Will Tablets Replace PCs?

1. I am unlikely to purchase a tablet or mini-notebook for myself, although I may purchase one for the wife.

2. I doubt that tablets or mini-notebooks could accomplish what I use my normal laptop for. I have some applications that, running on two cores at 2GH with 3G of memory can take up to 24 hours to complete. Rather than a smaller computer, I will probably move up to 4 or eight cores with 8 G memory...

But, then again, I am one of those rare birds who has absolutely no use for Facebook, Twitter, or most videos...

I have a Motorola Xoom Wi-Fi and I really like the functionality it provides: email, schedules, GPS, web access, file sharing, et al.

However, like Cwarner, it's gonna be a long time before those things support all the engineering and scientific applications I use in my occupational and personal interest endeavours.

And then there's my high end gaming interests. Tablet clients for on-line gaming? Not for a couple more generations of tablets.

Hooker

As a morbidly obese computer geek, I have no lap for a laptop. So working in a car or on public transportation is out. I bought the Gateway Tablet PC, but that uses a stylus and I was never able to use it as a keyboard substitute to any meaningful extent.

The touchscreen iPod, iPhone, and iPad, (and the non-Apple ilk) have really kicked touchscreen ergonomics engineering into high gear.

I anticipate a Pad of some sort in my near future, that I can actually do meaningful software development on while on the road.

Not unless my arms get longer, or I have Lasik surgery.

Tablets and other highly mobile platforms are not desktops. Desktops don't need touchscreens, yet. Touch-screen keyboard replacements all suck. Not everything is store-able in "the cloud" or on a few MB of flash RAM. Quick-on Instant-off apps are by nature limited in their scope and capability.

Windows 8 is going to be Micro$oft's attempt to provide a common OS for both types of systems. This concerns me, both for M$'s sake and the world's, because the world does rely on their desktop OS.

As a software pro, I just use my mobile computer(s) when in the past I wouldn't have/use a computer. I'll always have my desktop for serious work.

Apparently, Ubuntu is going the same way (common OS for both types of systems) with their newest desktop approach- and there is a lot of user resistance to this...although there does seem to be some fringe acceptance.

As to the PDA- I couldn't live without my Palm Tungsten. Don't know what I will do when it finally dies. Nothing I've seen on the market in smart phones, tablets, etc. offer the functionality, versatility and utility of the old technology.

My bluetooth keyboard with my Xoom is awesome for tasks that get too cumbersome for the touchscreen keyboard. Now I just need to convince 3Dconnexion to make an Android driver so I can use the SpaceNavigator through the micro usb port.

Hooker

Desktop won't go away. I'm so used to dual monitors. Games and work app take too much CPU power and RAM to fit in a tablet. Even if they fit such power in, battery life will suffer.

I was never sold on laptops. Too big to carry around and not powerful enough for its size.

I do still carry my PDA around after 10 years. Still haven't found anything to replace it yet.

I find tablets hard to swallow...
Del