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Ask HN: What Is the New PC?

29 points by aphroz ↗ HN
When I was around 7yo my father was the only one to have a laptop in my neighborhood and only fews had PCs and I think that influenced my life in a great way. Now that I am a father I wonder what technology do you think could be the new PC ? Could it be VR?

39 comments

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tapanjk
To my mind the new PC is still the same good old PC, minus the distractions that make modern computers more of a consumption device than an invitation to program a computer. Give them something they can tinker with.
bruce511
I know what you mean. I spent a chunk of my childhood years improving my cast-off pc(s) with random thrown-away parts etc. Which hard drives would work with which controllers, fixing (really just reconditioning) broken screens and dot matrix printers.

To be fair, I don't do that anymore. I simply get a pre-built pc, usually with minimal input as to specs.

I like to equate this with my father's upbringing - he built (rebuilt) a car from scratch - he had tools like valve grinders and so on. Clearly one can't do that today.

I don't know what the new thing is. Technically I could have built a car (it was still low tech enough) but I didn't have the interest. My dad introduced me to computers, and kept me supplied with broken bits from work, but ultimately it was my interest.

I think, as a father, my goal was to not really dictate their interest, but to nurture it a bit where it came up. There was no real hardware equivalent in my kids lives, so I have no advice from that point of view.

They may have interests on other areas, like music or sport - if I have any advice it's that they need to find it, you can't really "force" it.

smackeyacky
You can still rebuild cars. Lots of the tolerances of the motor are much better than in the old days but that doesn't mean you can't seat your own valves in a modern motor. In fact, since everything is now electronic and all the hideous vacuum powered stuff is gone, they're easier to work than ever before IMHO. I'm in the middle of rebuilding a Gen 3 5.7 Hemi and the design is just so simple and great, compared to working on the old, messy, paper gasket rubbish of the 1970s and 1980s it's an absolute dream.
tibbydudeza
My daughter's desktop is a mess - all her files are on the desktop and lectured her about folders and the like but then I realized that is how her iPhone works - not file centric but app centric which I think is a big improvement.

But more than once she comes to me in panic because she "lost" an important file for a project, and I then drop down to explorer or better yet the command line to locate the "lost" file.

At least I can still be a hero in her eyes :)

tuatoru
If you are asking "what is the new tech hotness for this generation of kids?", the answers are PV and (more) batteries, and bio-inspired materials (example: artificial spider silk).

Lots of stuff to explore in nature. Getting out there could be a way for all family members to get off their screens a bit.

beardyw
When I was a kid in the 1950s we had some relays in the house. With the power supply from the train set I invented bistable circuits and buzzers and big wobbling structures just by messing around. I also got hold of a light sensitive resistor. I invented an emergency light (came on when lights went off). Went to show it to my mum and dad, switched off the light (it was dark) but accidentally left my light pointing at the resistor. The rapid flashing was impressive and disorienting. I invented the strobe.
smackeyacky
I don't really see the equivalent of the '80s personal computer in much of the new technology.

For geeks, I guess the "new PC" was embeddable stuff (Arduino, micro controllers, Raspberry Pi) but that seems like it's more the heady days of Radio Shack in the late 1970s than PCs.

Looking back it seemed, at first, that the PCs were a logical extension of that Radio Shack type tinkering. So if history is going to rhyme, the "next PC" is going to be tangential to the hobbyist tinkering but spring up from it.

Wild guesses would have to be something that is right now unaffordable for the average person but can be built out of that stuff (i.e. nobody could afford their own PC until the 8080/Z80/6502 based machines). And it will have to be something of the "I didn't know I needed that" kind of application.

So...maybe home medical labs. Like Theranos wanted to be, but actually works. Like you could use one to tailor your diet, or monitor your health issues without having to go through the rigmarole of a lab. The first ones will get built out of a pile of gubbins, then somebody coalesces a kit, then it goes ballistic.

bern4444
I'd say its AR or VR systems.

Sure they're commercial and easy to purchase - but not nearly as common as xbox/playstations or smartphones/computers.

reacharavindh
I personally am planning on getting my kid exposure to robotics for fun.. First Lego kits, then some easy components that move, then some LEDs, batteries, tiny servo motors and such. To take it up, or what to do with them is up to him..

I also make it a point to have him with me and help doing handy work around the house, and some of my weekend wood working(very limited as he can’t yet be around the power saws or much of fine saw dust).

I hope to give him as many chances as possible to get his spark. What that would be is a mystery.

treffer
IOT/SOC/SBCs.

No matter how you turn it. Apple? SOC/SBC. VR? The hardware is agin that. Phones. Laptops. Watches. Game consoles.

I would expect most electronics to move from microcontroller level to some sort of computer. The question is more where it sticks and provides value.

The toolchain is getting better by the day, even for hobby stuff. I am now used to send kicad stuff off for manufacturing. 2 weeks and I get a PCB back. Platformio removed the tool chain madnesses.

My son now wants to build a game console now. I might do that with him, for the joy of it.

I think the future will need peopke who can make physical digital things again. At a way bigger scale.

That and the new ML waves, but I don't think this will work well for kids.

mikewarot
I strongly believe that CNC machining is the new thing. Both additive and subtractive processes have been made affordable for a home shop.

You can make almost anything in your basement or garage. You can even make small quantity custom ICs[1] if you really try hard.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Zeloof

quickthrower2
I don't think there is a new PC. We have technological abundance now. Someone might have a 3D printer, drone, etc. but it is nothing special. It is not like "wow I cannot afford all that money for a crazy thing". More like "meh not my hobby".
abudabi123
I think it priceless for children growing up at the moment to have a device that remembers all the memories people have on their devices around them, that helps them learn, the memory accumulates and there is improving A.I. to sort it all. And when A.I. and robotics is as easy to use all of that is available from a walking, talking personal assistant that has been with you since prek.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speak_%26_Spell_(toy)

noughtme
I would put forth the new PC is a 3D printer and a CNC mill. The new PC is something that will change the way your child sees the world and make them think they have the capability to reshape it. VR is just an extension of the PC.
ad404b8a372f2b9
If the requirements are moderate adoption and great technological potential, a few candidates that come to mind are smartwatches, VR, smartglasses, eink notepads, convergence smartphones (à la Samsung Dex).

It could be something around AI, seeing the progress we are making with human-AI interfaces (GPT-NeoX, Stable Diffusion) I could envision those changing the way we live and work.

lm28469
PCs went from work tools to distraction devices, consumer VR is a distraction device, same for phones

I don't have a crystal ball so I can't tell you what will survive but I'd focus on tools rather than on distraction devices. Teach him how to navigate the web, how to perform searches, etc.

d--b
AI is:

- It's expensive / difficult to operate / only used by those in the know

- It doesn't do half as much as you can hope it will do.

- Eventually it will be ubiquitous.

supermatt
AI is neither expensive nor difficult to operate. You likely unknowingly use AI multiple times a day - so it clearly can't be difficult OR expensive if you don't even notice that!

Im assuming you mean the many GPU hours that go into training the HUGE ML models like DALL-E, etc. That is FAR from the norm.

After following online courses I was able to solve real problems in my domain of interest with nothing more than a few hours training with a relatively small (<500MB) dataset on my PCs GPU. It cost WAY less than a dollar to train, and is now used by thousands of unskilled users on their mobile devices daily.

bluejay2387
I frequently prototype models on my Android tablet when on flights. You can install Jupyter on almost anything and even low end notebooks have the processing power to train useful (albeit small) models.

Google Collab and PaperSpace have free tiers and for only $10/month you can get access to GPU's on PaperSpace with the capacity to train fairly decently sized models.

There is a wealth of intro material (this one is pretty good https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/hands-on-machine-learni...) to get you started.

Even with the largest models that are not feasible for individuals to train (Large Language Models for example, that are so expensive even most companies can't afford to build them) there are refinement techniques that let you take existing models and train them for specific tasks. That kind of training can run on most higher end consumer grade GPU's.

I'll admit I am bit biased since I have worked in the field of AI for 20 years now, but I really don't see anything limiting even a mildly committed individual from getting into this area, even if only as a hobby.

d--b
> I really don't see anything limiting even a mildly committed individual from getting into this area, even if only as a hobby.

My point exactly: it shares a lot of similarity to PCs in the early 90s

farseer
It is still the laptop for now, maybe smaller ones like netbooks/chromebooks. The only replacement I can think of will probably centered around the smartphone like an innovative input device for productivity or like you said a VR headset attachment.
mxxx
Go the other way, teach them about the real world. Spend time outside.
Bakary
Ironically, having skills that are helpful in the hyper-real world such as programming or marketing are some of the best tools to help afford life in the real one.
aphroz
It's not mutually exclusive, you can still spend time outside.
antfarm
Command line only Linux.
tibbydudeza
I was very fortunate that my dad could take his dept's HP-85 computer home during the school holidays - they used the bigger HP-86 to run departmental reports.

The HP-85 had a little CRT screen and built-in printer.

During the evenings my dad did some actuarial programming on it and during the day it was all mine to play around with - made my career in programming.

Mobile phones are the new PC today but sadly they don't expose themselves like the machines of the past to programming and the likes - maybe it is good thing that they are appliances.

Those that wish to discover things like we did will find their way to Rasberry Pi etc ....

meltyness
VR is pretty cool, though as others have said full of distraction pitfalls. I still am really excited about the other side of it as a productivity device since it gives you complete control of your environment, and can so easily produce portable calm and serenity, like visual and ergonomic ANC (eyes and head positioned naturally)

It's clear the techlash has taken a bat to trust, people still think all this stuff is Satan's work.

Also it'll muss your hair a bit.

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Bakary
Probably some sort of open-platformed AR rather than VR, which looks as though it will form along enclosed spaces.

AI software is probably a good candidate. It's currently hit and miss, but could become omnipresent in a decade. The hype is both real and not so real. Currently, it's in the domain of tinkerers.

In a more practical sense, I see the gap widening between those who use technology as escapism and those who use it as a tool to further their own goals. The ability to critically think in between distractions could be the killer feature. Or to be more precise, the capacity to understand the present rather than predict the future.

meiraleal
It could be blockchain. As a seasoned programmer (35 years old, coding since 10 years old), coding blockchain programming and smart contracts made me feel like when I first started working with PC and Internet. It is also what catches the attention of kids and teenage hackers as the young me.
karmakaze
What I'd like is to use mobile phone hardware that I'm already carrying to run an OS capable of running 'normal' programs, not just Apps from a store. That should be shown on lightweight AR glasses with adjustable tinting so I get a portable 27"+ monitor and paired with Bluetooth folding keyboard and mouse.

A desktop PC is still good for AAA gaming or immersive VR experiences as are game consoles as well as media consumption tablets and phones.