Are tvs and pcs going to merge together into one general item over the next decade or two?

Re: Are tvs and pcs going to merge together into one general item over the next decade or

That would be neat -- I know there are projector keyboards out there already (flexible ones, too), come to think of it, although I haven't noticed any advertised in connection with cell phones.

Re: Are tvs and pcs going to merge together into one general item over the next decade or

Actually, there are pocket-sized projectors out there now. Fucking expensive, but I guess it's oriented towards the business professional on the go who never knows when they might need to give a Powerpoint presentation.

Or something.

Oh, and have you ever tried typing on a non-tactile surface? You get by on phones and stuff because you can only really mash your thumbs in there, but if you want to use all ten of your digits, you need the tactile response. Projected keyboards are already sold, but they're nigh-unusable.

And while I'm being negative, streaming will only supplant DVD in the next 10-15 years if the broadband situation in the US gets sorted out pronto. One of the few policies I'm excited about is the money that Obama's pushing towards broadband initiatives. Broadband in America is still too expensive, too slow, and its coverage is too spotty. I've said it before and I've said it again - we're behind when it comes to technology because we have a hell of a lot of land mass to cover. We need minimum standards of service across the board.

Re: Are tvs and pcs going to merge together into one general item over the next decade or

I agree about using a projector keyboard, I wouldn't want it as a primary keyboard, but I'd rather type on that in an airport than an iphone touchscreen. As the technology advances they will improve. As for the DVD's going out of style, obviously they aren't just going to vanish in a decade. I'm really talking about us, the middle class and up, the people that do have broadband now and will never go back not not having it. We're the ones that will abandon disk formats for online formats.

Re: Are tvs and pcs going to merge together into one general item over the next decade or

Your hypothetical confuses me, unless you're threatening to steal my stuff and cancel my insurance.

Remember my point was that weight wouldn't be an issue. Of your list of features many are already available, while others wouldn't add any weight. The rest would be optional, that is to say if you don't want to lug around a full sized keyboard to watch TV I don't see that being a requirement.

In other words: No unnecessary lugging required.

Re: Are tvs and pcs going to merge together into one general item over the next decade or

Yeah sure, I think eight track tapes, laser discs, audio cassettes, 8-inch/5¼-inch/3½-inch floppy disks, VHS/Betamax tapes, and HD DVDs prove media formats never become obsolete!

Re: Are tvs and pcs going to merge together into one general item over the next decade or

Suppose you're a middle-class fellow with children nearing college age and all the usual money-drainers of living in the modern USA. You have only so much spare cash to spend in any given month. If a fancy-schmancy new "compuTV" thing comes out, are you going to rush out to spend $$$ for it (or wait a few months for the price to come down), or are you going to look at your TV(s) and computer(s) and say "No thanks, I'm going to get my money's worth out of what I already have"?

There's a mouse model for cell phones? Really?

In the same sense that, say, Photoshop is "optional". Which it maybe isn't if you're a graphics designer.

Oh, okay. It would all be modular so that any hardware the user found unnecessary wouldn't have to be lugged around. That wouldn't help those who found it necessary, though. (And I find a mouse pretty necessary for computers. Those touchpads and trackballs don't cut it for me. )

Re: Are tvs and pcs going to merge together into one general item over the next decade or

I'd rather not pursue this non sequitur.

TVs and PCs are merging together, in many ways they already have.

Might be, I'm sure you could check with Google. I mentioned cell phones to illustrate that weight would not be a problem. If you want to use your CompTV as a TV you wouldn't have to lug around computer accessories.

TVs and PCs are merging together, in many ways they already have.

Now you're just being silly, the computers that graphic designers use would (in all likelihood) already be able to play TV shows.

No.

If you want to use your CompTV as a TV you wouldn't have to lug around computer accessories.

Out of curiosity just how big of a TV are you wanting to lug around?

The product you are describing already exists, it's called a laptop computer. You can use one with or without a mouse, you can watch TV shows and movies as well.

Proof that TVs and PCs are merging together.

Re: Are tvs and pcs going to merge together into one general item over the next decade or

The multitouch trackpad on macs needs to be on every PC. It's better than a mouse, it's really the best thing about having a mac.

Off subject, but NAHTMMM's comment about not liking trackpads made me think about how much I love this trackpad, it's way better than a mouse.

Re: Are tvs and pcs going to merge together into one general item over the next decade or

Disagree.

Re: Are tvs and pcs going to merge together into one general item over the next decade or

Eh... TVs and Monitors are merging.

And cable boxs are becoming more like CPUs.

I expect M$ will be helping this along. I know that Gates has admitted that the whole point of the Xbox division was to have a 'computer' hooked up to a TV in every home. He wants it eventually to be the basis for the media system. Gaming is just the 'in.'


That may be what you are trying to say, if so just clarifying.

Re: Are tvs and pcs going to merge together into one general item over the next decade or

I said that rather clearly in my first post:

Yet that is but one of the more obvious aspects of technological consolidation. It isn't about jamming more devices into a single console, rather it's the realization that one device, a computer in this case, can handle most every multimedia task, that there is no need for a TV and a computer, no need for a radio and a computer, no need for a DVD player and a computer, no need for a typewriter and a computer ...

You might as well have said "Eh... typewriters and keyboards are merging."

While true it misses the larger point.

Re: Are tvs and pcs going to merge together into one general item over the next decade or

The one thing I regret about the Eee, is that it doesn't have a touchscreen. Barring that, I wish it had an IBM-style TrakPoint joystick. I hate the touchpad--even a Macinalized one like the Eee has.

Re: Are tvs and pcs going to merge together into one general item over the next decade or

Disagree that it's better than a mouse or that it should be on every pc? I don't see why you wouldn't at least want it as a trackpad even if you do prefer a mouse.

Re: Are tvs and pcs going to merge together into one general item over the next decade or

Both.

First, I prefer the mouse for regular use. Image editing or gaming? Trackpad is pretty much unusable for those.

Second, not every PC is a laptop. Therefore, no, I don't want it as a trackpad on every PC. There's no point of having one when you have a mouse. The mac trackpad is better than a plain old trackpad, I'll give you that much. But it's more of a "this doesn't suck as much" type of a thing.

Re: Are tvs and pcs going to merge together into one general item over the next decade or

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8272003.stm

This thread has aged well.

Almost all my entertainment pipes through a PC to my TV.

This type of comment has aged well as a nice example of how something that seems extravagent and super-desirable can quickly become cheap and common. It's basically where things are at now if have any smart devices around the house. It's pretty nice being able to control what is playing in any room between speakers, those small screens, and the large TV by using basically any of them, my phone, or voice as a control.

Also everything old is new again, because we once again have a tv with fake wood trim.

Tex called all of this

Course, with streaming services being unpredictable AF, I'll be looking into getting a Blu-Ray player for the shows I care about the most.