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[engadget] US hits internet-user saturation? PCs on decline.

I still use my phone very minimally for 'net' related things. Screen is just way too small, and while touch screen should be easier, for things that aren't designed for it, it's meh. (For things that ARE built for it, they are fine). Also, touch screen typing to this day still sucks balls.
 
ImpulsE69 said:
I still use my phone very minimally for 'net' related things. Screen is just way too small, and while touch screen should be easier, for things that aren't designed for it, it's meh. (For things that ARE built for it, they are fine). Also, touch screen typing to this day still sucks balls.
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Which is why I use a PC. PCs FOREVER!!!
 
Excluding the "I hate all modern technology" crowd, I wonder what percentage of people in say the US have no need for computing devices beyond the mildest of productivity tasks (an example of the mildest productivity task being say writing a long e-mail, IMO).
 
mikeymikec said:
Excluding the "I hate all modern technology" crowd, I wonder what percentage of people in say the US have no need for computing devices beyond the mildest of productivity tasks (an example of the mildest productivity task being say writing a long e-mail, IMO).
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Exactly.
That group is likely to either buy a frustrating, slow, terrible $300 PC for basic tasks or get a far superior experience with a $300 tablet.
 
paperfist said:
My broadband is like $50. My 3 phones $160 and I'm still always out of data.
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That's precisely why I "fear" major nationwide ISPs and Cell Phone Cos. (like Verizon, AT&T, Tmobile) talking about "5GB fixed wireless". Great, 100GB caps, $10/GB overages, who needs that BS. GL taking advantage of a 1TB Usenet block for $35. It'll cost you ... Lord knows how much in ISP overage feeds.

(If that happens, expect to see a rise, in HDD-courier services. 14TB worth of data, at 50MPH, is still faster and cheaper than using fixed wireless.)

I like my broadband, fast, cheap, and unlimited. (Aka. WIRED broadband. Fiber-optic counts too.)
 
I will never understand the concept of "gaming" on a mobile device... even a laptop to be honest.

Note: When I say "gaming" I don't mean playing a stupid tetris-esque or farmville game to pass time on an airplane or bus or something... I mean actual competitive gaming.

But yeah, nothing surprising about this article.

mikeymikec said:
Excluding the "I hate all modern technology" crowd, I wonder what percentage of people in say the US have no need for computing devices beyond the mildest of productivity tasks (an example of the mildest productivity task being say writing a long e-mail, IMO).
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I imagine a good chunk of people will still need one for school and/or work... accessing sharedrives, editing powerpoints, typing essays... Public schooling is going more tech if anything.
 
At home my desktop is rarely turned on and I'm on my laptop 99.99% of the time I'm on a computer at home. My wife pretty much never uses it unless I'm not using it and she wants to browser Amazon or something.

I personally am rarely using my phone to browse the web or do anything other than check twitter, text or call people, or using google maps. I just feel completely handicapped while trying to do anything on a phone that I could do on a laptop because it's so much easier and faster on a computer. Having to enter passwords on a phone or fill out a form when ordering something is just a god damn headache and takes so much longer than doing it on a keyboard.

I still have no clue what a tablet is for, other than letting my son use mine to watch movies on airplanes.
 
purbeast0 said:
Having to enter passwords on a phone or fill out a form when ordering something is just a god damn headache and takes so much longer than doing it on a keyboard.

I still have no clue what a tablet is for, other than letting my son use mine to watch movies on airplanes.
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Agree with typing passwords - biggest PITA ever imagined. But filling out forms isn't bad if you use Chrome on the desktop and it's all saved/sync'd across devices so it's just a simple drop-down and it's mostly pre-filled. Also I only really order from Amazon and the app is very easy to use.

Also agree about tablets - I remember one time long ago I was astounded that I can lie in bed and watch Netflix (before smart TVs). Now I would rather watch Netflix/Plex on the bigger tv in my bedroom. Tablets are too bulky for couch browsing so I'd rather use my phone that I always have on me anyway. Kids use their tablets for their basic games like Geometry Dash, and Youtube.
 
I fear the movement for the millennials and whatever the following generation follows them will be computer illiterate. If it can't be done on a phone then it can't be done will be their motto.
 
I don't use a computer at home. I have my tablet or phone for web browsing, have my Playstation for fun. I have a computer at work if I need to actually print out something or otherwise do something I can't do at home.
 
zerocool84 said:
I don't use a computer at home. I have my tablet or phone for web browsing, have my Playstation for fun. I have a computer at work if I need to actually print out something or otherwise do something I can't do at home.
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Can I call you the "un-PC Generation" (and I mean, as in, "IBM PC", not Political Correctness)?

Have some respect for your "Oregon Trail" fore-fathers...

(Meanwhile, I just placed an order, for keyboards and mice... for, you know, that thing that they call the "Desktop PC". I can't imagine using a USB keyboard and USB wired mouse with a Cell Phone or Tablet... though I know with the right adapters, it's possible.)
 
zerocool84 said:
I don't use a computer at home. I have my tablet or phone for web browsing, have my Playstation for fun. I have a computer at work if I need to actually print out something or otherwise do something I can't do at home.
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Do you do all of your online shopping and online banking via tablet/phone, or the old fart manual way using chisel and stone?
 
great news for me!
i can always find an used awesome laptop or desktop for dirt cheap. up to 1/3 of their retail price after 1 year.
 
I have very little use for my phone as an internet or compute anything device. The screen is just garbage for reading or getting anything done. It's a Nexus X5...I think.


....oh it's not the model that I am criticizing. It's the fact that it's a phone. I don't understand people that use their phones to do shit. I never will.
 
All things reach saturation at some point. It's why the capitalist view point of having to increase profits every year is just not sustainable.

I just hope that the PC parts market is not going to eventually die off because it would suck if custom builds would stop being an option. We've just reached a point where it's not really as necessary to upgrade often. I'd say in the past 10 years any time I build a new computer or server it's not because I need more power, but because I just want a machine for a new purpose. Ex: it's not replacing a machine but rather it's just adding a new machine to my network.
 
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