The sad thing about phones being he primary (and in many case the only) computing devices for most people is that they lose the possibility of separating the tasks that the do on the phone vs the tasks that they do on a computer.
There is a weird dichotomy developing between tasks that can be done on a particular device. If a given app or property is "cross-platform" then I can install the Android version, and the PWA version or visit a website and access it on Chromebook. But they do not have feature parity.
Now in the past, it was because the "desktop version" was more featureful/powerful due to the constrained resources of the mobile platform. This still holds true; even though mobile computing resources aren't constrained, the UI and display can be, somewhat.
But also the mobile app may exhibit some features unavailable on "desktop"! Because of the nature of the sensors and secure platform, you can have sophisticated features available on your smartphone that aren't possible to replicate on any other platform. Nearly every built-in Google app is like this and if you read the documentation, you can easily see the differences.
And of course there's the mobile-only apps that malfunction or refuse to install on Chromebook, like a ride share or something that's actually designed to be used "out and about" in meatspace.
So there are many times when I am lying in bed, for example, phone in hand, and I attempt some task and realize that the features I want are only available on "desktop" version, and then I got to make a mental note to address that when I'm on "desktop". Or vice versa, I'm puttering away on the Chromebook and it balks at something I'll need to use my phone for. Or the worst-case scenario is when I need to have 2-3 devices all directly at hand to do some dumb thing like printing out a page! AUGH!
My working computer still is a stationary desktop computer. I still need to go somewhere to use a real computer. Love that. I do not like smartphones. Surveillance devices.
Some time ago I realized it was actually helpful to set up multiple workstations so the place I go to write code isn't the same as the place I go to browse hn and watch youtube.
Funnily I had a discussion with someone I barely met yesterday. They commented on my reMarkable Pro, wondering if I liked it.
We discussed a bit and while doing so I pullet out both my paper notepad, my phone but also my XR headset (which just happened to be in my backpack). I also use a bottlecap to sketch in the sand.
My point : anything, literally anything, goes. You can have the best of tools yet think poorly about the most pointless problem. You can have nothing at all, no tool, being in the middle of a very noisy place... and still tackle this brilliantly. If you are flexible and if you tailor YOUR tools to YOUR usage, anywhere and anything should be "good enough".
TL;DR: thinking happens in the mind and only optionally extending it via tools.
Part of this is modern house construction too (at least where I live in Europe); the living room / kitchen is just one big room, and upstairs there's two bedrooms (one of which can be split up).
I simply don't have the space to dedicate a room for one specific function. I'd love to be able to e.g. have a guest/living room with no tech, an office room for working, etc on top of separate bedrooms for everyone, but that's only possible now in older houses starting at €600,000 in the more remote parts of the country.
The whole point of the article is that families found spaces in their house to fit in a computer and it became the computer room even if it served other purposes.
> At my grandparents’ house, it was their office in the corner of the house. Their desktop PC was far from the kitchen, bedrooms, and living room, sandwiched between the coat rack and the washing machine.
In my house, the computer room was just our spare bedroom which ended up being the bedroom that my cousin lived in when we moved in with us to finish high school. I remember bugging my mom while she was playing solitaire, free cell, or minesweeper to see if I could use the computer to play Civilization 3 or Roller Coaster Tycoon.
At my friend's house it was a little inset desk on the middle floor of their split level that doubled as their dad's office. At my aunt's house it was a deck in the back of their living room next to their CD collection.
It was never a room completely devoted to the computer, but to the person who used the computer the most it became the computer room.
> When I walk into my office and sit at my desk, I’m choosing to be there. When I walk away, I have a door I can close, and a life outside the room that the digital world is no longer allowed to reach.
Being intentional is hard, and a little friction helping it is welcome. But I do hope for myself that I can be intentional in everything that I do (this includes having fun, being with family, and even doomscrolling).
> Laptops became more convenient for more types of task, and soon they were good enough to be your primary computing device.
> My primary computer is now a desktop with a large monitor, ...
I own several laptops: they're simply inferior computing devices due to their mediocre screen and pathetic keyboards. I'm laying on the couch while typing this on a laptop. That's what it's good for.
My actual workstation has a 38" ultra-wide. Wife's got, in our office room, next to my ultra-wide 38" monitor, a desktop setup with three monitors. She likes screen real-estate too. We've got a T-shaped shared desk, with the multifunction printer/scanner in the middle, "separating" us.
But that's not all: I've got a 38" ultra-wide that does 3840x1600 and there are 12 virtual desktops on it, all carefully arranged.
Friends of mine had a company doing 3D and post-prod for ads and short movies: I don't even remember ever seeing one laptop at their company.
To me a laptop is a stamp-sized version of a desktop: it's asking Da Vinci to paint the Mona Lisa on a stamp.
Do I, at times, do actual work on my 17" LG Gram laptop (a very sweet and very light laptop)? Yes. But I hate every second of it.
It's really not to "compartiment" your life and not always be connected that you should prefer your own chair, your own desk, your gigantic screen real-estate and your fat desktop to a laptop: it's because it's a superior way of working.
Invest in a good chair. Invest in a good keyboard. Invest in big monitor(s). You'll thank me later.
P.S: you're excused if you hook a powerful laptop to a proper keyboard, a proper mouse and fat monitor(s). But then that's basically a desktop.
P.P.S: as a bonus your desktop can use a good old wired Internet connection.
> I own several laptops: they're simply inferior computing devices due to their mediocre screen and pathetic keyboards
This is the kind of problem that can be remedied using a cable and a suitable docking station, anytime you are near the desk.
I think, weirdly, the problem with modern laptops is the opposite - the screens and keyboards (particularly on flagship models) are good enough that 90% of the time you don't need the 38" monitor or the mechanical keyboard. Which leads to them invading spaces far from your desk, like your couch, or your bed...
> To me a laptop is a stamp-sized version of a desktop: it's asking Da Vinci to paint the Mona Lisa on a stamp.
Da Vinci painted the actual Mona Lisa on a small panel of wood. Similarly, people do good work on laptops. A MacBook was pretty much the standard-issue piece of dev equipment at every job I've held over the past decade. Of course as "creature comforts" I wire them in to my full-sized mechanical keyboard and huge-ass monitor. But the computer itself is more than up to the task and can be used on the go in a pinch.
Over the years, I have accumulated a really sweet desk setup: standing desk, Herman Miller chair, Kinesis Advantage, BenQ programming monitor, nice lighting, decent audio setup, etc. I have a dedicated office, entirely separated from the rest of the house.
It's great, but I think being dependent on all that stuff can make you soft. I still do some of my best work from my laptop in the garden, coffee shops, the library, etc.
The way he describes using his computer (dedicated PC, laptop in drawer, phone left on charge) is exactly how I use my tech and always have (as phones and laptops became more portable/available).
I'm in the weird position of been a programmer who likes computers and dislikes basically all other consumer technology (phones, laptops, consoles, most domestic smart devices etc).
I don't like interruptions, technology serves the user not the other way around and should always be pull not push (in my personal opinion).
Normally I'd laugh when I see a silly typo like that, but nowadays it's refreshing to see a thoughtfully human-written article with little imperfections here and there.
Come back when your computer is in a room with a raised floor (for cabling), tremendous AC, and windows in walls so a passer-by can look in and see the tapes rotating. Geezer here.
>The laptop was the first device to test the walls of the computer room. Early laptops were limited compared to desktop computers – they were slower, battery-constrained, satellite devices to your main machine.
Smells like AI writing the research or at least someone that never saw the 80s. The portable PC era, e.g. Olivetti M18 and competition, were the short lived bridge between desktop and laptop.
"I can focus on the things that actually deserve my attention – cooking a meal, reading a book, chatting with my friends, playing on the sofa. I’m less worried about the distraction of my digital devices, or the effect it has on my life."
Am I the only one who've heard about that "do not disturb" mode on phones?
Default 'Do Not Disturb' on android still lets heaps of notifications through.
Additionally, when I do have my phone silenced completely, (or on an airplane without wireless), I still find myself reaching for the phone and checking anyway. It's a physical tic, and the only way to break it is to not have the phone near you.
> My primary computer is now a desktop with a large monitor, and I’m fortunate to have a room I can use as an office. I also have a laptop, but I only use it when I leave the house – otherwise, it lives in a drawer under my desk.
Pretty normal isn't it? I wouldn't say this is anything different to what a lot of people already do
> Yet, some physical restrictions remained – laptops were still heavy and bulky objects. They were something you had to carry in bags, and not something you’d take out casually. There were lots of places where you’d never see or use a laptop.
They have been sleek and capable enough for over 17 years. The first Aluminum Macbook can do everything I still require of my latest Macbook from anywhere.
> There’s a growing trend among Gen Z to resist the all-in-one allure of the smartphone, and go back to dedicated devices. They’re swaping their smartphones for single-purpose tools like point-and-shoto cameras or dedicated MP3 players, devices that lack the ability to receive notifications. I haven’t gone that far yet, but it’s something I’m considering.
For me this would create more clutter and require more of my attention to ensure the devices work the way I want them to and that I have them on hand. Yes my MP3 player doesn't show notifications but its another device I need to keep with me and keep charged. Buying a device for the sake of it unless I have a real need just feels like consumerism.
I think we're in the minority here. Or at least we absolutely were in the minority until 2020 when everyone started working from home, many kept it that way, and a somewhat dedicated (even if temporary) spot had to be found.
But I know so many people (who don't work from home) who put their laptop on their living room or kitchen table, or the couch.
People who game on PC are probably also an outlier, but many of those again use it mostly for gaming and not as their main machine.
> For me this would create more clutter and require more of my attention to ensure the devices work the way I want them to and that I have them on hand. Yes my MP3 player doesn't show notifications but its another device I need to keep with me and keep charged. Buying a device for the sake of it unless I have a real need just feels like consumerism.
I was skeptical until I kidnapped my wife's kindle and started reading on that instead of my phone. I recently added an mp3 player too and there really is something about the intentionality of a dedicated device that make it more enjoyable and more focused than using my phone for everything.
But to your point, there is definitely a lot of performative/consumerism basis - if you visit the Emulator subreddit for example there's an increasingly common joke that nobody ever uses their device, just buys the new one to collect it/post it online for internet points.
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[ 6.4 ms ] story [ 64.1 ms ] threadNow in the past, it was because the "desktop version" was more featureful/powerful due to the constrained resources of the mobile platform. This still holds true; even though mobile computing resources aren't constrained, the UI and display can be, somewhat.
But also the mobile app may exhibit some features unavailable on "desktop"! Because of the nature of the sensors and secure platform, you can have sophisticated features available on your smartphone that aren't possible to replicate on any other platform. Nearly every built-in Google app is like this and if you read the documentation, you can easily see the differences.
And of course there's the mobile-only apps that malfunction or refuse to install on Chromebook, like a ride share or something that's actually designed to be used "out and about" in meatspace.
So there are many times when I am lying in bed, for example, phone in hand, and I attempt some task and realize that the features I want are only available on "desktop" version, and then I got to make a mental note to address that when I'm on "desktop". Or vice versa, I'm puttering away on the Chromebook and it balks at something I'll need to use my phone for. Or the worst-case scenario is when I need to have 2-3 devices all directly at hand to do some dumb thing like printing out a page! AUGH!
We discussed a bit and while doing so I pullet out both my paper notepad, my phone but also my XR headset (which just happened to be in my backpack). I also use a bottlecap to sketch in the sand.
My point : anything, literally anything, goes. You can have the best of tools yet think poorly about the most pointless problem. You can have nothing at all, no tool, being in the middle of a very noisy place... and still tackle this brilliantly. If you are flexible and if you tailor YOUR tools to YOUR usage, anywhere and anything should be "good enough".
TL;DR: thinking happens in the mind and only optionally extending it via tools.
I simply don't have the space to dedicate a room for one specific function. I'd love to be able to e.g. have a guest/living room with no tech, an office room for working, etc on top of separate bedrooms for everyone, but that's only possible now in older houses starting at €600,000 in the more remote parts of the country.
> At my grandparents’ house, it was their office in the corner of the house. Their desktop PC was far from the kitchen, bedrooms, and living room, sandwiched between the coat rack and the washing machine.
In my house, the computer room was just our spare bedroom which ended up being the bedroom that my cousin lived in when we moved in with us to finish high school. I remember bugging my mom while she was playing solitaire, free cell, or minesweeper to see if I could use the computer to play Civilization 3 or Roller Coaster Tycoon.
At my friend's house it was a little inset desk on the middle floor of their split level that doubled as their dad's office. At my aunt's house it was a deck in the back of their living room next to their CD collection.
It was never a room completely devoted to the computer, but to the person who used the computer the most it became the computer room.
Being intentional is hard, and a little friction helping it is welcome. But I do hope for myself that I can be intentional in everything that I do (this includes having fun, being with family, and even doomscrolling).
> My primary computer is now a desktop with a large monitor, ...
I own several laptops: they're simply inferior computing devices due to their mediocre screen and pathetic keyboards. I'm laying on the couch while typing this on a laptop. That's what it's good for.
My actual workstation has a 38" ultra-wide. Wife's got, in our office room, next to my ultra-wide 38" monitor, a desktop setup with three monitors. She likes screen real-estate too. We've got a T-shaped shared desk, with the multifunction printer/scanner in the middle, "separating" us.
But that's not all: I've got a 38" ultra-wide that does 3840x1600 and there are 12 virtual desktops on it, all carefully arranged.
Friends of mine had a company doing 3D and post-prod for ads and short movies: I don't even remember ever seeing one laptop at their company.
To me a laptop is a stamp-sized version of a desktop: it's asking Da Vinci to paint the Mona Lisa on a stamp.
Do I, at times, do actual work on my 17" LG Gram laptop (a very sweet and very light laptop)? Yes. But I hate every second of it.
It's really not to "compartiment" your life and not always be connected that you should prefer your own chair, your own desk, your gigantic screen real-estate and your fat desktop to a laptop: it's because it's a superior way of working.
Invest in a good chair. Invest in a good keyboard. Invest in big monitor(s). You'll thank me later.
P.S: you're excused if you hook a powerful laptop to a proper keyboard, a proper mouse and fat monitor(s). But then that's basically a desktop.
P.P.S: as a bonus your desktop can use a good old wired Internet connection.
This is the kind of problem that can be remedied using a cable and a suitable docking station, anytime you are near the desk.
I think, weirdly, the problem with modern laptops is the opposite - the screens and keyboards (particularly on flagship models) are good enough that 90% of the time you don't need the 38" monitor or the mechanical keyboard. Which leads to them invading spaces far from your desk, like your couch, or your bed...
Da Vinci painted the actual Mona Lisa on a small panel of wood. Similarly, people do good work on laptops. A MacBook was pretty much the standard-issue piece of dev equipment at every job I've held over the past decade. Of course as "creature comforts" I wire them in to my full-sized mechanical keyboard and huge-ass monitor. But the computer itself is more than up to the task and can be used on the go in a pinch.
It's great, but I think being dependent on all that stuff can make you soft. I still do some of my best work from my laptop in the garden, coffee shops, the library, etc.
To each their own.
I'm in the weird position of been a programmer who likes computers and dislikes basically all other consumer technology (phones, laptops, consoles, most domestic smart devices etc).
I don't like interruptions, technology serves the user not the other way around and should always be pull not push (in my personal opinion).
Normally I'd laugh when I see a silly typo like that, but nowadays it's refreshing to see a thoughtfully human-written article with little imperfections here and there.
Smells like AI writing the research or at least someone that never saw the 80s. The portable PC era, e.g. Olivetti M18 and competition, were the short lived bridge between desktop and laptop.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_computer
Am I the only one who've heard about that "do not disturb" mode on phones?
Additionally, when I do have my phone silenced completely, (or on an airplane without wireless), I still find myself reaching for the phone and checking anyway. It's a physical tic, and the only way to break it is to not have the phone near you.
Pretty normal isn't it? I wouldn't say this is anything different to what a lot of people already do
> Yet, some physical restrictions remained – laptops were still heavy and bulky objects. They were something you had to carry in bags, and not something you’d take out casually. There were lots of places where you’d never see or use a laptop.
They have been sleek and capable enough for over 17 years. The first Aluminum Macbook can do everything I still require of my latest Macbook from anywhere.
> There’s a growing trend among Gen Z to resist the all-in-one allure of the smartphone, and go back to dedicated devices. They’re swaping their smartphones for single-purpose tools like point-and-shoto cameras or dedicated MP3 players, devices that lack the ability to receive notifications. I haven’t gone that far yet, but it’s something I’m considering.
For me this would create more clutter and require more of my attention to ensure the devices work the way I want them to and that I have them on hand. Yes my MP3 player doesn't show notifications but its another device I need to keep with me and keep charged. Buying a device for the sake of it unless I have a real need just feels like consumerism.
But I know so many people (who don't work from home) who put their laptop on their living room or kitchen table, or the couch.
People who game on PC are probably also an outlier, but many of those again use it mostly for gaming and not as their main machine.
I was skeptical until I kidnapped my wife's kindle and started reading on that instead of my phone. I recently added an mp3 player too and there really is something about the intentionality of a dedicated device that make it more enjoyable and more focused than using my phone for everything.
But to your point, there is definitely a lot of performative/consumerism basis - if you visit the Emulator subreddit for example there's an increasingly common joke that nobody ever uses their device, just buys the new one to collect it/post it online for internet points.