the point is: MS may have some kind of monopoly on dektop operating systems. it certainly has none on computer operating systems. servers mostly run on Linux, smartphones mostly run Android and tablets mostly run iOS.

firstly consumers. in turn Microsoft. as you said: "a freedom of choice"

there are no Apps for Windows Phone/RT/8 by Google other than Chrome and the Google Search.

are you talking about legacy apps (as Microsoft calls desktop applications)? there is a Google Maps application by Google? a Google Mail application by Google? i would be interested in that, please give me link if such a thing really exists.

you are probably talking about the websites in your browser. such a website exists for SkyDrive as well, btw.

Just using the reply thingie.

It's the inverse actually. The 'connected' world you talk about consists mostly of babbling teenagers. The real connected world, those of people trying to make a buck can do largely without fancy scaled down notebooks that add nothing but headaches, shoulder cramps and an increased risk of getting mugged/ripped.

I use my gadgets, tablets you call them probably, for gadgety stuff. As a remote command for my dlna server, or check my timeline. But no way i am going to write my masterthesis on it, or even a simple letter. It's useless for that.

This 'market' has been created not to fulfill a demand but to create a demand.

We might have to agree to disagree then since in my opinion you couldn't be more wrong.  Maybe 5-10 years you would have been more correct, not today. 

The people in my field can now (notice I said can and not necessarily do however) with today's tech admin, entire server clusters and networks from the airport lounge if need be.  We can send remote commands from inside a vehicle travelling at highway speeds to rebuild virtual boxes and create or re-create failover connections, browse lengthy and boring log files, can stream voice/video chat conference meetings while pretty much anywhere in the world.  Does that sound like "babbling teenagers" to you?  Whether or not we actually use the tech on a day-to-day basis in the end to do what I described above doesn't matter as much as the fact that the option is there.  Just having those remote abilities allows for job flexibility that simply didn't exist years ago.  Some in the tech field will have pushed for this tech, while others may have just accepted it, and others yet maybe only tolerate it.  In any case it is not only the youngest generation who desire and drive for change.

Bottom line for me?  While teenagers certainly spurred this tech on, they are obviously no longer the (only) target market for newer and newer tech.  Everyone's life is at least somewhat "connected" these days (personal and/or business) and can be made better/easier through newer mobile computing tech.  However, mobile computing expects to change the way you compute.  Does this sometimes bring newer tech and options to the table we didn't even imagine?  Sure, but that just means the big tech companies have anticipated our desire for that change and are just finding interesting ways to fill it.

Nice story. But all it says that mobile computing in general is practical. Which it was 20 years ago too, when warehouses started with handhelds to take inventory.

Using gadgets such as tablets are fun to use for fun. But to use them in practice you need minimally a keyboard, making it a cumbersome system. In fact you replace a perfectly good working platform such as a notebook for a less capable gadget.

If that makes sense to you, well. What can i say. Let's see how you feel in 10 years time when RSI strikes in your shoulders, neck and hands.

oh my. actually the form factor and not having a keyboard makes tablets useful for certain tasks (remember all that maintenance staff that had slates?). just because developers are not doing apps for professionals for your Android tablet does not mean that this is true for other platforms.

here are other examples:

How the iPad is revolutionizing playbooks for NFL players and coaches

iPads In Health And Medicine

you should worry about the people that have spine problems because of sitting in front of a keyboard right now. likely a bigger problem than holding a mobile device.

I am happy for the NFL, also for the news-anchors who can tap their gadgets. However the overwhelming majority of professional computer use is some form of data-entry/retrieval. For which a touch device is completely useless.

Even MS recognized that by slapping a keyboard on the Surface, and they are not the brightest of the bunch.

As for RSI, a touch device ADDS repetitive movements to existing ones for interfacing with a computer. Logically it is even worse as an ergonomical solution for a computer interface.

I wrote this in 1992, when Windows 3 just started to make inroads. Call me visionary

The Ergonomics of Graphical User Interfaces revealed   

Sometimes it can happen that a group of people accepts a basic concept on a false premise, and from that basic concept they evolve a complete belief system, surreal in its nature but thoroughly convincing in its logic. In the course of the world's history we have seen, mostly to our detriment, the consequences of such blindly following the path of logic.

The rest:  https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1828618/gui.doc 

This from the guy who said he wouldn't even use new tech for a simple letter eh?  Coming around are we?  hehe

That's just it you don't need a keyboard, there are plenty of "professional" applications for the newest of new technology that work just fine without keyboards.  Unless are you talking about those pesky "babbling teenagers" again? 

Wait, whoa hold up there.....I'm going to get old someday?  Some of my parts may at some point no longer work as advertised and end up causing me daily pain?   I am shocked! 

hm ... I thought the more different movements you do, the less repetitive the whole thing would be ?

anyways, as the visionary you claim to be, aren't you happy those mobile devices have input methods that do not use a gui (as Siri or the Google Voice Search)?

or even Google Now which tries to read your mind?

but then this speech recognition might cause a sore throat and the mind reading a headache.

I think that everyone should just be forced by armed governmental computer squaddies to use Linux or Unix systems. Not the bastardized Mac version. Pure Unix. 

You'd look an even bigger nerd ....a cartoon pony in a propeller hat....;p

Jafo you think only nerds use Linux? Time to do some research. As it is some of the Linux distros look better and work better than Windows 8. Time will tell. I'm still hearing from those I talk to that they are staying away from Windows 8.

Linux is definately a success story. servers, phones (Android), tablets, embedded devices.

i could not care less which os i use on a desktop. Windows 7/8, OS X, Linux ... all are better than the crap we had to use in the past.

but the big question is: does it run Photoshop?

and this is what Windows Phone/RT have in common with desktop Linux: lack of good application.

and don't start with GIMP. it's a cool app, and i for sure know more about it than you do. i even consider it more powerful than almost any commercial app, but it is absolutely no replacement for Photoshop (which is worth at least twice as much as it costs).

Of course not.  I am certain several naive idealists still cling to it....;p

But I'm with Moshi .... it doesn't run Photoshop ergo it is [as good as] useless.

It doesn't run FSX ergo it is [as good as] unentertaining.

It doesn't run .....ad nauseum ...;p

What about us guys that don't use Photoshop? Ha!

but sure, if everything you need works with Linux why not not using it on the desktop as well. it's a good os and the Gnome shell is a great desktop environment.

Some people just love egging other people on. You knew quite well what I meant in my post above, number 262. I merely am pointing out that some of these Linux distros look better than Windows 8. That dose not imply that I have to run Linux. Get off your soap box.

In order to use a touch device with any sort of efficiency you need an external keyboard. So now you not only have to make the repetitive movements of the keyboard,but also switch from keyboard to screen all the time. Which is repetitive.

And since putting a cursor on the right place, selecting text etc.  using touch is a nightmare, many people added a mouse as well to their tablets, making it a triple whammy.

The thing just isn't a valid solution for professional run of the mill business use where data entry/retrieval are the core use of computers. In actual fact a tablet with a keyboard and a mouse is a very expensive, impractical and cumbersome way to do something you could do already using cheaper more practical existing equipment. It's just not as cool, but in business we don't go for cool, we go for making a profit with the least cost, and the least health risks for the employees. 

Tablets are a niche, but due to marketing and people wanting gadgets it sells like hotcakes.  

As soon as voice recognition actually recognizes anything else then perfectly pronounced english, and doesn't have an error rate that makes me lose more time correcting then i gain using it i'll be the first to use it. But now if my dog barks i can tell you some really weird text appears. Also various background noises beyond your control make it haphazard form of interaction.

 If a computer comes around that really can read my mind how do i prevent it from not typing things like: f you ahole when my boss bothers me?

Not really practical.

Sorry, mate...I missed that one...;)

OK, so you use the right input...so it must be some antequated browser....IE3, perchance? ...;)

putting a cursor on the right place?

that would be poor interface design then. thanks god people are developing touch optimised interfaces for tablets.

you just don't see the many uses a tablet can have. i think it will become a must for anybody working in a warehouse. a laptop, scanner, trolley & extra battery combination is not only unergonomic but also more expensive than a tablet. and you can be sure companies like SAP or Motorola are working on such solutions right now.

it's probably my bad English, but for me the definition of repetitive is doing the same move all the time, while it seems for you the definition of repetitive is doing different moves, and for you the more variety you have the more repetitive it gets.

just found this Motorola ad:

http://adoholik.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/motorola_et1_enterprise_tablet_warehouse.jpg

but of course you know better than them

and after a little more research i found out that SAP, the market leader for enterprise software, already has released 15 apps for the iPad. so it is pretty pointless in trying to tell you how useful tablets will be when reality is already there.

but of course you know better than them as well

It never ceases to amaze me... how somebody will find/dig up an argument when...

(a) there isn't one

(Bee) the current one isn't combatant enough, or

(c) it seems the better option to peace. in the 'Season of Goodwill'

(Dee) it was f*cking boring in here, so let's......

Just wanted to point that out.  Carry on!