“My generation’s concept of what it means to compute is so quaint and firmly rooted in the 20th century. Young people and teens computing 10 or 20 years from now will look back and laugh at people like me (and, most likely, their own parents and grandparents) who sat down at desks and worked on 20-pound boxes,” Lance Ulanoff writes for PC Magazine.
“The decline of the deskbound PC has been under way for years, but recent events convince me that the transition to desktopless computing is accelerating at a breakneck pace. What’s next? I have a feeling that mainstream laptops could someday meet the same fate,” Ulanoff writes.
“What precipitated these changes? The arrival of the Apple iPhone, of course,” Ulanoff writes.
Apple’s iPhone is “the most important product of the still-young 21st century. Excellent interface software and hardware innovations, including the multitouch screen and internal accelerometer, present possibilities for computing experiences that no deskbound PC can match. Laptops, even ultraportables will pale in comparison, too,” Ulanoff writes.
Full article here.
Fscking A right!
iPhone bitch!
The laptop is dead, hail the iPhone
I don’t agree. Accurate work requires big input devices. If what this guy states were true, then why do I and so many of us want a 30″ Cinema Display. I could not imagine working on a 3D project on an iPhone. At least, for my kind of work, a desktop is the only way to go.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my iPhone, but this hyperbola of it’s impact simply seems unrealistic.
“The laptop is dead”
they have a pill for that…
Completely wrong. The iPhone is fantastic, but it is a “post-PC” device. It’s complimentary to the computer, not a replacement for it.
But…but…..that is not what Dvorak said…..
I agree with Mac-nugget… As much as I love my iPhone, I couldn’t work on it. Even my 15″ PowerBook screen is tiny at times. I do really look forward to seeing if/how this transforms the desktop/laptop experience, though.
For what most people do, the iPhone has it covered. No, you aren’t going to write a novel on it, but it does a surprising amount of actual work. Not going to stop humping my Macbook around, but in a few years I am hoping my Macbook has a touch screen and weighs a ton less than it does now.
I want an iPhone with a 13″ screen. The Mac Tablet. I could definitly use one. I’m a student, and I don’t want to lug around my PowerBook all the time. I want a light, touch screen laptop, that I can have my bluetooth keyboard and mouse plug into. But for taking notes, (which would be more organized on a computer) I want a touch screen with a pen. (yes, a stylus) But I can’t bring myself to buy a PC tablet… Can’t stand winblows…
Vapid overhype.
iPhone’s terrific, but no more (and no less) than another tool that fits where you need it.
Room for all, from multi-screen (me), through 30″ and laptop (me again) down to iPhone & Co.
wait, if its bluetooth, it wouldn’t really plug in, would it…?
I’ve got an iPhone, and MacBook, but for HD video editing, I use a MacPro with two 30″ Cinemas.
The iPhone is a fine viewer of video, but no place for the 10+ TB of data I’ve got.
A lot of us use our computers for work, Lance! I guess your average teenager probably doesn’t have 10 TB of action going though.Maybe we’ll use something like an iPhone as an inupt device for our 30 inchers?
There will always be a place for a desktop Mac. Can you imagine doing high resolution graphics or video editing on a laptop? Maybe if you connect another monitor or two to it.
Even if touch screen computers get bigger, people who work on computers are not going to work all day with their arms held out in front of them, gesturing on the screen with their fingers.
Touch screen computers will one day easily replace some computers with a keyboard and mouse/trackpad for people who just need to see information on the screen and do only basic data input/manipulation. But to say that the iPhones “descendants” will replace all desktops and laptops is clearly ridiculous.
The iPhone is way better than a PC.
It comes nowhere near a Mac but it kicks PC ass.
@ Mac-nugget
“why do I and so many of us want a 30″ Cinema Display.”
Think bigger, think future. 3-D virtual reality screens, a la Johnny Mnemonic. Pop on your VR headset, put on your data gloves, and power up your computer… your iPhone.
They’ve already got the accelerometer in the iPhone, so they know how to handle 3-D orientation. Build the same system into data gloves and you’re halfway there.
You 20th century people are so–?–?–20th century. The iPhone of the ‘not too distant’ future may have an HD projection lens etc.
Open your minds a little.
@ MacDailyNews Webmaster:
“test mobile MDN via iPhone”
I see your post on Regular MDN, I don’t see your post on Regular MDN via iPhone, and what’s more, I can’t see iPhone version of MDN.
What am I missing here?
thx.
Our kid’s kids will laugh we used mice and keyboards
Voice commands come next and then thought commands…
@oh no my shorts
That was my first thought when reading Mac-nugget and similar posts above. The author is projecting event 10-20 years from now. The concept of pocket computers is not new, but the iPhone has indeed made the concept a reality. Sure it’s limited now, but technology presses on as your ideas suggest. We already have eyepieces you can wear to mimic screens bigger than 30″. Imagine wearing a ring or more on your fingers that provide spatial feedback to the iPhone in your pocket for control and manipulation of visual feed back on holographic object seen via the eyepieces. All it takes now is continued advances in processor power/size, batteries, and miniaturization. All foreseeable.
This guy couldn’t be more wrong. The iPhone isn’t replacing laptops. Its opening up an new segment. The portable Internet device. I’m still not convinced the iPhone will remain a leader in this field however. I believe Google’s Asteroid will be a serious contender.
I’m using a Palm Centro right now. The web browsing sucks. Why? The screen. Its too small. When will these hardware companies realize that in order to have a good web experience, you need a bigger screen? In fact, if the Centro had a screen that was the same size as the iPhone, I’d say I had a better device. Its got 3G. I can use it as a data modem for my MacBook Pro. It does Instant Messaging. The email client sucks, but I use GMail and Google has done a very good job of writing mobile web pages.
haven’t really tried one yet. Can anyonee tell me what size a monitor they drive?
Think Mac Tablet people, Mac Tablet…