Post PC era - too early still?

J

Jux69

macrumors newbie
Hi guys,

I have used a Windows PC my whole life and have finally become fed up and have decided to go Apple all the way. My wife and I currently have iPhone 4's and an iPad 1. We just love our IOS devices!

I have been going back and forth on what Mac to buy and have not made a decision. One feature that caught my eye recently is the wireless mirroring coming in IOS 5 for the iPad 2. The fact that I can have all of my content on a very mobile device and display this on my three HDTVs at home is very cool. Now that iCloud is coming out and we no longer need PCs for setting up our IOS devices, it feels like getting a computer is a step backwards. For the price of an iMac 27inch, I can get two iPad 2s (one for my wife and one for me) and a couple of Apple TVs.

Although I would love to leave a computer out of my life, I am thinking it is still a bit too early to fully leave the PC era behind. I may go with the setup I noted above, but get the entry level Mac Mini, just to act as a file server, and for light photo/video editing. A time capsule will be my main backup source.

So what do you guys think, will the iPad/iPhone/Apple TV setup work, or will I still need a computer? Am i over complicating things and should just get an iMac instead?

Apple seems to be making things much easier for us to just rely on our iPhones and iPads, the post PC era has begun.
 
Depends on what you generally use your computer for. If it's just sitting around for web surfing, entertainment, etc. then heck yes ditch it and use the iPad + ATV instead. if you need a full-fledged workstation, however, then the baseline Mac mini seems like it would be sufficient.

It's really up to you.
 
If anything, we are just beginning the transition to a "Post PC" era. But it is important to note that this is still a transition period. For now there are many tasks that the new class of devices were not designed to perform. For the next few years to, feel that at least a basic PC will be required by most users.
 
Jux69 said:
Apple seems to be making things much easier for us to just rely on our iPhones and iPads, the post PC era has begun.
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Just a note, 'Post-PC' does NOT mean 'Without-a-PC.'

The idea is that you switch from using a desktop 90% of the time and a portable 10% of the time to instead using portabels 90% of the time and the desktop the other 10%.

Steve Jobs is the one pushing the term Post-PC the most and I think it's safe to say he'd still want you to buy a Mac.

But that's just semantics...I'm just saying "Post-PC" has nothing to do with your question...but what of the question itself? CAN you live without only iOS in your houseyhold?

Hard to say. I think my grandmother could (she currently has 1 Macbook and really just uses Safari on it), but she's the only one I know. So, basically, it's possible to do, but I don't know many people who could do it. (I'd call that Post-Post-PC and, no, I haven't heard ANYONE use tha phrase yet.)

Are you one of those people? You could be, but my guess is that you're not. But if you think you're close, get an older refurbished Macbook for $849 and just use it for photo storage and stuff like that. If you're not going to use it a lot, don't spend a lot.
 
Wait untill Sep and buy 2 iPad 3s that will be running Lion. Then decided if you still want an iMac. If so, get a refurb 21.5".
 
The term "Post-PC" seems to be one of the most consistently misunderstood to come down the pike in quite a while.

I don't think that even the strongest proponents of devices like the iPad would suggest that the personal computer (as we've understood the term for the last thirty years or so) is going to disappear. There are probably always going to be tasks that a device with a full-time dedicated keyboard, relatively massive local data storage, and a processor and memory array that is optimized towards performance - rather than conservation of battery power, is going to be better at. A screen that is 20 or more inches diagonally is ALWAYS going to be better for editing video or graphics than something that you can tote around with you.

That said, it also seems likely that the "post-PC" revolution is going to take shape along two parallel axes:

The first of which is the capabilities front. In simplest terms, as processor and power management capabilities, along with the creativity of programmers and App developers, continue to advance, it will become increasingly possible to do things on a device like the iPad we once reserved for a full-power computer. We are already seeing this take shape in Applications such as Garageband and iMovie (creating music and movies), but also in entertainment Apps such as Real Racing, where developers have taken advantage of the iPad's unique capabilities (gyroscopes, touch sensors) to create an immersive game far beyond what one can do with a mouse and joystick.

The second, and IMHO most important, axis however relates to users.

It is worth recalling that the PC originally developed as a tool to be used in business offices and scientific laboratories. Both of which are institutions that can develop considerable resources in terms of both finance and square footage of real estate in addition to the human time necessary to maintain them. As PCs moved into personal living spaces, they caused not inconsiderable disruption. Not everyone in the world is too thrilled to have to dedicate an entire room in their home for a noisy, hot, dusty electronic box, nor is every space-strapped apartment dweller thrilled to have a laptop decorating their coffee table or nightstand.

In the "post-PC" world, I suspect that a sizable population is going to recognize that their computerized-data management tasks really don't require a dedicated PC. Most people simply want to be able to look up things on the internet; communicate via e-mail; manage their collections of music, videos, and photos; and play computer games. All of which can be done using a tablet alone.

The caveat in this vision is, of course, the fact that a tablet is by itself storage-space limited. It, and the treasured data within, is also subject to loss via fire and theft and mechanical failure. Which is why I believe that the iCloud strategy that Apple is pursuing is going to turn out to be final (or at least penultimate) strike in the "post-PC" revolution.

This isn't going to happen overnight. People are inherently conservative, and I think many of us are going to be initially reluctant to consign all of our precious photos and songs, our bank records and our personal letters, strictly to "the cloud." And those of us (myself included) who wish to maintain at least the illusion of "controlling our data" are going to want, and need, a dedicated PC.

How long this will last, I don't know. It could very well be several years before I am comfortable enough with the concept of keeping those gigabytes of photos and letters on a remote server farm. when that level of comfort will be reached, I don't know - but rest assured, it will happen.

Lastly, I think iOS 5 in general, and iCloud in particular, give very clear evidence of how well Apple is playing this transition to the "post-PC" era. While their competitors seem, at every turn, to be fighting the battles of the PC era with their specification lists and plethora of ports, Apple seems to be staking out the high ground - integrating your iPhone and your AppleTv, your iTunes movies and songs, with your iPad and your iMac. Note also the fact that each of those components work equally well with the others, but perhaps more importantly, work even if one or more of the others is absent.
 
In my case, I use a jailbroken iPad 1 to do mirroring on my bedroom TV. And that is the only device plugged into my bedroom HDTV. So, in that sense, the iPad has managed to do so much more than a PC ever would. It has replaced my third cable box, a DVD player, a stereo system, etc. The apps for Netflix, Hulu, Time warner cable, and all the other video apps not to mention the various sites now working on safari mobile with HTML5, the various radio apps, etc, all work quite exquisitely and better than a PC set up.

But even though all of this is true, you'll one day need a full PC to do typing, printing, CD-DVD copying, burning, etc. I think we're still quite a few years away from a post PC era.
 
Andrew, do you need a cable for mirroring with the iPad 1? I wonder if a jail broken iPad 1 with IOS 5 could wireless mirror? My only reason to upgrade from iPad 1 to iPad 2 is for the wireless mirroring capability.
 
What? 'Post-PC era' isn't a meaningful claim because people still buy and use desktops and laptops?

Some of you must also not believe there's any such thing as a cordless phone (let alone a mobile phone), because sooner or later you have to plug something into the wall.
 
I think it's definitely still too early. I suppose you could make it work, but it's not going to be easy. I love my iPad to death but there are a lot of things it just doesn't do or do well.
 
there is an interesting study about how many things actually completely disappear from production. the researcher claimed that nothing did. i suppose it has something to do with the way one defines a thing (i am sure there are models of mp3 players that are missing, but the mp3 player itself still exists).

anyhow, i doubt we'll ever leave the pc completely behind. but, who cares? the ipad gets me through 90 percent or more of my work, so i've got no complaints. i've got a computer at home. i use it when needed. i'm cool with that.
 
madat42 said:
Probably not for the iPad 3, but iPad Pro??..

Apple seen merging iOS, Mac OS X with custom A6 chip in 2012
http://www.appleinsider.com/article...ios_mac_os_x_with_custom_a6_chip_in_2012.html
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The iPad 3 is the device that follows the iPad 2.

I wouldn't place any faith in what Wall Street analysts say. They have been patently incorrect with their predictions, and when Apple has done the opposite of what they suggested it has been very successful.

This si not to say that Apple hasn't tried running Lion on ARM chips, they had OSX running on Intel years before they announced that transition.
 
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iCloud is going to be a big part of the PC-less future (notice I didn't say Post PC). It's also going to be a big reason for me not getting on my tower anymore to do anything but adjust scheduled backups/security checks and watch a video here and there that is not supported on my iPad. Right now, other than hosting and backing up media, my tower is used for iPhone/iPad syncs and backups more than anything else. It's very tedious and I also forget to do it sometimes. I like having a backup from at least the last week to restore to in case I break one of my devices or just want to restore it for whatever reason.

I am getting more and more used to typing on my iPad, and for the little non-work typing of documents and e mails that I do, it's just fine as long as I can set it down at a good angle. For the way I personally use a computer, I have very very little use for anything more than an iPad at this point. Work stuff is a different story, but that's because I'm in an IT related field. But as far as my old personal laptop, it's been sold and has not been missed for one second.
 
Jux69 said:
Andrew, do you need a cable for mirroring with the iPad 1? I wonder if a jail broken iPad 1 with IOS 5 could wireless mirror? My only reason to upgrade from iPad 1 to iPad 2 is for the wireless mirroring capability.
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You do need a cable to connect the iPad 1 to the TV and do the mirroring. Apple is known for maintaining its products, but the updates only go so far. They usually leave the best updates off older products by promoting them on the newest version. Mirroring being one of them. The iPad 1 is fully capable of doing this, but they only enabled mirroring on the iPad 2.

The apple, official HDMI connector is $49. And you can show video from the iPad 1 to the TV only from specific apps. You can surf safari on the iPad and when you encounter a video it will play on the TV instead of the iPad.

I am pretty sure the iPad 1 is capable of doing wireless mirroring, just as it is able to do mirroring, but apple will never allow it. It's just a question of time until iOS5 is fully jailbroken and wireless mirroring will just be another app you can buy from Cydia. You can also buy any iPhone/iPad video cable for $5 instead of paying apple $50, and install "resupported4" - which will enable mirroring on the iPad 1.

All in all, jailbreak iPad 1 - free
Resupported4 for any video cable- $1.99
displayout for mirroring - $1.99
a video cable - $5

better than $500 for an iPad 2.
 
Post PC era? Not until there is ubiquitous printing across the UI with no need for a PC to be turned on. Unfortunately PCs will be needed until critical PC apps run on tablets as well. No tablet but a windows based one will run my CNC Router. I don't see AutoDesk's professional apps running on iOS or Android either.

As for printing, the TouchWiz update to my Samsung tablet includes mobile printing to most WiFi-capable printers. That's a half step in the right direction. Sure wish printing from my iPad2 was so thorough. So far nothing I can find for it lets me print directly to my canon printer.
 
4DThinker said:
No tablet but a windows based one will run my CNC Router. I don't see AutoDesk's professional apps running on iOS or Android either.
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Using 'running a CNC router' and 'running AutoDesk's professional software' as criteria that have to be met for "Post-PC" to be relevant is laughable.
 
Carouser said:
Using 'running a CNC router' and 'running AutoDesk's professional software' as criteria that have to be met for "Post-PC" to be relevant is laughable.
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There is a misconception that post-pc applies to everyone. For general use, post-pc will arrive soon, for professionals, it will never arrive. Use your common sense to see where you fit in the equation.
 
Never going to happen.

Star Trek has iPads (Tablets) they also have laptops on their desks and main PC's that do more powerful work.

There's no way a tablet will ever do these tasks as the basic size and design is just too limiting.
 
darngooddesign said:
For general use, post-pc will arrive soon, for professionals, it will never arrive..
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I take it you don't consider pilots, physicians, or geologists to be "professionals"?

Despite the dramatic photos here, I have used my iPad2 mostly indoors. It is by far the most convenient field library I have ever had. Laptops are great for storing and displaying pdfs of papers and maps, but it just can’t beat the convenience of simple taps on the iPad screen to pull up astonishingly clear text and images......<SNIP>....

It has never been easier in a remote location to read documents and share them with students and colleagues. My trusty MacBook Pro seems terribly primitive for reading now.
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Emphasis mine

I think there a lot of people who need to wrap their minds around the reality that "professionals" use computers for more than just making spreadsheets and writing Word documents.
 
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