[Coco] The early days of Hacking and Coding a CoCo Was: Here's a CoCo 1 ...

Louis Ciotti lciotti1 at gmail.com
Mon Jan 20 10:46:32 EST 2014


Great points, I agree with you totally here.

We currently have two tablets (iPad and Kindle fire), two smartphones
(iphone 4S & iPhone 5), a desktop (Windows 7), a laptop (Vista), and a
Chomebook for our main computing needs in the house.  My wife uses here
smart phone for probably 90% of her computing needs in the house.  Myself
90% is either on the desktop or laptop with the desktop taking a larger
portion of that.  The other 10% of my needs are split among the other items.

My biggest problem with the smartphone and tablets are 1 screen
real-estate, and two the input.  While a touch screen makes since for icon
selection and scrolling inputting text via virtual keyboards is just plain
awkward for me.  I love my kindle for reading books, but even that is
lacking a bit, images and graphs/charts sometimes do not transfer well to
e-book format yet.  I think personally the surface 2 pro with it's pen
input might get more usage from me, but at over $1K initial investment it
is a big gamble that I am not willing to take.


On Mon, Jan 20, 2014 at 9:52 AM, Bill Loguidice <bill at armchairarcade.com>wrote:

> I think for 95% of the population, a good tablet will be all they'll ever
> need, particularly as docking and connectivity options continue to evolve
> (i.e., on-the-fly connectivity to other input devices and larger displays
> as needed). For the other 5%, which includes a lot of us, a good desktop or
> laptop is what we prefer. For me, personally, I have two main personal
> systems, one is my desktop, which is tethered to two 27" monitors, and my
> Surface Pro 2, which is a laptop/tablet/cintiq hybrid. Certainly something
> like the Surface Pro 2 points to where the tablet form factor could be
> headed, with modular expandability as needs dictate. Of course, with that
> said, it's quite likely that our smartphones will continue to advance to
> the point where they'll be the hub platform, and that that core module then
> docks into whatever you want, be it a tablet shell, laptop shell, desktop
> shell, etc. We're clearly headed down that route (and have had primitive
> attempts at that idea before, like with the Motorola Atrix).
>
> Anyway, for now, you can sort of liken who needs/desires "real" computers
> with who owned personal computers like the CoCo back in the '80s. It's a
> relatively small percentage of individuals, but notable enough where it
> will likely always be a market worth serving. The difference now is that
> instead of the rest of the population having nothing, they can use things
> like tablets, which is kind of refreshing in that it seems almost everyone
> can join in on the technological fun.
>
> By the way, having used and owned (and continue to use and own) several
> different types of smartphones and tablets, I certainly don't look down on
> anyone using them for "real" work. I've done it in a pinch, and it's not
> too bad really, and in some ways better than traditional form factors. At
> the same time, certain things like multitasking are clumsier and they
> really are best at consumption rather than creation. That balance will
> continue to shift, however, no question. I mean, after all, these things
> improve every six months, and at some point there'll be more than enough
> power to spare to do all kinds of crazy things. We're already getting into
> 64-bit processors and multi-GB RAM capacities. As someone who loves
> technology, I'm optimistic about the future and think we'll always have
> something to serve our needs.
>
> -Bill
>
> ===================================================
> Bill Loguidice, Managing Director; Armchair Arcade,
> Inc.<http://www.armchairarcade.com>
> ===================================================
> Authored Books<
> http://www.amazon.com/Bill-Loguidice/e/B001U7W3YS/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_1>and
> Film <http://www.armchairarcade.com/film>; About me and other ways to get
> in touch <http://about.me/billloguidice>
> ===================================================
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 20, 2014 at 12:54 AM, Aaron Wolfe <aawolfe at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Sun, Jan 19, 2014 at 11:29 PM, Allen Huffman <alsplace at pobox.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > I use my iPad for 95% of everything I do these days. Certain times of
> > the year when I start doing a bunch of audio/video/web work, I use my
> > computer most. I use a bluetooth keyboard, though, and with Airplay,
> > beaming to a large monitor is nice.
> > >
> > > Robert X. Cringely has mused that this is the future for most of us --
> > your phone, a keyboard and mouse, and monitor on your desk. It's always
> > with you, and has most power than most of us need. High end games, video
> > editors, etc. will be the ones with the full computers.
> > >
> > >> java.  Again, I don't know why.  Even the cheapest laptop or desktop
> > would
> > >> make a much more suitable tool.  I guess its one of those "because we
> > can"
> > >> things.
> > >
> > > "Because we can" is what led me to not using my computer much. I manage
> > my wordpress blogs, my webhosting cpanels, can ssh in to my home Pi, VNC
> to
> > the home computer, etc. And a few years ago I would have told you that
> was
> > just stupid and useless and pointless except for an emergency.
> >
> > I didn't mean to imply anything was stupid or pointless.  Tablets just
> > are not efficient at many of the things computers can do.  SSH is a
> > good example.  That is something I do quite a bit and have tried on a
> > tablet.  While you technically can do ssh, the experience is one of
> > "making do" and constant compromises.  Imagine the very real scenario
> > of needing to refer to a couple emails and a google search for some
> > online documentation while working on a remote linux box via SSH.  On
> > a tablet you can never see all three at the same time!  Better develop
> > a strong short term memory.  Forget about trying to follow an online
> > "how to" as you work through some process, and if your task involves
> > multiple servers... argh its just not fun.  Even something as mundane
> > as referring to one email while replying to another is incredibly
> > tedious.  I pity a student trying to write a paper using a device that
> > cannot even show you reference materials and your own text
> > simultaneously.
> >
> > For the cost of an ipad plus bluetooth keyboard and mouse, you could
> > have a very nice laptop capable of so much more than an ipad is, and
> > when you compare traveling with ipad + kb + mouse, there isn't much
> > gained in terms of portability vs a small laptop either.
> >
> > Cringley's vision of the future may be spot on, but today's tech isn't
> > delivering that experience.  Tablets are fun, I have several and enjoy
> > playing with them, but I really can't see them as any more than a
> > stepping stone towards something better.
> >
> > $0.02
> > -Aaron
> >
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> >
>
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