What Do You Want In A Computer?

[sLydE]

After finding out from various site which operating systems are used the most, I want to know what everyone is looking forward to/want for the future of desktop computing.

Read my blog post on The State of Modern Computing (http://www.worthlessgenius.com/2008/12/18/the-state-of-modern-computing/), and tell me what you are thinking about, what you are hoping to see, and what you plan to do about it.

I want some widespread open discussion on the topic. I don't care if you blog about it, reply in these forums, start up discussions elsewhere, or reply on my blog, I want to hear everyone's thoughts.

[FATAL]

Now that you mention it, I'm pretty much content with what desktops are at the moment. I wouldn't like a combined all-in-one computer package that would do all computing-related stuff in a household.

So, where there is plenty of room for development: The amount of heat that modern computers generate is great and should be used for something productive. Also the noise these computers usually make is terrible, and manufacturers should pay more attention to it.

A big problem too is the software. Many times it is buggy and unintuitive, and those less experienced with computers often have difficulties with it. Now before you say "switch to Linux/mac" I say STFU.

[sLydE]

LOL, like I said in the post, I don't think any one platform gets it completely right. To each his own with the software and OS you want to use, I just think something better could/should be out there.

What you mentioned about the hardware completely passed out of my mind when writing the post. I do think those topics are important, and they should be addressed.

This kind of communication can only be good in the modern world we live in. Manufacturers and software developers need to know what people want, so that they know that they need to make it.

[Aliotroph?]

1. Simplicity
2. Security
3. Customization
4. Compatibility

Pick three. :p It's like that old saying, you can have your system, fast cheap, or correct. Pick two. Software remains in many respects an unsolved problem. It's not a case of listening to users or engineers; it's one of those things will likely take decades of brain-scrambling research.

The nature of computers is for them to do a lot they need to be extremely complex on some level. Even in Star Trek they only get around this by having them extremely powerful with ridiculously intelligent software. Lacking insanely powerful computers that can parse instructions they've never encountered, user interfaces need to remain complex.

This doesn't mean they have to be stupid. I've seen enough UIs with exit buttons in the middle of the screen (huh?), needless modal dialogs (remember the "cannot find address" dialog in Firefox 1?), and options buried in nonsensical places to make my head spin.

I'm still going users not knowing what they want in general. Most people, even very experienced users, aren't good at figuring out what they want. They often think they don't want some new feature until they try it and it sticks. Certainly listen to the users when they go on about something being crap, but sometimes users ask for dumb things. If you asked most people they'd probably want touchscreen computers. I bet they'd change their mind after holding their arm up for hours to navigate things. :D

I dunno about security being the #1 priority. I think Windows just went too far down the path of always choosing functionality over everything. Yes, auto-installing from IE is cool, but wow does it ever screw up computers. Now that this essentially can't happen in most cases is there reduced malware? Nope. People just click the stupid boxes. :D Even on Vista the UAC stops next to nothing. It comes up so often that people just click through it.

@Fatal: I'm already using the heat from my computer to warm my room. Living in the frozen wastes is annoying at times. :p

[Raptor Jesus]

My laptop generates a lot of heat. It keeps my legs warm while I poop :)

[Aliotroph?]

I hear that much heat down there works quite nicely as a temporary male birth control. :p

[Raptor Jesus]

Oooo... This gives me a reason to be on my laptop during sex!!! GOOD ADVICE!

[Doom_Dude]

When are you NOT on your laptop? :p if I had to draw newdoom cartoon characters Raptor would be a laptop with legs. ;)

If I answer the 'What Do You Want In A Computer' question, I'll start going on about how I want a PC that is the size of a DVD case and all components are small, easy to access chips that can't be fried by a little static electricity... Plus you have no fans and wires cramming up the insides. No noise! /me waits 100 years. :p

Otherwise I'm pretty happy.... most of the time. :p I can't be arsed using anything other than XP right now. Everything I use works with it and I find it stable on 2 machines.

[Nomad]

I'm totally fine with how computers are at the moment. They're getting near a point where they've got too much power to do the mundane things we're used to doing, so more versatility would be nice--let it manage my house lighting and garage door or something.

[Mystic]

I would like all the good, fast graphics cardsand CPU's to be cheap and affordable to all. oh and memory and hard disks too.

Apart from that Im quite happy with my computers as they are, if my system cant run some new software then I dont buy it and wont miss it.

[Raptor Jesus]

if I had to draw newdoom cartoon characters

You now have to! GO!

I want my laptop to have 4 gb of RAM again as one of my old sticks died :C

[Big_al]

p0rn and lots of it

[FATAL]

@Fatal: I'm already using the heat from my computer to warm my room. Living in the frozen wastes is annoying at times. :p
That's quite correct, but I bet that even the Canadian summer gets to the point where you need cooling rather than warming.

It's a bit like an idea my father has about refridgerators. Half the time here the outside temperature is below what temperature refridgerators should have, so why not direct that cold (fuck you physicians) directly to the fridge instead of having the current setup where you heat up the house just to have to refridgerate a certain closet in it. Of course on summers they would act like regular refridgerators.

[sLydE]

That's quite correct, but I bet that even the Canadian summer gets to the point where you need cooling rather than warming.

It's a bit like an idea my father has about refridgerators. Half the time here the outside temperature is below what temperature refridgerators should have, so why not direct that cold (fuck you physicians) directly to the fridge instead of having the current setup where you heat up the house just to have to refridgerate a certain closet in it. Of course on summers they would act like regular refridgerators.
This reminds me of the solar panel electricity stuff. When it's sunny, you collect energy, even feeding it back into the grid, while when it's dark or not desirable, you get more back from the grid or run on reserves.

[Raptor Jesus]

Direct that heat to your oven! Or, we can store the heat in capsules and use them during winter!

[Mystic]

eat lots of oatmeal, fried onions, cabbage and beans (not together). the resulting hot gases should keep you warm

[REoL]

When are you NOT on your laptop? :p if I had to draw newdoom cartoon characters Raptor would be a laptop with legs. ;)

{SNIP}
The cartoon was my idea, remember? Was 1-upping Ling's (or DooMworld's) cartoons that were simple geometry.

"Where's King REoL?"
"He's in the bathroom"
15 minutes later....
DD: "What were you doing in there, King REoL?"
Me: "I was in there taking a dump, and posting 530 messages in the NewDooM forums."
DD: "Wow! That long to take a dump?!"

Don't remember the exact postcount I used, but I was the board whore then (I reserve that for CBS's "The Price is Right" forums now.) :)

[MR_ROCKET]

I'd like to see an o/s with the old game compatibility of win2k but with the security features of xp (without the need of a DOS box addon for old games, and maybe the networking setup of vista (http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/vista/021107_network_center.jpg).
On top of that, the window switcher that's in vista (http://common.ziffdavisinternet.com/util_get_image/12/0,1425,sz=1&i=128388,00.jpg)is cool. but def would want the hardware/driver features of xp and some linux based destros.
So put all that in a nutshell, lets add a better hdd error checking and defrag as a visual also.
As well as a visual drive space program something like Foldersizes (http://www.foldersizes.com/).

For a computer system, we'r talking about hardware here, the ones they'er pushing out these days are pretty good, finally, the quad core and aswell as dual core systems and the really nice nvidia video cards make a good team with a few gig's of low latency memory and a large+fast sata drive makes things nice, slowness is a thing of the past. Slap a good name brand 600w+ psu in there and a fancy sound card, there should be no worries (at all).
The only thing I see slacking is the netcards, however there are the $300 netcards for gaming (http://www.killernic.com/products/killerm1.aspx), heh I'll wait till they are at least 50$. ok $100, 50 just sounds better to me = for a netcard..
But if I could suggest anything, lets get rid of the hard drives and replace them with some kick ass solid state rom drives! :P
Anyone should know, moving parts will get worn out or burn out in due time, this is the real bottleneck, and at any time, data loss.

So, somebody get to work! hehe

[Brad_tilf]

After finding out from various site which operating systems are used the most, I want to know what everyone is looking forward to/want for the future of desktop computing.

Read my blog post on The State of Modern Computing (http://www.worthlessgenius.com/2008/12/18/the-state-of-modern-computing/), and tell me what you are thinking about, what you are hoping to see, and what you plan to do about it.

I want some widespread open discussion on the topic. I don't care if you blog about it, reply in these forums, start up discussions elsewhere, or reply on my blog, I want to hear everyone's thoughts.

All I want is a computer that does EXACTLY WHAT I WANT, WHEN I WANT IT. Period. I have a p4 with 2 gigs of ram and the son of a bitch is STILL too slow for me. :-)

[Mystic]

I changed my mind, I want Rockets PC

[FATAL]

I'd like to see an o/s with the old game compatibility of win2k but with the security features of xp (without the need of a DOS box addon for old games
Oh yes, compatibility! This is what is needed.

[sLydE]

All I want is a computer that does EXACTLY WHAT I WANT, WHEN I WANT IT. Period. I have a p4 with 2 gigs of ram and the son of a bitch is STILL too slow for me. :-)
Go for a Core i7, you'll see tremendous differences.

I'd like to see an o/s with the old game compatibility of win2k but with the security features of xp (without the need of a DOS box addon for old games
How do you feel about the way Rosetta works on Intel Macs? You can run PowerPC applications on Intel Macs, without even knowing that you are doing so. Virtualization should be built in at the lowest levels when talking about compatibility with older software, and shouldn't even be noticeable to the user.

[Mystic]

It would be nice if Microsoft gave us a system that had in-built (and reliable) support for all the games and apps developed for their previous offerings but it will never happen, they want to keep forcing us to upgrade, they are an important cog in the evil machine that is the 'consumer society'. The days of the everlasting lightbulb or jeans that lasted for years (remember the old levis and wranglers?) are long gone.

[Nuxius]

We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works.
That says it best. ;)

[Mystic]

God bless Douglas Adams, a rare genius and a sad loss. Thanks for that quote Nuxius.

[Giftmacher]

I'd like a computer that could run my floppy-disk-based copy of Wolfenstein 3D for mac. 'Cause my computer sure can't. :p

[Raptor Jesus]

Dude, I miss my old 6 1/4 floppy discs. Those this were teh shit :)

[Nephil]

I'm pretty sure my next PC will look like one of those HP Touchsmarts, just a flat panel with an touchscreen, no tower standing around, (hopefully) no need for mouse and keyboard anymore.

[Mystic]

Dude, I miss my old 6 1/4 floppy discs. Those this were teh shit :)
quoted so I can be pedantic

its actually 5 1/4 inch. I have some, I also have a old 8086 pc to use them on.

[Big_al]

It would be nice if Microsoft gave us a system that had in-built (and reliable) support for all the games and apps developed for their previous offerings but it will never happen
It will never happen because it would be near impossible to do.

The days of the everlasting lightbulb or jeans that lasted for years (remember the old levis and wranglers?) are long gone.

Aye, stonewashed or distressed jeans are the biggest cons going, we are going to sell you a pair of jeans that has already got 6 months of wear in them.

[FATAL]

I'm pretty sure my next PC will look like one of those HP Touchsmarts, just a flat panel with an touchscreen, no tower standing around, (hopefully) no need for mouse and keyboard anymore.
Nephil! You need to post here more often mister!

Also I would never want a touchscreen. People would just smudge it up with greasy fingers and gosh how slow and tiring would it be to use one.

[KuriKai]

Linux
two big lcd screens that are also tablets and one small wide screen lcd tablet

[sLydE]

It will never happen because it would be near impossible to do.
Not sure about that, Rosetta does pretty well with apps from PowerPC, and that's a whole other processor platform.

[Aliotroph?]

For the most part people's old software sucks anyway. I'm quite happy to get rid of half the crap I had to use in the DOS days. It all had its own drivers, half of it was crashy shit, and most programs couldn't scale to use a decent amount of memory if they wanted to. Microsoft has a bloated company with bad design-by-committee tactics as it is; I don't want them wasting their time on something DOSbox can do for me.

Windows became a proper OS when they threw out the last remnants of DOS. I'll take protected-mode everything over DOS compatibility any day. They're chucking out 16-bit support now. Goodbye VB4 apps and olde Windows 3.1 weirdness!

On the other hand, 64-bit Vista already won't run unsigned drivers. They should be shot for that. Then they should have their faces ripped off and be slapped silly with their own faces. Then they should be forced to eat their own children. Disallowing certain types of programs running is EVIL. There is no justification for it.

Hehehe, 5.25" floppy disks. Still have some. Tempted to throw a drive in my comp and see how many of my 80s games work in DOSbox. Also tempted to see if any of my 3.5" disks have my missing Duke3D maps on them. I don't think so. Got lucky finding a bunch of olde DOOM stuff on an old Zip disk.

Heh, it seems aside from sketchy driver support for games, Linux manages quite nicely everything Windows sucks at. Well, that and a lot of native Linux apps have GUIs that are either slavish copies of something else or were barfed out of some drunk programmer in his sleep.

[Mystic]

Did any of your duke 3d maps make it onto the 'Duke Assault' (1500 maps) CD that had a limited commercial release?? if so I have it and can give you a copy

[Nomad]

Heh. I do remember the 5.25" floppies. Long time ago, though. Hell, my last two computers haven't even had 3.5" disc drives!

[Aliotroph?]

Nope. None of my maps made it further than my best friend's HDD.

This computer briefly had a floppy drive one day when I needed to flash the BIOS. The tool wasn't compatible with Vista and the updater in the BIOS wouldn't read my NTFS drive (I'm assuming that was the problem there). So in went a floppy drive. Only problem was I have a modular PSU and I left the floppy power cable, along with the other spare cables at dad's. So I had to plug in some old Pentium bits, connect the floppy power to that mess and make sure I turned it on before turning this one. Extra special fun!

[Mystic]

admit it, you love messing about with all those different bits

[Aliotroph?]

Did I ever say otherwise? :D