Great Janitor: frepnog: Great Janitor: Again, I use both and while a laptop can do what a tablet does, a tablet can not do what a laptop does, and the tablet is not going to kill the laptop. Not going to happen. The two exist is completely separate niches. Saying that tablets are set to outsell laptops makes as much sense as saying cars are set to outsell bicycles.

a tablet is nothing more than a mobile computer. it (a tablet) is for all intents and purposes, a laptop with the keyboard removed. the two not only share the exact same niche, one is currently beating the other to death in that niche no matter how much you may thing otherwise. It isn't a fad; it is a paradigm shift.

Wrong. Look at a PC, then look at an iPad. Look at any tablet then look at any laptop. If you think they are the same, minus a keyboard, you're an idiot. Of course, that might also explain why you think that tablets can kill the laptop. There is really nothing that I can think of that I can do on a PC that I can not do on a laptop. That is not true for tablets. For one thing, tablets can not run .exe programs. There is no paradigm shift, as you say there is because the tablet can not replace the laptop. It can not be done.

Great Janitor: They are going to realize they are going to need an actual computer, and when that happens, laptop sells will improve.

nope. they will likely ALREADY HAVE some sort of pc that stays at home and fills the need. Laptop sales are in decline, and are going to do nothing BUT decline to the point when in a few years, there will be likely only a few companies that even bother making them anymore. Hell, Dell has already gutted their laptop division. HP is not going to be far behind.


Dell computers suck anyways. My wife bought a Dell, I told her not to. Damn thing never worked more than a month. HP isn't much better. The laptop market will shrink, yes, but not to the point that you are predicting. One company gutting their laptop division means nothing.

A ...

Yeah, I'll take a laptop over a tablet today, tomorrow, 15 years from now if that is still what we are using. Tablets are a waste of money to me. I doubt Dell will completely

I hate all the farking on TV.

I keep falling off.

Great Janitor: Again, let me repeat this, and I'm typing it slowly so you can read it, tablets are not going to kill the laptop, they are only going to be replaced by laptop users who don't need anything beyond surfing the internet and netflix. For everyone else, that is, the majority of the population, laptops are going to remain. Companies like Dell which decide to switch from laptops to tablets means nothing beyond that there is going to be one more tablet maker and one less laptop maker. That's it. And it doesn't mean that this is a shift from laptop to tablet. That means that Dell would rather take a slice from the pie that is the tablet market instead of taking a slice from both the laptop and tablet pie.

I hope you're right. I'm somewhat concerned about the gradual decline of the general purpose computer and the fragmentation of the device market into multiple, incompatible, closed ecosystems. I hope that ten years from now I'll still be able to buy a generic laptop or desktop and run the OS and software that I choose, but the market seems to be heading away from that.

I have a tablet and just recently upgraded my laptop. I'm finding the tablet increasingly fussy for anything but reading and light web surfing, and appreciating my laptop more. I would probably do fine with just a smartphone (gotta have something to read when I'm pooping) and the laptop for portable computing.

Nick Spiceyweiner: Great Janitor: frepnog: Great Janitor: Again, I use both and while a laptop can do what a tablet does, a tablet can not do what a laptop does, and the tablet is not going to kill the laptop. Not going to happen. The two exist is completely separate niches. Saying that tablets are set to outsell laptops makes as much sense as saying cars are set to outsell bicycles.

a tablet is nothing more than a mobile computer. it (a tablet) is for all intents and purposes, a laptop with the keyboard removed. the two not only share the exact same niche, one is currently beating the other to death in that niche no matter how much you may thing otherwise. It isn't a fad; it is a paradigm shift.

Wrong. Look at a PC, then look at an iPad. Look at any tablet then look at any laptop. If you think they are the same, minus a keyboard, you're an idiot. Of course, that might also explain why you think that tablets can kill the laptop. There is really nothing that I can think of that I can do on a PC that I can not do on a laptop. That is not true for tablets. For one thing, tablets can not run .exe programs. There is no paradigm shift, as you say there is because the tablet can not replace the laptop. It can not be done.

Great Janitor: They are going to realize they are going to need an actual computer, and when that happens, laptop sells will improve.

nope. they will likely ALREADY HAVE some sort of pc that stays at home and fills the need. Laptop sales are in decline, and are going to do nothing BUT decline to the point when in a few years, there will be likely only a few companies that even bother making them anymore. Hell, Dell has already gutted their laptop division. HP is not going to be far behind.


Dell computers suck anyways. My wife bought a Dell, I told her not to. Damn thing never worked more than a month. HP isn't much better. The laptop market will shrink, yes, but not to the point that you are predicting. One company gutting their laptop division me ...

mp3 players will never totally replace cd players.

digital downloads will never totally replace dvds.

hdtv's will never replace totally SDTV's.

tablets will never totally replace laptops.

but there sure will be a split. mark my words.

wholedamnshow: meanmutton: wholedamnshow: I can't imagine the interface or anything of a smart TV being any better than my Roku. I get Netflix, HBO GO, Amazon Instant Video, and Hulu Plus if I decided to sign up for it. I also use Pandora when I'm having a party and Epix if I wanna watch a more recent movie.

What can a Smart TV do that my $80 Roku can't?

Not cost you the extra $80, not require an extra plug in your powerstrip, not require one extra cable to your TV. It's basically a Roku built into the TV.

Browsing on Amazon right now, Smart TVs seem to cost more than $80 than their non-smart equivalents.

Doesn't Roku make sticks now? Just slip it into a usb port and fire up the IT Crowd!

Mitt Romneys Tax Return: Great Janitor: Again, let me repeat this, and I'm typing it slowly so you can read it, tablets are not going to kill the laptop, they are only going to be replaced by laptop users who don't need anything beyond surfing the internet and netflix. For everyone else, that is, the majority of the population, laptops are going to remain. Companies like Dell which decide to switch from laptops to tablets means nothing beyond that there is going to be one more tablet maker and one less laptop maker. That's it. And it doesn't mean that this is a shift from laptop to tablet. That means that Dell would rather take a slice from the pie that is the tablet market instead of taking a slice from both the laptop and tablet pie.

I hope you're right. I'm somewhat concerned about the gradual decline of the general purpose computer and the fragmentation of the device market into multiple, incompatible, closed ecosystems. I hope that ten years from now I'll still be able to buy a generic laptop or desktop and run the OS and software that I choose, but the market seems to be heading away from that.

I have a tablet and just recently upgraded my laptop. I'm finding the tablet increasingly fussy for anything but reading and light web surfing, and appreciating my laptop more. I would probably do fine with just a smartphone (gotta have something to read when I'm pooping) and the laptop for portable computing.

And that's one of the biggest problems with tablets is their closed ecosystems. iOS being the worst in that respect. The business market will never abandon the laptop or the PC. Especially in the IT world. Not to mention as I said before, look at authors. Do you think the next novelists are tapping out 300+ page novels on iPads?

The only person I've ever encountered, in person or online, who said that the Tablet was not just going to dominate the PC market, but has already made the Laptop an endangered species is the person I've been arguing with on this thread. No one else has ever been dumb enough to suggest it.

frepnog: Nick Spiceyweiner: Great Janitor: frepnog: Great Janitor: Again, I use both and while a laptop can do what a tablet does, a tablet can not do what a laptop does, and the tablet is not going to kill the laptop. Not going to happen. The two exist is completely separate niches. Saying that tablets are set to outsell laptops makes as much sense as saying cars are set to outsell bicycles.

a tablet is nothing more than a mobile computer. it (a tablet) is for all intents and purposes, a laptop with the keyboard removed. the two not only share the exact same niche, one is currently beating the other to death in that niche no matter how much you may thing otherwise. It isn't a fad; it is a paradigm shift.

Wrong. Look at a PC, then look at an iPad. Look at any tablet then look at any laptop. If you think they are the same, minus a keyboard, you're an idiot. Of course, that might also explain why you think that tablets can kill the laptop. There is really nothing that I can think of that I can do on a PC that I can not do on a laptop. That is not true for tablets. For one thing, tablets can not run .exe programs. There is no paradigm shift, as you say there is because the tablet can not replace the laptop. It can not be done.

Great Janitor: They are going to realize they are going to need an actual computer, and when that happens, laptop sells will improve.

nope. they will likely ALREADY HAVE some sort of pc that stays at home and fills the need. Laptop sales are in decline, and are going to do nothing BUT decline to the point when in a few years, there will be likely only a few companies that even bother making them anymore. Hell, Dell has already gutted their laptop division. HP is not going to be far behind.


Dell computers suck anyways. My wife bought a Dell, I told her not to. Damn thing never worked more than a month. HP isn't much better. The laptop market will shrink, yes, but not to the point that you are predicting. One company gutting their ...

mp3 players will never totally replace cd players.

And MP3 players haven't totally replaced CD players and record players are actually starting to make a come back.

digital downloads will never totally replace dvds.

It hasn't yet. Consumers like to have physical copies of what they buy. Digital is nice, but I haven't stopped buying physical media.

hdtv's will never replace totally SDTV's.

That happened, but because HDTV is a step up, and I don't know of anyone who said that HDTV would never catch on or replace SDTV.

tablets will never totally replace laptops.

but there sure will be a split. mark my words.


And the flaw with your examples is the only one that actually happened was the HDTV replacing the SDTV because it was a step up, like how color replaced black and white. A tablet is not an upgrade to a laptop. Compare the specs to a new iPad to a laptop being sold currently in the stores. The tablet is a step down.

LarryDan43: mayIFark: Smart TV's are good for one thing, streaming. Makes it so much easier to ditch the cable.

/Why are cables so expensive anyway?

They are gold plated monsters.

Thanks for the laugh. I just woke up my girlfriend.

If anyone needs a kickstarter idea: OTA/CableCard tuner + DLNA Server, in a small form-factor case.
3 inputs: Network, Cable/Antenna, Power, and of course throw in wireless. Stream OTA or cable broadcasts to any connected device in the house - Smart TVs, laptops, tablets, smart phones, consoles, etc. Use DLNA items to switch channels.

I currently use an HDHomeRun, a Raspberry Pi running udpxy, and PS3 Media Server with a bit of custom programming to do this. Works pretty well.

I use an MK 808 Android box on two of my TV's in the house....they will let you browse and stream, and wifi is built in.....so streaming from any of the other computers in the house is easy and reliable....and I use Rii mini keyboards with each....and they are Silent, 1080p, and use like 20 watts of power(for all the dads out there) My Dad would have loved ANY machine that only took 20 watts and worked.....

The MK 808 is a dual core CPU and a quad core GPU....has one gig ddr3....and Android 4.1....and is smaller than a pack of smokes....59Bux my friends...cheap at any price....

Great Janitor: frepnog: Great Janitor: I will agree that the line between computer monitor and television is starting to blur, but apps for a television that can play music and video games seem redundant and pointless when you already have a Wii, PS3 or Xbox 360 hooked up to your television as well as a computer.

not everyone has a game console. Hell, MOST people don't have a game console. and yet most people DO have a television.....

I only know of one person who does not have a video game console, and that is my mother in law. Most of the older people I know of who have video game consoles do for their grandchildren. Not only that, but who out there really is looking for a television that can surf the internet? My PS3 can do it, and according to the posts in this thread, do it better than a smart television, but when I go to surf the internet I will either grab my iPad or laptop. If I grab my iPad it's really only a matter of time before I set it down in favor of my laptop because of the keyboard. As far as using the television to surf the internet, it's really a bad idea unless your tv is the right size for where you are sitting.

I just bought my husband a new smart tv. Can't really account for how it works as we havent installed it yet. But I will mention this- we have a Xbox, PS3 and Wii connected to various TVs throughout the house. I don't WANT a game box in my bedroom where this one is going. I just want to have something that picks up netflix. this TV does that, and was a screaming deal. I don't have to buy a secondary device like a roku, or have the cable strung to the bedroom, or install one of the game consoles. I don't really intend to do much with the other apps, but I will probably check them out.
We are not boomers, we just have plenty of tvs already and just want netflix on this one.

I have a smart TV, and I love using it for Netflix. Hit the netflix button, pick a movie from my queue, hit OK, voila, watch in HD on big screen.

Very simple. Easily as simple as doing so on my computer or phone. On the other hand, watching netflix on the TV is pretty much still watching TV. Amazon prime videos, also awesome on giant TV, and pretty damn easy.

When it comes to all the OTHER apps that the TV can use...yeah...how bout no. Most of them are a pain in the ass on the TV (and I even HAVE a keyboard for the TV...still a pain), and unlike watching shows on the big screen, which is awesome because ZOMG GIANT HD SCREEN, what advantage am I getting by using it for idiotic crap like shopping on Amazon or checking the weather? Let's see...oh, right, none.

I have a Samsung 40in 10080p lcd. It's almost two years old, and still is jam packed with features that I will NEVER use because it's not hooked up to any broadcast source. I use it as a computer monitor. It was more expensive than it needed to be because of the extra crap they had added that people that use the thing as intended don't even bother with.

Earpj: Hmm... I want to get one (once the kids get the x-box out of my living room) for Netflix. Do they do Netflix ok?

Our Samsung does Netflix without any problems. Fairly simple interface.

downstairs: wholedamnshow: I can't imagine the interface or anything of a smart TV being any better than my Roku. I get Netflix, HBO GO, Amazon Instant Video, and Hulu Plus if I decided to sign up for it. I also use Pandora when I'm having a party and Epix if I wanna watch a more recent movie.

What can a Smart TV do that my $80 Roku can't?

Does it do YouTube?  Serious question.  My smart DVD player does.  But I went to the Roku site and there seems to be no mention of it?

Yes it does.

Jarhead_h: I have a Samsung 40in 10080p lcd. It's almost two years old, and still is jam packed with features that I will NEVER use

Features, and about 9000 lines of resolution ...