Support NeoGAF

[BlackTron]

In the past, you would go get a phone just to communicate, EVERYONE does this, and if you wanted to do anything else with a PC well, you had to get a PC.

Now that phones are just computers in a tiny form factor, any average person goes to get a phone and it already performs most of the tasks they wanted from PC without having to do or buy anything else.

Generally, PC is for content creation and phones/tablets are for content consumption. This is a big deal because most people didn't use PC for anything productive to begin with. As long as you can check email, use Facebook and access your music, the phone is good enough anyway. With the massive benefit of being tiny, portable and already in your pocket because it's your cell phone.

Phones are absolutely abysmal for real work or productivity but most people don't even understand why or how, or what that means.

Phones are genuinely useful for filling in all the gaps between being at a desk. Like yeah I'd prefer to send an e-mail on PC with a keyboard but with a phone I have the option to do it anywhere. Pretty massive benefit for the tradeoff of having to type using a touch screen. My laptop hardly ever leaves the house anymore because the phone is good enough.

 

[sankt-Antonio]

Think about it, most of mankind's achievements are done to raise convenience. Either directly or indirectly. A phone just falls in line (vs a PC).

 

[GeekyDad]

Don't think we've dumped them at all. Just compressed the size to fit the need/demand.

 

[InterMusketeer]

Some phones can already do a traditional desktop PC experience. Hook it up to a monitor, connect a wireless keyboard and mouse, and voila. It still needs some development, but I hope they keep working on it. Owning just one device that can do everything is the dream.

 

[64bitmodels]

64bitmodels what is a reverse groomer and why are you tagged as such?

Imagine a 30 year old groomer joining an underage audience of 13 to 16 year Olds
Now swap the ages around and you get my tag (though I'm not preying on 30 year old men)

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Boomers rejected computers. The amount of times I heard the phrase "I don't do computers".
It was a huge thing to learn if you ran into any problems and they weren't exactly interesting devices unless you had very specific interests that involved a comp. (Gaming, web surfing, programming etc)

This is key. Computers needed to become simpler, more intuitive, less prone to bugs - in short, less intimidating for the non-tech savvy people. But as software became simpler and more intuitive and OSs became more user-friendly, the first smartphones started to appear. The success of the iPhone led to a surge in development in simpler software and touch interfaces. And with the increased necessity of cell phones in the general population, it’s the smartphones that inevitably received the best efforts in development. This also caused the desktop PC to take a few steps back towards being the tech entusiast’s choice for gaming and serious work, further favoring the adoption of the smartphone for the more menial tasks.

The current western world is unthinkable without the smartphone. It’s your cellphone - your camera - your photo album - your clock - your Walkman - your calendar - your wallet, and much more. There’s some essential services, like banking and some interactions with the public administration, that have become almost impossible to use without a smartphone, unless you want to jump through a long series of hoops every time. Even if you have a PC, you still need a smartphone to access your internet banking services and more.

All of this in your pocket. And you wonder why people dumped their cumbersome desktop PCs and their laptops with their laughable battery life?

 

[Artoris]

This is key. Computers needed to become simpler, more intuitive, less prone to bugs - in short, less intimidating for the non-tech savvy people. But as software became simpler and more intuitive and OSs became more user-friendly, the first smartphones started to appear. The success of the iPhone led to a surge in development in simpler software and touch interfaces. And with the increased necessity of cell phones in the general population, it’s the smartphones that inevitably received the best efforts in development. This also caused the desktop PC to take a few steps back towards being the tech entusiast’s choice for gaming and serious work, further favoring the adoption of the smartphone for the more menial tasks.

The current western world is unthinkable without the smartphone. It’s your cellphone - your camera - your photo album - your clock - your Walkman - your calendar - your wallet, and much more. There’s some essential services, like banking and some interactions with the public administration, that have become almost impossible to use without a smartphone, unless you want to jump through a long series of hoops every time. Even if you have a PC, you still need a smartphone to access your internet banking services and more.

All of this in your pocket. And you wonder why people dumped their cumbersome desktop PCs and their laptops with their laughable battery life?

PC is far more comfortable than a phone

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

PC is far more comfortable than a phone

For taking, watching, sharing pics? Making phone calls? Writing short messages and sending vocals? Going through your social media? Listening to music on the go? Checking your appointments? Reading your emails? Placing an order on Amazon?

PC is more comfortable if you have to write more than a few lines of text, or have to do some serious work, or need an interface far more accurate than a touch screen. Stuff less and less people need to do on a regular basis outside of their workplace.

 

[64bitmodels]

For taking, watching, sharing pics? Making phone calls? Writing short messages and sending vocals? Going through your social media? Listening to music on the go? Checking your appointments? Reading your emails? Placing an order on Amazon?

Yeah??? Better UI and more screenspace means better comfort

 

[dr_octagon]

Imagine a 30 year old groomer joining an underage audience of 13 to 16 year Olds
Now swap the ages around and you get my tag (though I'm not preying on 30 year old men)

It's my 51st birthday today, just sent you a PM.

 

[Hari Seldon]

I mean smart phones are consumption devices and a PC is a tool. I like smart phones in that a ton of people give up trying to learn actual tech and just stop at smart phones, so far less competition in the tech world lmao.

 

[64bitmodels]

It's my 51st birthday today, just sent you a PM.

Roar for me you God damn t rex
(Also, happy 51st birthday)

 

[dr_octagon]

 

[mcjmetroid]

I mean they coxist just fine.
For anyone tech savy it's unthinkable that the PC has been replaced. Smartphones are still so.... limited.

I still think you cannot beat a PC/laptop hooked up to a TV for entertainment. Fuck these android boxes or casting your phone etc.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

I'm using a phone for work, why in the fuck would I want to be on a phone during my free time?
I look at a screen for work, why in the fuck would I want to look at a screen during my free time?
I walk at work, why in the fuck would I want to walk during my free time?
I breathe air at work, why in the fuck would I want to breathe air during my free time?

Yeah I don't get the "PC at work and at home = the same thing!" thingy.....

If you can’t tell the difference breathing and walking vs using a PC you need to touch grass

 

[64bitmodels]

Actually don't, if you touch grass you can get dirt and ants all over your hands. Touch concrete instead

 

[DeepEnigma]

Sadly, smarphones paved the way for the normie boom and every cunt's opinions (or hive mind) to be shared.

 

[dr_octagon]

Sadly, smarphones paved the way for the normie boom and every cunt's opinions (or hive mind) to be shared.

Dialogue on internet, colorized:

 

[nkarafo]

Its not as easy to flex your fancy new PC to other people. Laptops had some limited success but it's not that you can use them as easily in the bus or the beach.

 

[Sosokrates]

Because for many tasks smartphones are more convenient and efficient.

 

[12Goblins]

ppl think im a luddite because you will never see me use a smart phone, but really Ive been building computers at age 10 when it wasn't plug and play and Ive come to hate smart phones and/or consoles over the years because they feel like devices that have been gimped so they can be used by boomers and tech inept folks. It drives me fucking insane (┛◉Д◉)┛彡┻━┻

Smart phones are getting much better however. Consoles not so much ಠಿヮಠ

 

[Ionian]

Jokes on you OP, your mobile is a PC, also PC's have been around 40-50 years. This is nothing new.

EDIT: Damn didn't see I was already beaten several times before posting. It's amazing how some people don't know it though, seldom it gets pointed out.

History of personal computers - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[lethial]

I bet OP made this thread while taking a shit on the toilet with his PHONE.

 

[Mistake]

I usually leave my laptop hooked up to my tv as a media device, but now phones can do airplay with free streaming services. Another problem with laptops is the screen. Eventually opening and closing so many times breaks them in one way or another, phones don’t. I’d say the only real advantage PCs still have is gaming power and work. Typing and editing documents or doing spreadsheets on a phone sucks

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

I don't want to sound like a pretentious ass, but I believe you are confusing the actual advance with an expression of that advance.

The actual advance is computation, and both PCs and Smartphones are an expression of it.

 

[Mobilemofo]

It was inevitable. In 2004, you could buy a book from Amazon over wap. I bought catcher in the rye. I knew then, smartphones would become dominant. Now you can do everything you can on a PC on a smartphone, plus portability and convinience. Also, Dex is fantastic, and very easy to use.

 

[Kamina]

Smartphones are mini computers made for comfortable usage on the go. They are not competing with but complementing each other.

 

[nemiroff]

If you can’t tell the difference breathing and walking vs using a PC you need to touch grass

I you can't tell the difference between unknowingly making a stupid point and knowingly making a stupid point to make a point you need to touch grass.

 

[GnomeChimpsky]

I laugh when my wife watches something like Stranger things on her phone. You've got this super produced show with intricate special effects, great music and complex character interactions and you're watching it on your tiny ass phone. It's like reading the young adult edition of the Alchemist or something. "I don't care about the poetry or the character development, I just want the basic plot points goddamnit!"

 

[eddie4]

Its not as easy to flex your fancy new PC to other people. Laptops had some limited success but it's not that you can use them as easily in the bus or the beach.

 

[kraspkibble]

I guess most people find smartphones/tablets more convenient and of course they offer portability in a small form factor. I don't mind them but I'm more of a PC person. I got my first one in 1998 and using a keyboard/mouse on a big screen is more natural/efficient/comfortable for me. If something needs done quickly and properly then I always go to my PC. Touch screens on a 4-7" device (smartphone) feels like it holds me back and I can get frustrated using them at times. I bought my "first" tablet last year. well I did buy one in 2010 when the first iPad came out but I hardly used it. I feel like that could replace my PC but I will keep using desktops for as long as I possible.

 

[ProgenitorCastle]

I lean towards PC, but don't hate smartphones completely despite their flaws. This is an interesting debate because both have their strengths depending on what you need out of the device

 

[poppabk]

I remember fondly throwing my PCs in the trash the day I got a Motorola Droid.

 

[RainblowDash]

Smartphones are mobile PCs…

 

[Captain Chaos]

Why not both.

 

[Syphon Filter]

It was never dumped. Mobile is popular mainly since you have a phone everywhere you go whereas you aren't taking a laptop everywhere you go.

 

[dr_octagon]

 

[ahtlas7]

Portable pc

 

[dr_octagon]

I laugh when my wife watches something like Stranger things on her phone. You've got this super produced show with intricate special effects, great music and complex character interactions and you're watching it on your tiny ass phone. It's like reading the young adult edition of the Alchemist or something. "I don't care about the poetry or the character development, I just want the basic plot points goddamnit!"

Chris Nolamb and Hamz Simmer would not have been as successful if Interstellar did not have a large screen and audio to match.

You need your entire vision covered and organs wobbling from the bass for the best experience.

 

[FutureMD]

You know what's better than a PC? A pc you can carry with you at all times. Plus the small factor power efficiency of smartphone components helped to push the current VR wave and will help to power the AR wave of the future. Big bulky PCs will always be there. But they're not the be all end all.

 

[Lasha]

Smartphones give you full access to all of humanity's combined knowledge anywhere on the planet. Competition has driven them to ridiculously low prices allowing adoption in many regions which could never dream of buying PC. The phone isn't to blame for humans using that power for social media and shitty games.

 

[small_law]

I'm with you man. I don't even like fucking laptops. A desktop PC you build yourself is the only way to fly.

I love my phone, but I suffer the compromises for the sake of convenience. At the end of the day I want to be in front of a machine I know can do anything I want or need to do as quickly as the parts I put into it will let me. A big fuck off PC is still the only type of computer that doesn't make you compromise.

And don't tell me a laptop can do everything my PC can do. Your CPU throttles within 90 seconds of turning the damn thing on. Will compare real world rendering and see what comes out on top.

 

[GymWolf]

I didn't, i still use my pc to game, watch media and internet browse.

Imagine playing any worth a penny game on mobile or watch any memorable film or serial on a small ass screen or not having AT LEAST a 55" screen when you browse PH.

 

[Crayon]

I'd say the wheel beats it out for greatest technology. I'd point the the fact that we don't have an app to replace the wheel quite yet.