[bhauer]

I am about as partisan a supporter of desktop computing as anyone. I am utterly biased toward both consumption and creation using desktop-grade accouterments—very large screens, full size keyboards, mice, etc. To my mind, mobile devices are a stop-gap measure that suffice when I am indeed mobile. I don't (yet) expect my mobile device to project a 50 inch display and provide a solid tactile keyboard.

However, on that point made by the linked author, I do agree that mobile devices see far too much usage while situated in front of a desktop PC. In fact, I have ranted about this several times, addressing the specific matter in a blog entry from 2012 [1].

I feel there are two problems:

* Desktop computing has suffered from about a decade of lethargy and technological indolence. 4K monitors represent the first forward motion of note in a long time. For a non-trivial number of people, their desktop computing environment is inferior to their mobile device. Many people still aren't using 4K or better on the desktop; many people haven't upgraded their processor or their memory in a very long time; many people still use spinning hard drives.

* Today's common cloud model of computing leads to a disappointingly fractured multi-device lifestyle where we find ourselves drawn to interact with our mobile devices even when sitting at a desktop PC. Technologies such as Continuum and Handoff are a meager simulacrum of what we should have. I've been waiting for the advent of a computing model I call PAO, wherein applications are personal and where singular instances are made omnipresent across all of your devices. I believe we'll eventually get to something akin to that, though probably with a lot less control in the hands of the user than I'd like.

[1] http://tiamat.tsotech.com/i-see-the-problem