has to write a lot of text on a daily basis.
Member since:2006-02-15
I would say first and foremost connectivity: a real desktop can connect to a dozen different devices simultaneously. Secondly, performance. To a lesser extent customizability. Fourth, a desktop-oriented OS.
Only the third one is really something that a smartphone can't do and won't be able to do, the other two mostly just come down to time -- ie. technological advancements in CPU/GPU - tech -- and to making a dock with lots of connectors. Whip up an OS that can transition from mobile-oriented interface to a desktop-oriented interface when needed, fashion a good, proper dock, and make it all work together completely seamlessly and you'll have no problems substituting a smartphone for a desktop in most areas of life.
Member since:2011-10-17
Member since:2005-07-06
Why should you even need the phone? Imagine you carry a smartcard in your wallet, something with nothing more than basic credentials, like a cypher key. You go wherever you want, plug it into the card reader at the local dumb-terminal, and you are instantly back at your desktop.
If this is the reality you want, all you need is a server account somewhere, and a thin client/dumb terminal. Because all your stuff is on the server, you get the benefits of amazingly powerful hardware (out there on the server) and no risk/expense of loss (lose your card? Get a new one for $1. How much is your super-phone worth?) Furthermore, because all your stuff is out there on the server (sorry, it's called a cloud now, I suppose?) it's available to you wherever you go.
I think we're closer to that reality, and in fact it's not too different from a reality we already had back in the 1970s.
Member since:2006-02-15
What you described would otherwise be perfectly feasible, but it falls down on its face due to a single issue: bandwidth. Especially outgoing data is still throttled and limited in huge amounts, but even for inbound data you need a very good connection to be able to work at e.g. 1080p resolution with minimal input latency. Now, combine that with ISPs and mobile broadband - operators placing cap on the amount of data transferred and you'll quickly realize that that just ain't only unfeasible but downright impossible as things stand.
Member since:2005-07-06
OTOH the envisioned scenario reminded me about some past predictions... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_computer#The_Home_Computer_.22Rev...
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.
Member since:
2006-07-14
Read the story.
What makes your desktop a desktop? If its anything other than the size of the box holding the cpu, then you can't have much of an objection to this concept.