

Why the Desktop Gets No Respect, and Should - jpr
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2367202,00.asp

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fossuser
The article started off okay, but then when he suggested requiring licences to
use a computer and removing infected machines from owners by court order it
got completely ridiculous. We should be working towards making it even easier
to get people online, not constructing more artificial barriers to prevent it.
If someone choses to remain ignorant and not learn about their computer
(leading to an infected machine) this is not a legal problem. Getting more
people access to the largest information medium in human history is the goal,
sure some will use it for trivial purposes, but that isn't our concern and
certainly not our prerogative to regulate it. This article incorrectly assumes
there is no future for both the computer as an 'appliance' and as a more
powerful tool and I think we can be assured there is.

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jseliger
Desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones exist along a continuum of
preference, price, and individual desires. It's not that desktops don't get
respect—it's that the market for them is saturated and unlikely to grow, so
few manufacturers focus much on them.

Look, I use an iMac and like desktops enough for their advantages (price,
power, etc.) to have written a whole post on the subject:
[http://jseliger.com/2008/12/26/computer-post-desktop-or-
lapt...](http://jseliger.com/2008/12/26/computer-post-desktop-or-
laptopnotebook/) . But that doesn't mean desktops should "get more respect" or
that because most apps are dumb tablets and smartphones are any less useful.

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aufreak3
I've recently been thinking about whether there is a genuine role for serious
computing ability at "home" (even if accessed over the air via an iPad-like
device) and clicked on this article .. and was utterly disappointed. The
article doesn't present _any_ valid _arguments_ for the value of the desktop.

If people want to use phone apps as conversation starters, so what? .. and how
many really want to fool around with Illustrator? .. and a licence to use
computers? really?

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mhp
Taken with a grain of salt since it's written by a magazine that basically has
the word 'desktop' in its name...

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rodh257
what a random rant...

