Is There Still Hope Left in the Future of the PC?

[belardo]

PDAs were more expensive, when you compare feature list per dollar. Sure it's not anyones fault the PDAs were weak compared to tablets... It's the technology of the time. Had a bottom end $200 b&w palm and a $400 hp Jornada ( regulated to child's toys) . A $400-500 tablet has wifi, 9-10" screens, don't need a stylus, operate almost full internet functions, takes photos, play videos... HD quality. Etc.

Things a 3-5" PDAs can't do... Or at least very well. They can't compare. Those basic functions are typical dumb phone technology.

386 is 1986 technology... Which lived in desktops until about 1993. Just 6 months ago I tore apart the keyboard and cleaned it up like new... Inside and out. Keytronic still makes old-style AT mechanical keyboards, but still not quite as good. When yours dies, welcome to the world of 6-18 month keyboard lifespans. Hmmm I have another one in storage, forgot what was wrong with it, I kept it for spare parts just in case. Got some tinkering to do.

Unless they make a desktop style Mac for $600-800... I don't think so. Mac mini, too weak. Don't want an AIO, and spending $2500 for their towers isn't worth it. Win7 does very well... So I was BSing.

Point is, I shouldn't need to spend $80-120 for a keyboard that may last 1-2 years vs $20 for a knock off I bought in 1996.

 

[amk-aka-Phantom]

PDAs were the top-of-the-line for their time, don't compare them to tablets... it's like i7 vs Pentium 4 Extreme. Both were one of the best - in their own time. And what kind of PDAs had a 3'' screen? 😵 I remember all of them having at least 4.5''...

Let's see: they had Wi-Fi and could display all of Internet save Flash, had BT, infrared (messing around with people's TVs via remote control app was FUN!), memory cards, some of them tooks photos and videos ($500-600 range) and played videos of what was considered good quality at that time (DVD). Of course, they required a stylus, but I actually much preferred it to finger-controlled touchscreen - the screen stays clean They were very good devices for their time - it's logical that smartphones and tablets replaced them, but they were good. Somehow it still looks to me that you're talking about some different PDAs... the ones I knew put all the then-existing smartphones to shame and when the iPhone 1 came out, I just laughed, because my PDA could do all that and then some, save phone calls.

I don't know when my keyboard dies... unless I break it myself, it'll easily outlast my current rig, lol. I'm just afraid that mobos for sure won't have a PS/2 in 3 years... and I still didn't find a PS/2-to-USB adapter.

 

[belardo]

PDAs were the top-of-the-line for their time, don't compare them to tablets.

I know that, and pointed that out. But comparing price to abilities... PDAs were expensive. By 2000, a typical PDA as 16Mhz... but still not actually faster than a 1985 Amiga or Mac.

And what kind of PDAs had a 3'' screen? 😵 I remember all of them having at least 4.5''

Really? REALLY?! Thought you grew up with these things. There were dozens of Palm compatible devices and WindowsCE.

The Palm 100 (2000) had a 2.75" screen ($150), a typical size 3~3.25" screen was the norm (They had to fit in your pocket) and with 160x160 rez... you really didn't need a large screen. But they did scale that up to 320x420 (give or take - depending on model & brand). The Zire (Palm's first $100 PDA) had a about a 2.5" screen.

The Palm V was about $450 with 2MB RAM... easily VERY expensive compared to a tablet. And that is a MONO screen, no WIFI (networking was an add-on ie: email) and you can forget web browsing.

By 2003, the first high res color palms (320x320) hit at about $400...
A cool looking device, the SONY UX50 (still PALM OS) looks like something out of Star Trek TNG... Out in late 2003... it has USB, BlueTooth, WiFi, camera, keyboard, web browser, a 3" screen (yikes)... all for $700.
http://the-gadgeteer.com/2003/09/29/sony_cli_peg_ux50_u_review

Not as expensive as the Sony NZ90 at $800 (not including optional WiFi card for $150) with a typical battery life of... 1 hour, not including WiFi (maybe 30mins)!

Then there is the Apple Newton... 90s. B&W 6" screen (320x480 roughly) with about 24hr battery life. About $700~800. Which wasn't considered too bad for the 90s.

PalmOS in those PDAs are nothing in comparison to modern tablets when it comes to functionality and easy of use. Thats called progress.

The PDAs I was referring to are 90s~2008... When Palm released the $100 Zire, it was considered a great success (back then) as it sold about 1 million units in 6 months... palm was wetting their pants. In the 15 months since the first iPad hit the streets, 29 million units have been sold. At 2 Million month... they are kicking Nintendo in the nuts.

I actually much preferred it to finger-controlled touchscreen - the screen stays clean

ThinkPad Tablet, $500... includes a stylus (Still works with fingers)... check it out. It has me interested.

I'm just afraid that mobos for sure won't have a PS/2 in 3 years

I think at least AMD mobo will... On Newegg, 96 PS/2 keyboards vs 380 USB. They make USB>PS/2 Adapters, but they don't always work (The single adapter type). Newegg sells 12 different Adapter and add-on cards $4~15. They are hit and miss, and you won't be able to access BIOS (no PS/2 built in).

I think PS/2 will be dead in 1~2 years. Other than for OLD keyboards, there is no use for PS/2. Not when all a PC needs is USB, DisplayPort and Ethernet.

When my 1997 Logitech Mouse mouse died 2 years ago, I went with a Logictech wired for $50 - which lasted about 9 month and was smaller. Again, there are lame mouse designs out there. But the current "Logitech Performance Mouse MX" is shaped mostly the same and works great... $80 (grumble), but so far its lasted over a year, feels great. Better live for 5 years.

I'm glad to have moved off the BALL mouse of an old mouse, luckily there were acceptable replacements, none of the $10~40 mice were good enough.

 

[amk-aka-Phantom]

Okay, as I said, we're talking different PDAs. You're talking about 2000-2004 devices, while I got into the PDA thing around 2006-2008, I believe. A 500 MHz PDA was about $550 at that time, but you could go for $400 one with 350 MHz, and it still delivered...

ThinkPad tablet is interesting, especially since it works with stylus, but I have absolutely no use for tablets whatsoever...

 

[belardo]

Nope... covering them from the Newton (1992) ~ End of Palm (2008). PDAs were going down hill since around 2006 when the Feature Phones had the basics of PDAs.

 

[amk-aka-Phantom]

End of Palm was @ 2008? 😵 I thought they died out way before that... Well, in 2006 PDAs were at the top and then first powerful smartphones came out... for example, Nokia N95 was better than any PDA, just it didn't have touchscreen. Then there was iPhone and more touch-smartphones, and that did away with the PDAs. But in 2006-7 they were still good and useful devices. Not too many people bought them, because they were regarded either as toys or business devices, but those that bought them soon found out their next phone might as well be a really cheap one, since all the entertainment functions were packed into the PDA. Just had to make sure the phone has Bluetooth - using phones as BT modems was very efficient and very cheap at that time. Nothing major, but you could check mail, visit forums, read and download files, and all that on a rather big screen that touch smartphones only came to have now. Of course, tablets are even better at this, but you can't stuff a tablet in your pocket 😀

 

[belardo]

Palm officially died in 2010 when HP bought them out (for their phones and OS). what is left today are $12~20 POS garbage simple organizers. You can get unlocked old Palm phones for under $100 nowadays.

With the iPhone, Android and other smart phones, the market can't bare to spend $100~300 for JUST a PDA. Check out Office Depot / Staples... bottom end PDAs is what is left. unless somethind ODD happens, we won't ever see another Palm / PDA device again... even $100 Nintendo DSs will do PSA functions.

But yeah, I remember the days I would use my Palm to look up phone numbers to dial into my cel-phone. Overnight, the feature phones killed PDAs.

 

[amk-aka-Phantom]

Palm officially died in 2010 when HP bought them out (for their phones and OS). what is left today are $12~20 POS garbage simple organizers. You can get unlocked old Palm phones for under $100 nowadays.

With the iPhone, Android and other smart phones, the market can't bare to spend $100~300 for JUST a PDA. Check out Office Depot / Staples... bottom end PDAs is what is left. unless somethind ODD happens, we won't ever see another Palm / PDA device again... even $100 Nintendo DSs will do PSA functions.

But yeah, I remember the days I would use my Palm to look up phone numbers to dial into my cel-phone. Overnight, the feature phones killed PDAs.

Obviously! Though, I'm surprised Palm died in 2010 "officially"... don't remember a competetive device from them since like 2005?

And of course no one will buy JUST a PDA anymore; I checked the manufacturers' websites a year ago, and the only one that still made them was HP: they had like 3 models, and each one was comparable to an average smartphone on the market at that time. Just the smartphones were cheaper.

 

[islaya85]

I know I made the Apple leap already. Many PC companies are not only facing a serious lack of "new shiny and actually worth it" but also a crisis in customer service. The genius bar has gone a long way to making apple computers accessible. Even my 90 year old grandfather felt comfortable making the leap. PCs need to look at the whole picture, and avoid any more Vista fiascos while they're at it. That's a tall order, imo.

 

[amk-aka-Phantom]

^ Troll much?

And Apple IS A PC. They use SAME hardware. Just charge double. And Vista was a beta for Win7... everyone who bought it got successfully trolled by Microsoft. Vista made Win7 perfect.

 

[Mystre316]

Only thing dying about the PC is Games. People are just making games for console and lazily porting it to PC.

And Microsoft charge ridiculous prices for their software so no surprise they're not doing so well in that department

 

[Guest]

The only thing Apple has been consistently good at is taking already developed technologies, and pretending through deceptive marketing strategies that they invented them. They pretend everything they come out with is now all the rage, and that everyone MUST have one. Sadly, that's about all it takes to draw in most of their customer base...

When they finally were able to start playing catch up on the well established 3D gaming market, they put an ATI 3D Accelerator into a Mac and then marketed it to the masses as something new (3D Gaming). They said look you can play Quake III on a Mac now! They acted like the Mac was the only place this new 3D Gaming was possible. Wasn't new then, and wasn't new many years before on the PC... The PC is not going to die, we are just living through another bunch of lies in the form of Apple marketing. DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE! Apple does have the money and vision to kill the PC, not by offering something better, but by creating more annoying marketing campaigns full of lies and half-truths at best.

Remember the "Mac's can't get viruses" campaign not that long ago? Most people still believe it, though it's obviously completely false. They will try to kill the PC for their own good and that of their shareholders, not because it's "The Future"... Don't let them get away with this crap...

As pointed out in the article "iPad" is a consumption device. This is correct. Basically, Apple want's to dumb-down the entire PC industry for their own advantage. Turn the PC/Internet into just a big wireless TV, where you pay Apple for every damn thing you do. (iCloud) Don't let them!

They did it with mp3's. Almost everyone buys through iTunes now (except me)...

They've done it with Phones. Every phone has to have a dumb-downed slide your finger interface now. You know, "So simple a caveman could do it". But where's the substance, where's the creativity, there isn't any. The whole model is based on you consuming crap from them and through them, and exclusively if at all possible.

And now they are going after the biggest prize, the PC itself. Don't let them get away with this crap! The only thing I'd like to do with an iPad is frisbee it off a tall building and watch it smash into a million pieces.

 

[Guest]

nuuuu! it cant be dying i dont wanna pay overpriced prices on a mac where i can get a better pc rig for litterly 1/2 the price.