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James Kendrick
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Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC

By | January 26, 2012, 10:28am PST

Summary: I have been using mobile devices for the lion’s share of my work for a while, but it surprises me how close I am to chuck the PC totally.

I had an epiphany this morning that frankly has taken me by surprise. I realize I am fully 90 percent post-PC, without making a special effort to get there. A lot has been said about the “post-PC” era and what exactly that means. For me, it means that I now can do at least 90 percent of my work and play on a mobile OS-running device. The Windows PC/Mac has largely been kicked to the curb.

I have been using mobile devices to do a bigger part of my work for a while. This didn’t start out as a concerted effort on my part to make do, it just happened as I grabbed the mobile device first and found it to be more enjoyable to get stuff done. The more I used a “non-computer” for working, the more I realized that not only was I able to do so, in many ways it was better than sitting at the old PC chugging away.

Related:

I realize that my situation is unique, and I am by no means suggesting that anyone can shelf the PC. My work is almost entirely conducted online, and that makes it a good case for using a connected mobile device. My mobile device of choice to work with is the iPad 2 and external keyboard, but I also use a Galaxy Tab 10.1 with keyboard just as efficiently. I prefer the iPad, but the Android tablet works just as well for my work.

I have long been platform agnostic on the computer side, working with both Windows PCs and Macs for years. Neither had an advantage over the other for the things I do, and both platforms are just fine. I do think this ability to move back and forth between the two computer platforms made it easier for me to do the same with the mobile device, or post-PC device. Most of my work is online and mobile web browsers, iOS and Android in particular, now make it possible to do the lion’s share of that work just as easily as on “real” PCs.

The realization that I am mostly post-PC came about as I was planning for an upcoming business trip. The trip will last most of a week, and I am agonizing over whether I need to take a “real” laptop or not. I know bringing a tablet/keyboard combo will suffice for nearly everything, and it aggravates me to bring a clunky laptop too for that measly 10 percent of the work that would require it.

Truth be told, I have developed work-arounds for the 10 percent of what I do that is easier on a real PC. I can do these remaining tasks on the tablet, it’s just a real kluge and is a pain in the lower region. What it comes down to for the upcoming trip is am I willing to put up with the PITA for those tasks for which a laptop would be easier? Maybe it would be worth it just having to carry the little tablet/keyboard and suck it up for the 10 percent.

Whatever I eventually decide about the trip, the fact is the lowly tablet, post-PC device that it is, will soon be capable enough to easily handle all of my needs, including that pesky 10 percent. When that day arrives, and I suspect it will this year, I will have no real need for a computer. I will be able to do absolutely everything for both my work and personal needs on the post-PC device. Should I desire I could retire the laptops I have now and go pure slate with keyboard.

How about you? Are you getting close to being post-PC, and if so, how close? What exactly is preventing you from hanging up the old computer and going pure post-PC device?

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James Kendrick

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long.

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James Kendrick

James Kendrick has no affiliations or relationships that need to be disclosed.

Biography

James Kendrick

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long. Prior to joining ZDNet, James was the Founding Editor of jkOnTheRun, a CNET Top 100 Tech Blog that was acquired by GigaOM in 2008 and is now part of that prestigious tech network. James' writing has appeared in many print publications: Smartphone and Pocket PC Magazine, Information Week and Laptop Magazine to name a few. James' coverage of the mobile technology sector has regularly appeared in the New York Times, Salon.com and CNN/ Fortune online. Not just a writer, James has filmed numerous video reviews and how-tos that have garnered well over a million viewers. He has appeared on local news segments and been interviewed by the Associated Press on mobile technology topics. Additionally, James has been podcasting about mobile technology for years.

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Ninety-percent really isn't good enough to claim you are Post-PC ...
mwagner@... Updated - 23 hrs ago
... because you are still 10% dependent on a PC - which means you MUST own both devices.

A Post-PC world is one in which the PC is entirely replaced by the tablet - at least in the consumer space. Maybe Windows RT can do it. Certainly a Windows 8 tablet will be able to do it - but then again, does a Windows 8 tablet REALLY qualify as Post-PC?

There is a big difference between meeting all of the needs of 90% of consumers and meeting 90% of the needs of all consumers.
View in thread
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
jake_grey 26th Jan
You are definately not alone in this trend. I am eager to see how Windows 8 devices play a role in that whole experience... time will tell...
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
gomigomijunk 26th Jan
@jake_grey I've been using Windows 8 since September on 2 of my devices and it is a fantastic, gold-standard Post-PC OS. They have really set the bar for other Post-PC Operating Systems to try and match.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
Fletchguy 27th Jan
@gomigomijunk
I have found the exacvt opposite. I too have been using windows 8 since dev release and find it a very cumbersom event tos even do the most mundane of jobs. The UI is a real drag and slows work to almost unbaereable speeds. For me and most I talk to testing it windows 8 will be a huge skip until the next windows or possible a migrate from windows if Microsoft doesn't take a look at most of the customers wamts and complaints with what they are doing. The wp7 sales alone shows the great distaste people have for the Metro ui alone.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
gomigomijunk 27th Jan
@Fletchguy If you run Windows 8 on modern hardware and not in a VM, then you will find that it is just the opposite of what you have represented. Metro UI is very good, and the wp7 marketplace explosion is a good first step in the right direction for MS, coupled with the explosive growth of Nokia Wp7 smart phones outside the U.S. and I think that your argument is a stale one.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
nomikhokher 27th Jan
@jake_grey this is 80% pc the 90 percent is that one: http://www.technologyfazer.com/lenovos-ideapad-yoga-runs-windows-8.html
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
plandok@... 27th Jan
@jake_grey
I guess you finally got your work rationalised. A true professional only uses the tools he/she needs. I'm not buying an asphalt road cutter because I don't do that work. The "computer" field has been dominated by hubris and greed as so many have "had" to have the latest and greatest even if they don't need it.

How many iPods, Zunes, digital cameras, etc are sitting in drawers because a new shape or color came out or the memory was greater. Does anyone really know how much storage or memory they really need. How many working ex-computers and accessories are sitting in closets or garages for the same reason. We also "want" faster or more complicated software but usually that means a new computer. Why don't we want something lean and useful. OSes contain everything the nerds can think of, "just in case" someone might want to do it. Has anyone ever thought they might not want something? It seems you are finally getting to a more "rational" level. But if you are considered an expert, what will this do to those who need more sophisticated machinery but won't get it because you are listened to.

For example, I've just struggled to get my Nikon slide scanner working because Nikon no longer supports it to the extent that drivers are no longer carried on their website. And they didn't write a 64bit driver based on their Vista driver. A German enthusiast website supplied the instructions and the .inf file which got it working. The scanner originally cost $1500 and is considered still a jewel in the photo world. The same thing for environmentally friendly HP who didn't "write" a Win 7 driver for their popular HP1012 Laserjet printer. I found a website with instructions on "how to fool" the OS into using the printer. How hard were all of these to do?

The manufacturing system depends on growth. If users keep using perfectly fine older equipment, they aren't going to buy new stuff. That's why neuro-advertising is a mainstay of the tech (cars too) industry. Convince people they need more than they have and throw out the old. I'm really glad you finally caught on to what you actually need. You don't need a rototiller in a city garden. But you could use a better weeder and shovel. Good for you. Wish everyone else would do this.

But don't tout or intimate getting rid clunky big computers and accessories because you don't see the need. For many, they still work and most people can't really afford new stuff all the time. And I really don't want Win 8 (or Win 7 either) but have no choice from a "security" point of view.

Cheers and good luck.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
xpect 27th Jan
@plandok@... I'm with you and that is called retro thinking. My 18 year old Amiga 4000 is still going strong for some tasks wink About the subject i cannot see doing my work with only a pad. I'm totally in the pre-pad era myself.
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I'm 100% with you, plandok@
sjoardar Updated - 28th Jan
@plandok@... One always needs to use the right gadget for the job, absolutely! If someone doesn't agree, tell him/her to try any serious design or animation job, or for that matter, edit and encode video in high quality on any handheld device and see what kind of "pleasure" (nightmare!) that is! Unfortunately, with my late WindowsXP era printers and scanners too, I am in the same bus with you. I found some workaround in 64-bit Windows 7 (my current OS) for my HP printer and scanner (still going great guns without any hardware problem at all) for which no driver update is provided by HP post-WindowsXP. However, I have to make do with software controls and options that are very limited indeed compared to what I had under WindowsXP. All such experiences are nicely summed up by you.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
gh01 8th Feb
@plandok@...
Well said, there would be less landfills if every one seen it your way. Way to go!
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
gh01 8th Feb
@jake_grey
Never POST PC...It???s just to comfortable to sit at my powerful PC and do everything. However, I do have my iPHONE to get stuff outside done. As long as they sell PC components and WINDOWS, I???ll be here. There???s no point not to have one. Watch, you'll leave it behind today and return to it when you realize how foolish it was to ever leave it in the first place.
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Then discard your PC
toddybottom_z 26th Jan
Throw it in the garbage (or better yet, donate it).

If you need something 10% of the time, you still need it.

I'm also 90% post PC. I know I'm not 100% post PC because the hard drive in my PC recently died and I had to wait a few days to get a new one. While I was able to put off the 10% of things that I can't do on my iPad and iPhone, I still needed to do them eventually. I can't throw my PC in the garbage. I am not post PC. Until you throw your PC into the garbage, neither are you.
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You don't own an iPad or an iPhone
ScorpioBlue 27th Jan
Otherwise you yourself are responsible for that hypocritical sick market.
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I admit that I am
toddybottom_z Updated - 27th Jan
@ScorpioBlue
"you yourself are responsible for that hypocritical sick market"
When have I ever suggested otherwise? I have to make selfish decisions that benefit me, just like every other consumer has to make selfish decisions that benefit them. Only a few do silly things like refusing to buy the best OS just because it is made by Microsoft.
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You admit to being a hypocrite
ScorpioBlue Updated - 27th Jan
When have I ever suggested otherwise? I have to make selfish decisions that benefit me, just like every other consumer has to make selfish decisions that benefit them.

Then stop whining about it. You sound like a hypocritical idi0t.

Only a few do silly things like refusing to buy the best OS just because it is made by Microsoft.

It's far easier to avoid Apple products than it is Windows. Nobody's making you buy a tablet. Nobody's making you buy a smartphone.

With 90% of the desktop market out there, it's next to impossible to avoid Windows. It's as ubiquitous as the Xerox machine so don't lie and say otherwise.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
plandok@... 27th Jan
@toddybottom_z
Please everyone, don't throw your PC or other "electronics" in the garbage. They have toxic materials in them and much can be recycled. If a recycling service doesn't exist in your community, get one started. We don't want to end up like many parts of industrial China where people are living in highly toxic hovels handling or burning highly toxic electronic waste. I and the planet thank you.
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As todd stated above, I will never be Post PC
kenosha77a 26th Jan
I really enjoy my dual monitor desktop system and the applications I run on it. However, with my iPad, I find that my online computing hours have increased significantly.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
tgschmidt 26th Jan
When my Motorola Lapdock 500 arrives, I will be about 90% post PC.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
gomigomijunk Updated - 27th Jan
@tgschmidt the Lapdock, sort of rhymes with Laptop...hmmm...

To understand Post-PC, you must first understand what PC means. PC means Personal Computer. In the old days, you rented time on a Main Frame....get yourself a VAX account and schedule time on the machine. Then with the advent of the Personal Computer, you could own your own device and use it whenever you wanted! That is what PC means, owning your own device and using it whenever you want!

The iPad is NOT a Post-PC device. It is a Personal Computer. You can own it. You can use it whenever you like.

Chrome OS, on the other hand IS a Post-PC AND Pre-PC device....because Post-PC really means Pre-PC. Chrome OS is a modern day version of the Dumb Terminal. The machine you rent from today is called the cloud. Instead of owning processing power, instead of owning applications, you RENT them from the people who own the servers, now called the cloud.

Post-PC era is also the Post-Privacy era. The days of writing a private document and keeping it for yourself are quickly slipping away. Keep all your docs in the cloud, and you don't own, nor can you expect the privacy once afforded during the PC era.


If you want to be truly Post-PC, get yourself a Dumb Terminal like Chrome OS and then you can claim Post-PC...however, realize that you've given all your ownership away to someone else, as well as your privacy.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
keith.manning@... 27th Jan
@gomigomijunk

Post-PC is Pre-PC. Love it! Pity there aren't more people around here with a sense of history.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
daengbo Updated - 28th Jan
@gomigomijunk PC really refers to first the IBM PC, and then what was long referred to as "PC Clones" or "PC compatibles." Since IBM sold mainframes, the PC implied the distinction of a personal computer, but that's not what the term means when describing computers -- that's x86 with a compatible BIOS and the proper bus so that MSDOS or similar programs designed for the IBM PC would run (mostly, but let's not remember those days). Or what's commonly called "the PC architecture."

"After 1987 IBM PC compatibles dominated both the home and business markets of commodity computers,[6] with other notable alternative architectures being used in niche markets, like the Macintosh computers offered by Apple Inc. and used mainly in desktop publishing at the time, the aging 8-bit Commodore 64 which was selling for $150 by this time and became the world's best-selling computer, the 16-bit Commodore Amiga line used in television and video production and the 16-bit Atari ST used in the music industry. However, IBM itself lost the leadership role in the market for IBM PC compatibles by 1990." ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_PC_compatible )

Once PC compatibles became more common, the whole market was referred to as "PCs." You'll notice that _didn't_ include Amigas, Apples, Ataris or Commodores, which your rewrite of history would claim did, since none of them were attached to a mainframe.

Of course, my first computer, the Tandy Model I, was a dead end by the mid-80s, and I was already selling "PCs" by Samsung, Compaq and the like to businesses. Not Apples or Amigas, though. Those weren't PCs.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
Return_of_the_jedi Updated - 26th Jan
Enough of this souped up Ipad with after market parts.
You moded this thing like it's a Honda Civic or something.

PS. You spent more in after market parts than the Pad is worth.
Dude get a laptop.
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Contributr
RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
JamesKendrick 26th Jan
@Return_of_the_jedi Wrong. I already owned the tablet to do tablet stuff. Additional investment = $0. Added a keyboard for ~$100. Not expensive.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
Return_of_the_jedi Updated - 26th Jan
@JamesKendrick

I commend you for what you are doing and sharing.
You created your own SUV type device.

PS. thx
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Colour me unsurprised...
TheWerewolf 26th Jan
@JamesKendrick Hold on though - that's not necessarily valid.

You have an iPad 2. Let's assume it's the lowest end model. $499.
You added a keyboard - $100.

You're at $600. There are several 'PC' slates and tons of laptops that could do the same thing for less.

So, you're not post-PC because it makes more sense - you're post-PC because you've spent more and rearranged your life to make it work out. That's like saying 'we're post-Car because I can use buses and taxis.' It's entirely true - but so what? It's not necessarily a better future - just a different one.

Me? I have LOTS of things I do that can only be done on a PC - and even on my tablets (I've tried quite a few of them), the stuff it does best is the very lightweight stuff.

It's not a zero-sum game. For tablets to succeed, it doesn't require that PCs go away. And they're not. PC sales went up again this year, not down. Tablets aren't 'cannibalising' PCs - they're being bought as complimentary devices that may, in some cases (perhaps many cases) work as a replacement for laptops.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
jatbains 26th Jan
@JamesKendrick Just get an Ultrabook, the Acer S3 comes to mind. Light weight, great battery life and a Keyboard, no compromises.

The upcoming Lenovo Yoga looks intriguing.
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@TheWerewolf
baggins_z 27th Jan
Incorrect. The tons of laptops and slates out there do not have a touch-centric OS or a form factor that allows for casual computing sitting in a chair. The appeal of the iPad, like nearly all things Apple is not WHAT you do with it, but HOW you do those things. The ergonomics of the iOS touch-centric interface, and the iPad's physical design for casual computing cannot be overemphasized.
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OK, but what about that 4 letter word WORK?
cornpie 27th Jan
@baggins_z Casual computing? Sure, I'll buy that. Consumer device? Sure, I'll buy that too. But actually getting work done? No way.

And if you can't get your work done on it (which is the 90% of people with jobs) then it ends up being a second device. Actually for most it will be a third device since most will have either a laptop or desktop plus a phone in addition to the tablet.

That's the real beauty of Apple marketing and why they are so profitable. They sell you a device IN ADDITION TO not IN PLACE OF the devices you already own. They will sell you a Mac book, an iPad, and an iPhone (and an iPod too if they can).
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So True
rhonin 27th Jan
@cornpie


That's the real beauty of Apple marketing and why they are so profitable. They sell you a device IN ADDITION TO not IN PLACE OF the devices you already own.


for me......
Tier One
Work Notebook (Lenovo)
Home Notebook (Alienware)
Smartphone (SGS2 LTE)

Tier Two:
Tablet (iPad 2)
Tablet (Transformer)
Console (XBox 360)
Smartphone (iPhone)

Tier Three
All my older leftover devices
grin
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You use the line
William Farrel 27th Jan
@JamesKendrick
"clunky laptop", yet today's Laptops or MacBook Airs are no "clunkier" then the separate iPad/Keyboard combo you have pictured above.
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got ports?
itinko 26th Jan
I'm interested in some of the new tablets coming out with USB ports etc. iPad is so locked down. Love my Galaxy 10.1, but might buy the iPad 3 for some of the photography apps.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
CyberGuerilla Updated - 8th Feb
@itinko The camera connection kit does some of that USB connection stuff. The limitation comes not from the fact whether the iPad or tablet has a USB port, but that what devices and content can take advantage of the USB port. And because of the locked down restrictions (especially on the iPad), it will NEVER completely replace PCs or Macs.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
Samic 26th Jan
So that's how iPads cannibalising Macs happened.

No really, still not buying into the semantic of "Post-PC". Tablet computers are still "Personal Computer" =PC. Calling them "Post-PC" device is as pompous as calling them "Personal-er Computer" device.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
DannyO_0x98 26th Jan
@Samic
Then we are arguing over semantics. The computing environment is changing as a market and as a management issue and the reason is the rapid adoption of mobile computing, by which I mean small, light devices that leverage the network for static storage and services.

Apple did say there is some cannibalization of their Macs by the iPad. The iPod is very definitely cannibalized by the iPhone. Since the iPod is still as dominant, we can say that personal music players have been slammed by the smartphones.

Now, a look at the recent financials from Apple showed growth in both laptop and desktop sales. As Apple said the others had more to lose than they from iPad cannibalization of pcs, things are working out as they expected. Meanwhile, whether it's from switchers or Apple picking up what natural growth there is in the sector, they seem happy with their results on the Mac side of the biz.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
gomigomijunk Updated - 26th Jan
@DannyO_0x98 But hasn't that always been true? Are you telling me that when we shifted from monster CRT's, big PC boxes, to flat panel monitors and lightweight, mobile, wireless laptops and netbooks that those weren't also "Post-PC" by your definition? So where is the line where we crossed from just mobile Personal Computing Devices to Post PC? When we shifted to tablets that have on-screen keyboards? But wait, you added a keyboard back ito the mix because to do any serious level of computing, you need a physical keyboard. So isn't your "tablet" just a latop with a detachable keyboard? How is that post-pc?

If I could detach my keyboard from my macbook air, would that mean I'm suddenly post-pc?

I think the term post-pc is silly. Other than being an attack on Intel, the term really has no meaning....and we are far from a Non-Intel world...my macbook-air has Intel inside.

So is it underpowered, undercapable devices that define post-pc? Isn't that just a short bridge until they become powerful and capable? What then, will we transition into the Re-PC era?

If I were to accept Post-PC as a term, then I think the best description is devices that are more disposable than PC's. Born of mobile phone pedigrees, the current tablets are only good for a couple of years and are intended to be replaced when "the contract" is up. Compared to PC's who's longevity can expand through a decade and can be upgrade to later OS's, today's "Post-PC" disposable device mentality is the best differentiatior between the PC of the past and the PC of the present.
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Post PC = After permanent computer
Patanjali 26th Jan
@gomigomijunk
I think you have identified the real difference. PCs, be they desk or laptop have tended to be seen as permanent, in that you keep them until they die, and the content is worth transferring to your next one.

However, with tablets, the 'permanence' of such PCs has been abandoned to be more like phones = keep until something better comes along or the contract ends.

But it may well reflect that the uses these portable devices are being put to is in dealing with very transitory content -- emails, web browsing -- whereas most heavy users of PCs are using them for more substantive, enduring content.

Tablets and smartphones are just a more convenient format for a lot of the lightweight tasks consumers were using PCs, then netbooks, for. But it is a big jump to project that these low-powered, small-screened portable devices are suitable for the data-dense applications that make up the bulk of business computing.
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Its attracting people to Apple's ecosystem
jscott418 27th Jan
@DannyO_0x98 Just as the iPod gave consumers a taste of Apple products and eventually caused some to adopt other Apple products. I believe the iPad has done the same. Its a opportunity to own a Apple like computer without spending a grand. Obviously people are still using desktops and laptops and in the end a consumer who had a PC and bought a iPad and liked it might very well buy a Mac when the need a new PC.
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Permance - not quite
rhonin 27th Jan
@Patanjali
Put the iPad/iPhone aside.
For my Android devices, when I upgrade/change, I transfer the SD card with all of my information on it. This is very similar to transfering my information when I upgrade / change my notebook.
In the future (????) the cloud may do this.

Not seeing the relevant difference between tablets and pc's and smartphones for this.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
crystalsoldier 26th Jan
I am not sure about this post PC argument. Indeed, I am inclined to think that, we may be actually moving into a personal computing phase, where the word 'personal is meant quite literally. The proliferation of personal devices - smart phones, tablets, ultra-thin laptops etc stand testimony to this. And, what's more, its going to get even more personal from here on.

So, why post PC?
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RE: So, why post PC?
Rabid Howler Monkey 26th Jan
@crystalsoldier The author must be running out of subjects to blog about. Tablets and smartphones are indeed PCs. They just have different form factors and HMI than desktops/laptops/netbooks.
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Well, it all depends. Tablets are PCs unless you are talking about
baggins_z 27th Jan
market share numbers, in which case they are not. Because counting tablets as PCs would put Apple as the number one PC manufacturer in the U.S.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
dtdono0 26th Jan
I would argue the only real difference between a laptop (PC) and a tablet is the form factor in which a tablet substitutes a touch screen for a keyboard. Once you dock it into a keyboard, you've basically transformed the form factor into a laptop/PC.

It sounds more like you don't really need more than 1 computing device to get by (in addition to a smart phone). I do like those convertible tablets, but I think we are still at least a few years away before the battery life situation becomes adequate.

I still love multi-monitor display setups the most though happy
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That picture resembles what they used to call a errmm Netbook
Dietrich T. Schmitz * Your Linux Advocate 26th Jan
Netbooks for those who don't know are alive and well, doing exactly the kinds of things JK maintains he is doing with his Pad--albeit, some assembly required (on his part) and additional out-of-pocket cost.

I'd say this story is delusional.

If you question whether or not Netbooks are alive and well, simply browse the new skus coming out with Intel Cedar Trail Atoms and AMD Fusion processors from ASUS and Acer.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
MSFTWorshipper 26th Jan
@Dietrich T. Schmitz * Your Linux Advocate A better solution is the ASUS ePad Transmformer Prime.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
Solenoid Updated - 27th Jan
@Dietrich T. Schmitz * Your Linux Advocate
"Netbooks for those who don't know are alive and well"

I had difficulty finding two matching Netbooks (same make, model) from a retailer. In that market at least, they are disappearing. I think I was looking in the wrong place, and will soon be looking into what you've just mentioned.

Personally, I think the Netbook is still a better mobile device based on my uses and needs. Still, I understand why people overlook simpler solutions for popular ones.

A broad generalization: my needs are not yours, and my solutions may not fit your uses. To each their own, and good for you.

@MSFTWorshipper: I liked that one too until I found the price tag, over twice the cost of a great netbook. I did not want one that badly.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
Cylon Centurion Updated - 26th Jan
Screw the tablets. Give me a laptop with a REAL, fully functional, no compromise, OS.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
benched42 26th Jan
@Cylon Centurion

So you want a laptop that is a desktop replacement, right? Something like a Lenovo ThinkPad W520, right? Weighing in at 6.2 pounds, if I can get 90% of my tasks done with a 1 pound tablet.... My shoulder, back and neck will thank me for leaving the laptop and going with the tablet, especially if I travel a lot.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
gomigomijunk 26th Jan
@benched42 They have invented a new thing called a desk that can adequately hold such devices now...its amazing, truly revolutionary.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
Cylon Centurion Updated - 26th Jan
@benched42

6.2lbs? My laptop weighs no more than 4. 4lbs is nothing.

I don't need a desktop replacement. My mid-range HP works just fine as a mobile solution.
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RE: Color me surprised. I am 90 percent post-PC
ScorpioBlue Updated - 27th Jan
@benched42 They have invented a new thing called a desk that can adequately hold such devices now...its amazing, truly revolutionary.

He's talking about going from point A to point B carrying the damm thing.

Since you're so smart, I expect you to develop an extra heavy duty backpack-trolley hybrid so I can carry my desktop and 25" monitor from place to place.
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Good for you if you can do 90% on a tablet
cornpie 27th Jan
@benched42 But most of us can't. In fact very little of my work can be done on a tablet. But hey, that's just me right? But the question you have to ask yourself is this: If you can do 90% on the tablet then what do you do about the other 10%? You still need the laptop i.e. even for you you have to have both, basically at least doubling your cost. The laptop would be capable of 100%. Traveling? What about when you are not traveling? Would you rather be doing your work on a 10" tablet screen or dual 24 inch monitors? Once again you are back to the idea that the tablet can't be your only device.
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Ninety-percent really isn't good enough to claim you are Post-PC ...
mwagner@... Updated - 23 hrs ago
... because you are still 10% dependent on a PC - which means you MUST own both devices.

A Post-PC world is one in which the PC is entirely replaced by the tablet - at least in the consumer space. Maybe Windows RT can do it. Certainly a Windows 8 tablet will be able to do it - but then again, does a Windows 8 tablet REALLY qualify as Post-PC?

There is a big difference between meeting all of the needs of 90% of consumers and meeting 90% of the needs of all consumers.

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