A PC doesn't require a second PC to activate it. Stupid move, Apple.
PC's are a bit old now.. After using an iPad for a week I must say... it's the future.
I have to agree... Apple was stupid to release the iPad before it had the infrastructure in place to activate it as a stand-alone device. If they'd only waited they would avoided those embarrassing stock shortages and long order lead-times... not to mention those pesky customers waiting in line all over the world to buy the iPad.
It was really stupid to be first-to-market and catch the competition off guard, scrambling to compete -- where they may not be able to get a product to market for years (if ever).
It was really stupid for Apple to define the category and set the bar, high, for all tablets that follow!
It was really stupid of Apple to announce and demonstrate a real product and then release it inseveral months -- rather than wait and show vaporware like RIM, HP, et. al.
There is an earnings call at close of market today (about an hour) -- we should all tune in and see how stupid Apple really is.
Mmm... Where do Windows and Mac OS X updates come from-- Don't you download them from another computer on a network?
Or whenever Apple releases a major update; but I wasn't talking about the internet or the servers which support it -- I meant that you need a PC at home to be able to update your device. When you can own an iPad without owning anything else, then it's a PC. And saying that, I would say the iPad is really really close.
Quote:
As an iOS developer, I have the 4.2 beta installed on our iPads. You can print quite nicely to a printer attached to a router (AirPort Extreme) or a computer.
Cool -- using Bonjour I assume? So limited to having a Mac, PC or Bonjour-capable deivce on your network to print. That's **better**, but not perfect unless non-Apple companies start using Bonjour.
Quote:
<snip>You can run Apache Server on any iPhone or iPad Touch... Along with PSP and SQLlite! You can run uLinux on a 30 GB ca 2004 iPod.
I can also run ucLinux on my microwave -- that doesn't make it a PC. The ability to hack something, to reprogram something, is by its very nature, changing the nature of the device, as any computerized device is defined by its software. So, it then stops being device-xyz and becomes a "PC". An AppleTV, XBox or Commodore 30-in-1 Direct to TV are all examples of NON-PCs, built on the same hardware as a PC, that can, with some effort, be made into PCs. So, for a select few, the iPhone and iPad can both become full PCs; not everyone either has the skill nor desire to jail break their Apple devices.
Quote:
I don't mean to focus on you, because I agree with most of what you say.
No worries!
Quote:
I suspect you have more that one personal computer-- likely, at least 1 desktop, and at least 1 Laptop. Why both? You might answer: Duh... portability! What do you sacrifice for that portability: Speed, CPU power, GPU power, RAM, HDD capacity, I/O devices (scanners, midis, etc), Printers...
Nope -- I just have the one laptop -- and I spent a small fortune because I wanted both. My laptop is probably more powerful than most people's desktops. This beast has a quad-core i7 (720QM) and Radeon HD 5870, with 8GB of RAM, expandable to 16GB, two 500GB drives, built-in 1920x1080 display with an HDMI connection to a 2048x1152 display. I don't believe in compromising -- I have enough money to get what I need all-in-one. I do own an iPhone though -- but I don't call it my PC either.
Quote:
The point is that a lot of us have more than 1 computer that we have selected to satisfy our needs at performing various tasks in various situations. The fact that an iPad won't satisfy any of your needs for a personal computer, doesn't mean that it won't satisfy any of my needs... and vice versa. My needs are my needs -- it would be presumptuous of me to assume that they are your needs... and vice versa.
But that's not what a PC is defined as -- you don't get to change the definition of the word to suit you. The essence of a PC is that it's general purpose, that you can do with it, whether you want to or not, anything that anyone else could do with whatever we call a "PC". Not all PCs live up to this ideal, and many fall short in one aspect or another -- but that's okay. The term itself is generalized and very fuzzy, but at some point, some thing is no longer a PC, and is a "game console" or a "PVR" or a "microwave oven".
Is the iPad a PC? Can you run LAMP on it without hacking it? Then I would say, that out-of-the-box, no, the iPad is not a PC, it is not inteded to be a PC, it is not marketed as a PC, and by having the AppStore, Apple is preventing it from becoming a PC, and therefore usurping their PC line of products known as Macs. Can you make it a PC -- sure, but taken to it's extreme so is a pile of sand and oil.
So are you saying that when I used Time Machine from my old Laptop to set up my new laptop that that made the new laptop not a PC? It is way too cumbersome and error prone to manually move everything over. Users need an existing PC to manage that process.
And trying to say a chunk of hardware is or is not something based on an installed software application is ridiculous. In iPhoto 1 you could not tag photos, does that mean we retroactively have to classify every Mac a non-PC up until the version of iPhoto that introduced tagging? The logic of doing that is ludicrous, your whole post is broken by poor logic and fragile obsolete definitions.
That's a pretty selective viewpoint you have there. And it demonstrates nicely so many people's inability to see beyond their own perspectives.
Your first paragraph, as another poster has already pointed out, it patently false. You do not need to use Time Machine to set up your new computer. To provide just one ridiculously obvious example...give grandma a new iMac and she can start using it right away. Give her a copy of MS Office and she can install it without need of another device. But give her an iPad, and if she doesn't have access to another computer to activate it, get content onto it (other than Apple's camera connection kit), and install software, it's nothing but a paper weight.
As for your 2nd paragraph...nice that you picked one tiny part of my comment, tagging of photos, and used that as an example to try an discredit my statement. The point being made was that you can not really manage your photos on an iPad. Tagging, sorting, and editing were just examples of managing photos. And the Photos app was provided as an example of how the iPad is primarily geared towards consuming content and being a client to other computers elsewhere (web servers, mail services, iPhoto on you Mac, etc, etc).
And the statement, "trying to say a chunk of hardware is or is not something based on an installed software application is ridiculous" is also very selective. We are talking about the iPad, and like it or not, that is a combination of hardware and software. And that software is the only software able to make the hardware functional. So you have to consider them together. The iPad hardware is perfectly capable of being a PC, I believe. But not until there is more robust software to make it a more general purpose and independent device than it is today.
Of course, this just my opinion. An iPad is much closer to being a PC than a mainframe terminal is. But I think it has a little ways to go before I'd consider it a personal computer.
A PC isn't really a PC if you can buy it pre-build and don't need to pull out a soldering iron to put it together - otherwise it's just some lame consumer device. Who's with me!?
ME!!! The ability to "hack" something (even if it's "easy") and make it a "PC" doesn't make it a PC. Examples:
A Personal Computer (IBM naming aside) was a computer you could actually afford in your home. It was never about it being able to do everything you want - price or user ability was always prohibitive.
If we restrict the definition to 'make the computer do some of what the person wants it to do' I'd say it's closer, and certainly the iPad hits that mark. And damn, my iPad is sooooo much more powerful than my first computer - and I can finally sit in front of the TV on the sofa and use a computer again! (And not using the analog TV as a monitor, thankfully!)
Apple has 2 OSes - Mac OS X and iOS. Both are OS X based, the primary difference is replacing the mouse based Cocoa framework with the touch based Cocoa touch framework. The core OS is the same.
Saying the iPad isn't a personal computer because it doesn't have a mouse/keyboard is like saying in 1984 that the Macintosh isn't a personal computer because it doesn't have a command line.
Apple started the personal computer industry with the Apple I, they transformed it with the Macintosh and are transforming it again with the iPad. The result is they've jumped to #1 in the US market for computer sales, jumping from 7-8% share when the iPad was announced to 25% share today.
I agree with much of what you write but I would put the change at the introduction of the iPhone and iPod touch. The iPad made the new computer world order more clearly visible. I suppose it is inevitable that each generation will see its successor as not legitimate.
A PC isn't really a PC if you can buy it pre-build and don't need to pull out a soldering iron to put it together - otherwise it's just some lame consumer device. Who's with me!?
What you're describing is a hobbyist machine, not what more and more consumers who don't give a damn about upgrading hardware or setting up file/print servers are looking for. The iPad is certainly a Personal Computer - a lot more personal than the machines of the past decades.
+++ QFT
don't forget the wire-wrap tools and the oscilloscope, the solder sucker and the bust-out box!
ME!!! The ability to "hack" something (even if it's "easy") and make it a "PC" doesn't make it a PC. Examples:
Original Xbox
AppleTV
C64 Direct-to-TV
WRT45G (et al)
Lol. My first PC was an Atari 600XL which certainly wasn't overly expandable unless you were into hacking and therefore apparently no longer counts as a PC? But... it was a PC.
The cool thing is that Apple is selling consumer-usable machines that you can actually turn on and just use - my Atari (600Xl and later ST) turned on in seconds. For some reason, the 'P' in 'PC' is supposed to mean 'PITA' apparently - I assume because that's what DOS and Windows delivered to the masses for so long. \
It isn't an insult to state that the iPad isn't a PC in the traditional sense. It was never meant to be. In other news, airplanes make crappy cars and cars make crappy trucks.
Does the iPad meet the definition of a computer in the most general sense? Yes, but so does a programmable calculator. Is the iPad what we think of when someone mentions a PC? No. Is that a bad thing? No.
What's funny about his and other posts like his is the glaring fact that Apple has made the first successful tablet after a decade of everyone else repeating the same foolish moves. Now they are all scrambling to copy Apple by using a mobile OS designed for the HW.
What's funny about his and other posts like his is the glaring fact that Apple has made the first successful tablet after a decade of everyone else repeating the same foolish moves. Now they are all scrambling to copy Apple by using a mobile OS designed for the HW.
all while the criticisms are based on it not being more like all of those same failures.
Or whenever Apple releases a major update; but I wasn't talking about the internet or the servers which support it -- I meant that you need a PC at home to be able to update your device. When you can own an iPad without owning anything else, then it's a PC. And saying that, I would say the iPad is really really close.
You knew I would ask... If "not attaching it to another [computer] device to install your OS" is a pre-requisite, Then the MBA is not a PC, and an AppleTV is a PC... No?
Quote:
Cool -- using Bonjour I assume? So limited to having a Mac, PC or Bonjour-capable deivce on your network to print. That's **better**, but not perfect unless non-Apple companies start using Bonjour.
HP has announced several "network" printers that support the iPad.
Quote:
Nope -- I just have the one laptop -- and I spent a small fortune because I wanted both. My laptop is probably more powerful than most people's desktops. This beast has a quad-core i7 (720QM) and Radeon HD 5870, with 8GB of RAM, expandable to 16GB, two 500GB drives, built-in 1920x1080 display with an HDMI connection to a 2048x1152 display. I don't believe in compromising -- I have enough money to get what I need all-in-one.
Ha! Just funnin' you but:
That "laptop" really is a "desktop"
Brand/model?
Cost range?
Weight?
Battery time?
AIR, you mentioned non-linear video editing -- what apps? External storage/connection?
How big a wagon do you have to drag that 'round the house?
Seriously, how do you get buy if your single computer (or any major component) fails and needs hospital time?
all while the criticisms are based on it not being more like all of those same failures.
I agree 100% -- the desktop metaphor does not translate well to the handheld experience. My life with Windows CE was horrible, and it took a company like Apple to think of a better way, and here we are. But it's simple -- as long as the iPad requires another house-hold computer to perform a function as critical as the oobe and software updates, then it will remain a non-PC.
You knew I would ask... If "not attaching it to another [computer] device to install your OS" is a pre-requisite, Then the MBA is not a PC, and an AppleTV is a PC... No?
If I can walk into Starbucks and update my iPhone, or get home with my brand new iPad/3G and have it run without ever connecting it to a PC, then that's it.
Quote:
HP has announced several "network" printers that support the iPad.
That's great news! My bad for not keeping up -- been too swamped @ work.
Quote:
Ha! Just funnin' you but: That "laptop" really is a "desktop" <snip>
"Desktop replacement" or "luggable" also work. I just hate e-waste by having more computers than I need -- it's a bit of a hassle to haul around, but I feel it's better than duplicating data everywhere I live/work/go. It's an ASUS G73JH, and I think it has about 1.5 hours of battery life if I don't play a game. StarCraft II eats the battery in about 45 minutes. It's only real limitation is no e-SATA or USB3.0 -- but with 1TB, I'm okay, and just do routine backups to the corporate servers.
Quote:
AIR, you mentioned non-linear video editing -- what apps? External storage/connection? How big a wagon do you have to drag that 'round the house?
LOL -- it comes sold with its own backpack. I'd hate to have to lug this around back in College (edit -- not that we even had laptops back then...), but to-and-from the car it's fine
Quote:
Seriously, how do you get buy if your single computer (or any major component) fails and needs hospital time?
Comments
Agreed.
A PC doesn't require a second PC to activate it. Stupid move, Apple.
PC's are a bit old now.. After using an iPad for a week I must say... it's the future.
I have to agree... Apple was stupid to release the iPad before it had the infrastructure in place to activate it as a stand-alone device. If they'd only waited they would avoided those embarrassing stock shortages and long order lead-times... not to mention those pesky customers waiting in line all over the world to buy the iPad.
It was really stupid to be first-to-market and catch the competition off guard, scrambling to compete -- where they may not be able to get a product to market for years (if ever).
It was really stupid for Apple to define the category and set the bar, high, for all tablets that follow!
It was really stupid of Apple to announce and demonstrate a real product and then release it inseveral months -- rather than wait and show vaporware like RIM, HP, et. al.
There is an earnings call at close of market today (about an hour) -- we should all tune in and see how stupid Apple really is.
.
Mmm... Where do Windows and Mac OS X updates come from-- Don't you download them from another computer on a network?
Or whenever Apple releases a major update; but I wasn't talking about the internet or the servers which support it -- I meant that you need a PC at home to be able to update your device. When you can own an iPad without owning anything else, then it's a PC. And saying that, I would say the iPad is really really close.
As an iOS developer, I have the 4.2 beta installed on our iPads. You can print quite nicely to a printer attached to a router (AirPort Extreme) or a computer.
Cool -- using Bonjour I assume? So limited to having a Mac, PC or Bonjour-capable deivce on your network to print. That's **better**, but not perfect unless non-Apple companies start using Bonjour.
<snip>You can run Apache Server on any iPhone or iPad Touch... Along with PSP and SQLlite! You can run uLinux on a 30 GB ca 2004 iPod.
I can also run ucLinux on my microwave -- that doesn't make it a PC. The ability to hack something, to reprogram something, is by its very nature, changing the nature of the device, as any computerized device is defined by its software. So, it then stops being device-xyz and becomes a "PC". An AppleTV, XBox or Commodore 30-in-1 Direct to TV are all examples of NON-PCs, built on the same hardware as a PC, that can, with some effort, be made into PCs. So, for a select few, the iPhone and iPad can both become full PCs; not everyone either has the skill nor desire to jail break their Apple devices.
I don't mean to focus on you, because I agree with most of what you say.
No worries!
I suspect you have more that one personal computer-- likely, at least 1 desktop, and at least 1 Laptop. Why both? You might answer: Duh... portability! What do you sacrifice for that portability: Speed, CPU power, GPU power, RAM, HDD capacity, I/O devices (scanners, midis, etc), Printers...
Nope -- I just have the one laptop -- and I spent a small fortune because I wanted both. My laptop is probably more powerful than most people's desktops. This beast has a quad-core i7 (720QM) and Radeon HD 5870, with 8GB of RAM, expandable to 16GB, two 500GB drives, built-in 1920x1080 display with an HDMI connection to a 2048x1152 display. I don't believe in compromising -- I have enough money to get what I need all-in-one. I do own an iPhone though -- but I don't call it my PC either.
The point is that a lot of us have more than 1 computer that we have selected to satisfy our needs at performing various tasks in various situations. The fact that an iPad won't satisfy any of your needs for a personal computer, doesn't mean that it won't satisfy any of my needs... and vice versa. My needs are my needs -- it would be presumptuous of me to assume that they are your needs... and vice versa.
But that's not what a PC is defined as -- you don't get to change the definition of the word to suit you. The essence of a PC is that it's general purpose, that you can do with it, whether you want to or not, anything that anyone else could do with whatever we call a "PC". Not all PCs live up to this ideal, and many fall short in one aspect or another -- but that's okay. The term itself is generalized and very fuzzy, but at some point, some thing is no longer a PC, and is a "game console" or a "PVR" or a "microwave oven".
Is the iPad a PC? Can you run LAMP on it without hacking it? Then I would say, that out-of-the-box, no, the iPad is not a PC, it is not inteded to be a PC, it is not marketed as a PC, and by having the AppStore, Apple is preventing it from becoming a PC, and therefore usurping their PC line of products known as Macs. Can you make it a PC -- sure, but taken to it's extreme so is a pile of sand and oil.
So are you saying that when I used Time Machine from my old Laptop to set up my new laptop that that made the new laptop not a PC? It is way too cumbersome and error prone to manually move everything over. Users need an existing PC to manage that process.
And trying to say a chunk of hardware is or is not something based on an installed software application is ridiculous. In iPhoto 1 you could not tag photos, does that mean we retroactively have to classify every Mac a non-PC up until the version of iPhoto that introduced tagging? The logic of doing that is ludicrous, your whole post is broken by poor logic and fragile obsolete definitions.
That's a pretty selective viewpoint you have there. And it demonstrates nicely so many people's inability to see beyond their own perspectives.
Your first paragraph, as another poster has already pointed out, it patently false. You do not need to use Time Machine to set up your new computer. To provide just one ridiculously obvious example...give grandma a new iMac and she can start using it right away. Give her a copy of MS Office and she can install it without need of another device. But give her an iPad, and if she doesn't have access to another computer to activate it, get content onto it (other than Apple's camera connection kit), and install software, it's nothing but a paper weight.
As for your 2nd paragraph...nice that you picked one tiny part of my comment, tagging of photos, and used that as an example to try an discredit my statement. The point being made was that you can not really manage your photos on an iPad. Tagging, sorting, and editing were just examples of managing photos. And the Photos app was provided as an example of how the iPad is primarily geared towards consuming content and being a client to other computers elsewhere (web servers, mail services, iPhoto on you Mac, etc, etc).
And the statement, "trying to say a chunk of hardware is or is not something based on an installed software application is ridiculous" is also very selective. We are talking about the iPad, and like it or not, that is a combination of hardware and software. And that software is the only software able to make the hardware functional. So you have to consider them together. The iPad hardware is perfectly capable of being a PC, I believe. But not until there is more robust software to make it a more general purpose and independent device than it is today.
Of course, this just my opinion. An iPad is much closer to being a PC than a mainframe terminal is. But I think it has a little ways to go before I'd consider it a personal computer.
A PC isn't really a PC if you can buy it pre-build and don't need to pull out a soldering iron to put it together - otherwise it's just some lame consumer device. Who's with me!?
ME!!! The ability to "hack" something (even if it's "easy") and make it a "PC" doesn't make it a PC. Examples:
This is 100% true, but will fall on deaf ears.
Even that may be too broad.
A Personal Computer (IBM naming aside) was a computer you could actually afford in your home. It was never about it being able to do everything you want - price or user ability was always prohibitive.
If we restrict the definition to 'make the computer do some of what the person wants it to do' I'd say it's closer, and certainly the iPad hits that mark. And damn, my iPad is sooooo much more powerful than my first computer - and I can finally sit in front of the TV on the sofa and use a computer again!
Bearing in mind the lack of quality in the software, I would suggest it's barely above a 'toy'
if it had a 'proper' featured OS then I might agree it being a PC.
iOS is its major downfall.
Define "proper" featured OS.
Is it more polite? More chaste? More circumspect? Ivy-league Educated? Come from the right family?
Have beautiful tawny skin, wavy black hair and stunning blue eyes...
.
Apple has 2 OSes - Mac OS X and iOS. Both are OS X based, the primary difference is replacing the mouse based Cocoa framework with the touch based Cocoa touch framework. The core OS is the same.
Saying the iPad isn't a personal computer because it doesn't have a mouse/keyboard is like saying in 1984 that the Macintosh isn't a personal computer because it doesn't have a command line.
Apple started the personal computer industry with the Apple I, they transformed it with the Macintosh and are transforming it again with the iPad. The result is they've jumped to #1 in the US market for computer sales, jumping from 7-8% share when the iPad was announced to 25% share today.
I agree with much of what you write but I would put the change at the introduction of the iPhone and iPod touch. The iPad made the new computer world order more clearly visible. I suppose it is inevitable that each generation will see its successor as not legitimate.
A PC isn't really a PC if you can buy it pre-build and don't need to pull out a soldering iron to put it together - otherwise it's just some lame consumer device. Who's with me!?
What you're describing is a hobbyist machine, not what more and more consumers who don't give a damn about upgrading hardware or setting up file/print servers are looking for. The iPad is certainly a Personal Computer - a lot more personal than the machines of the past decades.
+++ QFT
don't forget the wire-wrap tools and the oscilloscope, the solder sucker and the bust-out box!
.
ME!!! The ability to "hack" something (even if it's "easy") and make it a "PC" doesn't make it a PC. Examples:
Lol. My first PC was an Atari 600XL which certainly wasn't overly expandable unless you were into hacking and therefore apparently no longer counts as a PC? But... it was a PC.
The cool thing is that Apple is selling consumer-usable machines that you can actually turn on and just use - my Atari (600Xl and later ST) turned on in seconds. For some reason, the 'P' in 'PC' is supposed to mean 'PITA' apparently - I assume because that's what DOS and Windows delivered to the masses for so long.
Does the iPad meet the definition of a computer in the most general sense? Yes, but so does a programmable calculator. Is the iPad what we think of when someone mentions a PC? No. Is that a bad thing? No.
Bearing in mind the lack of quality in the software, I would suggest it's barely above a 'toy'
if it had a 'proper' featured OS then I might agree it being a PC.
iOS is its major downfall.
iOS is why they are now selling 2 million/month.
iOS is why they are now selling 2 million/month.
What's funny about his and other posts like his is the glaring fact that Apple has made the first successful tablet after a decade of everyone else repeating the same foolish moves. Now they are all scrambling to copy Apple by using a mobile OS designed for the HW.
What's funny about his and other posts like his is the glaring fact that Apple has made the first successful tablet after a decade of everyone else repeating the same foolish moves. Now they are all scrambling to copy Apple by using a mobile OS designed for the HW.
all while the criticisms are based on it not being more like all of those same failures.
Bearing in mind the lack of quality in the software, I would suggest it's barely above a 'toy'
if it had a 'proper' featured OS then I might agree it being a PC.
iOS is its major downfall.
And Windows appears to have been the downfall of all the tablet computers (including the recent cancelled projects) that came before.
This place is seriously lacking in quality trolling
Or whenever Apple releases a major update; but I wasn't talking about the internet or the servers which support it -- I meant that you need a PC at home to be able to update your device. When you can own an iPad without owning anything else, then it's a PC. And saying that, I would say the iPad is really really close.
You knew I would ask... If "not attaching it to another [computer] device to install your OS" is a pre-requisite, Then the MBA is not a PC, and an AppleTV is a PC... No?
Cool -- using Bonjour I assume? So limited to having a Mac, PC or Bonjour-capable deivce on your network to print. That's **better**, but not perfect unless non-Apple companies start using Bonjour.
HP has announced several "network" printers that support the iPad.
Nope -- I just have the one laptop -- and I spent a small fortune because I wanted both. My laptop is probably more powerful than most people's desktops. This beast has a quad-core i7 (720QM) and Radeon HD 5870, with 8GB of RAM, expandable to 16GB, two 500GB drives, built-in 1920x1080 display with an HDMI connection to a 2048x1152 display. I don't believe in compromising -- I have enough money to get what I need all-in-one.
Ha! Just funnin' you but:
That "laptop" really is a "desktop"
Brand/model?
Cost range?
Weight?
Battery time?
AIR, you mentioned non-linear video editing -- what apps? External storage/connection?
How big a wagon do you have to drag that 'round the house?
Seriously, how do you get buy if your single computer (or any major component) fails and needs hospital time?
.
all while the criticisms are based on it not being more like all of those same failures.
I agree 100% -- the desktop metaphor does not translate well to the handheld experience. My life with Windows CE was horrible, and it took a company like Apple to think of a better way, and here we are. But it's simple -- as long as the iPad requires another house-hold computer to perform a function as critical as the oobe and software updates, then it will remain a non-PC.
Maybe in iOS5. We'll see.
Oct 18 (Reuters) - Apple <AAPL.O>:
* Reports fourth quarter results
* Auto Alert - Q4 earnings per share $4.64
* Auto Alert - Q4 earnings per share view $4.08 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S
* Auto Alert - Q4 revenue $20.34 billion versus I/B/E/S view $18.9 billion
* Auto Alert - Sees Q1 2011 earnings per share about $4.80
* Auto Alert - Sees Q1 2011 revenue about $23 bln
* Says sold 3.89 mln Macs during the quarter
* Says sold 14.1 mln iphones in the quarter
* Qtrly gross margin was 36.9 percent
* Says sold 9.05 mln ipods during the quarter
* Says also sold 4.19 mln ipads during the quarter
* Q1 earnings per share view $5.07, revenue view $22.40 billion -- Thomson
Reuters I/B/E/S
You knew I would ask... If "not attaching it to another [computer] device to install your OS" is a pre-requisite, Then the MBA is not a PC, and an AppleTV is a PC... No?
If I can walk into Starbucks and update my iPhone, or get home with my brand new iPad/3G and have it run without ever connecting it to a PC, then that's it.
HP has announced several "network" printers that support the iPad.
That's great news! My bad for not keeping up -- been too swamped @ work.
Ha! Just funnin' you but: That "laptop" really is a "desktop"
"Desktop replacement" or "luggable" also work. I just hate e-waste by having more computers than I need -- it's a bit of a hassle to haul around, but I feel it's better than duplicating data everywhere I live/work/go. It's an ASUS G73JH, and I think it has about 1.5 hours of battery life if I don't play a game. StarCraft II eats the battery in about 45 minutes. It's only real limitation is no e-SATA or USB3.0 -- but with 1TB, I'm okay, and just do routine backups to the corporate servers.
AIR, you mentioned non-linear video editing -- what apps? External storage/connection? How big a wagon do you have to drag that 'round the house?
LOL -- it comes sold with its own backpack. I'd hate to have to lug this around back in College (edit -- not that we even had laptops back then...), but to-and-from the car it's fine
Seriously, how do you get buy if your single computer (or any major component) fails and needs hospital time?
I abuse Best Buy's return policy.