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Mobile is Eating the World

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Re: Mobile is Eating the World

#131

Post by jff »

lotharbot wrote: post #68
hayksaakian wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But for a lot of use cases small touch screen devices are simply inadequate. The number of use cases is less important. What are the most common use cases? You're conflating people that use computers as part of their job incidentally, with people that use a computer because their job inherently necessitates one. Refer to this article about the most common occupations in the US: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/a…

> " traditional input devices (keyboards) are increasingly compatible with mobile hardware" For some people, it's not the input that matters, or the computing power, but the output. Big, high-res displays are still in demand. I'm not sure wearable displays will ever replace them -- even if Glass gets to be much higher than its current 640x320 resolution, it's a lot more difficult to shift your focus from one part of…

Glass is not projected into your eye, it is simply a screen placed near your eye, with special optics so you can actually focus on it.

Re: Mobile is Eating the World

#132

Post by AJ007 »

pfitzsimmons wrote: post #10
cageface wrote: post #6

There is no point in drawing a distinction between the future of technology and the future of mobile. I find Evans' analysis of mobile a bit hyperbolic. Yes the growth of mobile is explosive and, in some cases, it's displacing older technology. But for a lot of use cases small touch screen devices are simply inadequate. It's probably true that a lot of people that used to use desktop or laptop computers just to check…

If you look at the biomechanics, it does seem like a keyboard + mouse + >=20" screen is the optimal setup for doing actual work. A keyboard is simply the most efficient way to get information into a computer (the exception is that some graphics editors work might work better with a multitouch screen, it will be interesting to see if someone builds a touch-first photoshop killer). That said, there might be a convergen…

Clip Studio Paint has a really good touch UI. It doesn't replace Photoshop for photographers, but for illustrators it certainly acts as a replacement.

I have had an iPad since the first version. I also have had various touchscreen "tablet" PCs prior. The problem is not the hardware now its the software -- and the software has gotten so, so, so much better. I can do real work from a tablet and a phone. The best practices devs first discovered and now proliferating more widely. That takes time but we are seeing the results now.

Re: Mobile is Eating the World

#133

Post by jff »

jrkelly wrote: post #41
ams6110 wrote: post #25

From one of the slides: Email is for grandparents I think this varies. I'm not a grandparent, but am close to 50 years old and have been working in computer technology my entire adult life. I have an Android smartphone (got my first one this year) but have not installed any apps on it. Email, web browser, text messages, calendar, contacts, and maps are all there and I can't really think of anything else useful I'd wa…

Yeah, my email usage at age 12-15 was also almost nil and that was in the 90s. Doubt stats at 12-15 correlate well to whether those kids will use email when they hit college.

Agreed, I didn't have much use for email at 15, because I interacted with all my classmates and teachers every day; coordinating things was simple, and all my schoolwork was submitted in person. I primarily used email for asking questions on Linux mailing lists, and even that pretty rarely--15 year old me would probably be pretty shocked at my current level of email traffic.

Re: Mobile is Eating the World

#134

Post by jff »

CalRobert wrote: post #102
diltonm wrote: post #23

My smartphone has 2 Gigs of RAM and most of it is wasted. Games on phones aren't even interesting because my fingers slide right off the screen when the action gets fast. Give me a PC with 2 Gigs of RAM and I can do amazing things with it, a mouse and a keyboard. Every single phone app I use is an exercise in futility or it feels that way. Touch is a terrible HID. Smart phones are handy when you don't have anything e…

Remember when phones had keyboards? Like, actual physical keyboards that slid out when you needed them and tucked away neatly when you didn't? I really miss them :-(

I always found that they keyboards weren't much better than on-screen. I make about the same number of typos either way, and frankly my corporate Blackberry's keyboard is a travesty. Little tiny keys with shitty action, your fingers slipping from one to the other. The original Motorola Droid had a decent keyboard, which was sort of nice in the days of itty-bitty screens, but these days if you offered me a Nexus 5 with keyboard I'd say "No, thanks, I'm good."

Re: Mobile is Eating the World

#135

Post by api »

w1ntermute wrote: post #107
api wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a hardware limit that keeps mobile from wholly eating desktop, but a software one. Mobile OSes are intentionally crippled and locked down at the OS layer. You don't own or control your device, and only approved software can run. Android is a bit better than iOS in this respect, but not much. None of the mobile vendors have any incentive to change this, since it would mean forfeiting the App Store tax and for…

Most people don't see the lack of control over their mobile devices as a problem. Instead, they see it as a good thing, because their mobile devices are a lot more worry-free than their computers.

It's not just a political issue -- I agree that most people don't care about that stuff. It also grossly limits what you can do.

In practice this means that PCs and their unlocked OSes will continue to hold onto their market niche until or unless mobile bridges that cap.

Re: Mobile is Eating the World

#136

Post by schtinky »

cageface wrote: post #6

There is no point in drawing a distinction between the future of technology and the future of mobile. I find Evans' analysis of mobile a bit hyperbolic. Yes the growth of mobile is explosive and, in some cases, it's displacing older technology. But for a lot of use cases small touch screen devices are simply inadequate. It's probably true that a lot of people that used to use desktop or laptop computers just to check…

> I find Evans' analysis of mobile a bit hyperbolic.

Spot on. I've been a follower of his for some time now and while he's obviously smart an insightful, he does sometimes veer into hyperbole bordering on know-it-all snark. There's nothing wrong with it, per se, other than that the audience might not take it as seriously as an argument made more rationally.

Re: Mobile is Eating the World

#137

Post by CalRobert »

jff wrote: post #134
CalRobert wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Remember when phones had keyboards? Like, actual physical keyboards that slid out when you needed them and tucked away neatly when you didn't? I really miss them :-(

I always found that they keyboards weren't much better than on-screen. I make about the same number of typos either way, and frankly my corporate Blackberry's keyboard is a travesty. Little tiny keys with shitty action, your fingers slipping from one to the other. The original Motorola Droid had a decent keyboard, which was sort of nice in the days of itty-bitty screens, but these days if you offered me a Nexus 5 wit…

The best Android experience I ever had was an HTC Touch Pro 2. Amazingly, this was a Windows Mobile 6.5 phone that you could install Android on with a bit of a hack. The keyboard was sublime; running a terminal was a thing of beauty. Now every touch screen is a pathetic piece of junk where you have to retype stuff three times just to get the right word, and of course typing while using the full screen is out of the question.

Re: Mobile is Eating the World

#138

Post by CalRobert »

tacoman wrote: post #125
CalRobert wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Remember when phones had keyboards? Like, actual physical keyboards that slid out when you needed them and tucked away neatly when you didn't? I really miss them :-(

Given how huge the mobile phone industry, it don't understand why some manufacturer* hasn't carved out a niche for keyboard phones. Since all the manufactures have arrived at the roughly the same form factor and spec, maybe we'll start to see one of them try something different again. * Other than Blackberry. Despite being a BB10 user, I can understand why the general population isn't attracted to it.

You know, maybe it's time to see about sourcing a small keyboard, 4.5" or so display, and trying to squeeze down an Odroid to make your own phone. Might even make sense to make it wifi only and rely on Voip for some use cases.

Re: Mobile is Eating the World

#139

Post by CalRobert »

CalRobert wrote: post #137
jff wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always found that they keyboards weren't much better than on-screen. I make about the same number of typos either way, and frankly my corporate Blackberry's keyboard is a travesty. Little tiny keys with shitty action, your fingers slipping from one to the other. The original Motorola Droid had a decent keyboard, which was sort of nice in the days of itty-bitty screens, but these days if you offered me a Nexus 5 wit…

The best Android experience I ever had was an HTC Touch Pro 2. Amazingly, this was a Windows Mobile 6.5 phone that you could install Android on with a bit of a hack. The keyboard was sublime; running a terminal was a thing of beauty. Now every touch screen is a pathetic piece of junk where you have to retype stuff three times just to get the right word, and of course typing while using the full screen is out of the q…

Of course, it's also possible I'm just incredibly fat-fingered.

Re: Mobile is Eating the World

#140

Post by sinofsky »

acqq wrote: post #85
purpletoned wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're really Steven Sinofski, pretty damn amazing to see you on hn. Watching you introduce Windows 8 at build two years back, I couldn't have ever imagined seeing you post on hn or any other discussion forum for that matter.

Discovering that Steven Sinofsky is now a board partner at a big VC firm, it's not so surprising to see him here. Welcome.

It is me. I've always participated in forums like HN while at Microsoft (and now). I think you can even find me on USENET archives :-)
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