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Rebuilding the Computer Room

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Re: Rebuilding the Computer Room

#11

Post by matheusmoreira »

wrxd wrote: post #4

The sad thing about phones being he primary (and in many case the only) computing devices for most people is that they lose the possibility of separating the tasks that the do on the phone vs the tasks that they do on a computer.

Smartphones are computers. There's no difference between what you can do in a "real" computer and what you can do on a smartphone. I wrote an entire programming language inside my Android phone with Termux. Perhaps the first language to be born inside a mobile phone.

Any limitations on smartphones are either ergonomic or entirely artificial.

Re: Rebuilding the Computer Room

#12

Post by Cthulhu_ »

Part of this is modern house construction too (at least where I live in Europe); the living room / kitchen is just one big room, and upstairs there's two bedrooms (one of which can be split up).

I simply don't have the space to dedicate a room for one specific function. I'd love to be able to e.g. have a guest/living room with no tech, an office room for working, etc on top of separate bedrooms for everyone, but that's only possible now in older houses starting at €600,000 in the more remote parts of the country.

Re: Rebuilding the Computer Room

#13

Post by Cthulhu_ »

hnlmorg wrote: post #6
wrxd wrote: post #4

The sad thing about phones being he primary (and in many case the only) computing devices for most people is that they lose the possibility of separating the tasks that the do on the phone vs the tasks that they do on a computer.

That’s the entire point of why people use a smartphone as their primary device: they don’t want the hassle of having to use a computer. And for normal people (ie not the readership of HN), using a computer is a chore.

I agree that it can be a chore, but more like, I'll use a real computer for serious tasks like doing my taxes, administration, planning vacations, etc.

Re: Rebuilding the Computer Room

#14

Post by Aperocky »

> When I walk into my office and sit at my desk, I’m choosing to be there. When I walk away, I have a door I can close, and a life outside the room that the digital world is no longer allowed to reach.

Being intentional is hard, and a little friction helping it is welcome. But I do hope for myself that I can be intentional in everything that I do (this includes having fun, being with family, and even doomscrolling).

Re: Rebuilding the Computer Room

#15

Post by echoangle »

matheusmoreira wrote: post #11
wrxd wrote: post #4

The sad thing about phones being he primary (and in many case the only) computing devices for most people is that they lose the possibility of separating the tasks that the do on the phone vs the tasks that they do on a computer.

Smartphones are computers. There's no difference between what you can do in a "real" computer and what you can do on a smartphone. I wrote an entire programming language inside my Android phone with Termux. Perhaps the first language to be born inside a mobile phone. Any limitations on smartphones are either ergonomic or entirely artificial.

Technically true but practically you know what people mean when they say that, right? Do you think there’s a 3D artist out there that models and renders something in blender on a smartphone?

Re: Rebuilding the Computer Room

#16

Post by topgrain2 »

matheusmoreira wrote: post #11
wrxd wrote: post #4

The sad thing about phones being he primary (and in many case the only) computing devices for most people is that they lose the possibility of separating the tasks that the do on the phone vs the tasks that they do on a computer.

Smartphones are computers. There's no difference between what you can do in a "real" computer and what you can do on a smartphone. I wrote an entire programming language inside my Android phone with Termux. Perhaps the first language to be born inside a mobile phone. Any limitations on smartphones are either ergonomic or entirely artificial.

> There's no difference between what you can do in a "real" computer and what you can do on a smartphone.

In fact, it kind of runs the other way: even my "portable" "real" computer is terrible as, say, a camera, or level. It's a bad GPS navigation device, both due to the form factor and it's entirely lacking the hardware for it (technically they can have this, but very few do).

There are lots of things my phone can do that even my laptop, let alone my desktop, practically can't.

Re: Rebuilding the Computer Room

#18

Post by aidanbeck »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #13
hnlmorg wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s the entire point of why people use a smartphone as their primary device: they don’t want the hassle of having to use a computer. And for normal people (ie not the readership of HN), using a computer is a chore.

I agree that it can be a chore, but more like, I'll use a real computer for serious tasks like doing my taxes, administration, planning vacations, etc.

This is still the case for non-techie Millennials and older. But for the younger generations who might have grown up with a smartphone as their only personal device, the distinction of task importance determining the platform has disappeared.

Re: Rebuilding the Computer Room

#19

Post by wrxd »

matheusmoreira wrote: post #11
wrxd wrote: post #4

The sad thing about phones being he primary (and in many case the only) computing devices for most people is that they lose the possibility of separating the tasks that the do on the phone vs the tasks that they do on a computer.

Smartphones are computers. There's no difference between what you can do in a "real" computer and what you can do on a smartphone. I wrote an entire programming language inside my Android phone with Termux. Perhaps the first language to be born inside a mobile phone. Any limitations on smartphones are either ergonomic or entirely artificial.

My point wasn't really about the capability of a phone compared to a computer. I have thoughts on that but it's not the point I was making.

Assigning tasks to devices can be done due to the capabilities of each device but also due to other factors, like what behaviour you want to influence. For example, if you want to spend less time doom-scrolling/on social media/whatever, moving these tasks outside of the computer you have in your pocket and into the computer you need to sit in front of helps.

Re: Rebuilding the Computer Room

#20

Post by TacticalCoder »

> Laptops became more convenient for more types of task, and soon they were good enough to be your primary computing device.

> My primary computer is now a desktop with a large monitor, ...

I own several laptops: they're simply inferior computing devices due to their mediocre screen and pathetic keyboards. I'm laying on the couch while typing this on a laptop. That's what it's good for.

My actual workstation has a 38" ultra-wide. Wife's got, in our office room, next to my ultra-wide 38" monitor, a desktop setup with three monitors. She likes screen real-estate too. We've got a T-shaped shared desk, with the multifunction printer/scanner in the middle, "separating" us.

But that's not all: I've got a 38" ultra-wide that does 3840x1600 and there are 12 virtual desktops on it, all carefully arranged.

Friends of mine had a company doing 3D and post-prod for ads and short movies: I don't even remember ever seeing one laptop at their company.

To me a laptop is a stamp-sized version of a desktop: it's asking Da Vinci to paint the Mona Lisa on a stamp.

Do I, at times, do actual work on my 17" LG Gram laptop (a very sweet and very light laptop)? Yes. But I hate every second of it.

It's really not to "compartiment" your life and not always be connected that you should prefer your own chair, your own desk, your gigantic screen real-estate and your fat desktop to a laptop: it's because it's a superior way of working.

Invest in a good chair. Invest in a good keyboard. Invest in big monitor(s). You'll thank me later.

P.S: you're excused if you hook a powerful laptop to a proper keyboard, a proper mouse and fat monitor(s). But then that's basically a desktop.

P.P.S: as a bonus your desktop can use a good old wired Internet connection.

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