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by rgbrenner 4939 days ago
Wait... 10 year old kids would prefer to play on a tablet rather than do WORK(!!) on a PC?! AND they are unswayed that they can do work on a PC?!

What is the world coming to? Next you'll be telling me kids no longer find their chores fun.
1 comments
kalid 4939 days ago
I'm confused by the sarcasm, since we seem to be in agreement on this "obvious" trend. Yes, tablets/phones are absorbing the "fun" computer scenarios and PCs are left with the "work" scenarios.

Over time, will people veer towards doing "more work" on a tablet or trying to have "more fun" on their PC? I know which side I'd bet on.

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rgbrenner 4938 days ago
>I'm confused by the sarcasm

10 year old kids might not be the best indicator of future trends. After all, we aren't doing our work on the Wii, building our homes using Legos, or any of the other things children spend their time on.

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kalid 4938 days ago
I think the change isn't in the exact use of the item, but expectations. Did the 80's Nintendo generation (me) expect more or less video games in their adult lives, compared to other types of recreation?

Kids won't do work on the wii... but will they expect (or demand) that devices be motion-aware by default? Screens be touchable by default? Have 10-hour battery life by default? Be comfortably handheld by default?

Think about how downtime has evolved. This century we went from "I'm bored, let me grab a newspaper" to "I'm bored, what's on the radio?" to "I'm bored, what's on TV?" to "I'm bored, what's on the desktop computer?" to "I'm bored, what's on my phone/tablet?"

The earlier industries are dead or stagnant (newspaper/radio), regular TV (at a specific time, interrupted by commercials) is on its way out, the growth is in the new form factor/experience Microsoft is barely relevant in. That's the nightmare.

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WayneDB 4939 days ago
If people start veering towards more work on a tablet, then the tablet is going to have to take on more characteristics of the PC like a keyboard and some of the features of a more flexible/general purpose OS.

So, what do we have then? Do we still have just a tablet? Maybe, but the definition will have changed.

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marshray 4939 days ago
A Microsoft Surface?

Disclosure: I recently accpeted a position at MSFT (not related to Surface) and am drinking the koolaid.

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pmelendez 4939 days ago
Congrats! I want to drink that koolaid too where I should send my resume? :P
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