Computer Decision

Well, sort of...

The history of my personal computers is long and mostly boring to anyone but me. I have had three portables, a Latitude CPt, an Inspiron 9100 and an XPS M1530. I have had a series of desktops as well, but those have all been homebuilt, from the early models that were made up of parts scavenged from various friends to several that I build from parts that I bought at Frys. The problem is that both my portable and my desktop are getting a bit long in the tooth.  

For most things that is not a problem. The web works great, I can write and post to my blogs, facebook and check my email without any issues. I can even watch Hulu, Netflix and the BBC iPlayer without a glitch....but I like to play computer games. Most recently, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, and I want to buy a copy of Mass Effect 3, and neither of my systems meets the minimum specs for these games. Now, they aren't far off, but the video cards are one notch below what they suggest. Kingdoms of Amalur played just fine though, so at the moment it isn't really a problem.

But, I cannot help but look forward to what I want next.

As you can tell if you have been reading these pages, I am fascinated with tablets, and I think rather than getting another portable, I think I will get a tablet, maybe like this one.

Now, this particular one runs Windows 7. This should not be a surprise to anyone who has read this blog, since I am not a big fan of Apple. Now, I could go with an Android tablet, like say, this one:

This second is the Asus Transformer Prime, which is probably the best Android tablet available right now, though the Lenovo Thinkpad might give it a run for its money.  

Now, each of these comes with a keyboard, at least as an option. The Iconia's keyboard acts like a case when you aren't using it, and the Transformer's turns the tablet into a netbook...with the advantage of extended battery life. Now, I like the idea of having a keyboard, but the Transformer's keyboard is just too small for my big fingers. And there will be the rub with the iPad, which has a couple of nice keyboard/cases and every other Android tablet. They size of the tablet means that they cannot fit a full size keyboard on something the same size as the tablet.

But, because the Iconia runs Windows, it is larger and so the keyboard is larger. I've given the Iconia keyboard dock a try and it is big enough. Plus, the Iconia runs Windows 7 and will run Windows 8, both the Consumer Preview now, and the final release later. That's important to me, because I think that Windows 8, and its ARM tablet iteration, Windows RT are going to blow both Android and iOS (iPad) right out of the water. Now, I am not predicting that it will outsell them, at least not at first, and maybe never, but anyone who wants a tablet that is truly more than a large-screen smartphone is going to move to Windows RT (on ARM) and Windows 8 (on x86/x64).

Maybe by the time I can replace my portable, I will be able to buy a tablet with Windows RT, but for now, this would be the choice.

And, for my desktop, I think I will look for a new motherboard and processor and then start building a new desktop piece by piece, because games are working their way onto tablets, but I think it will be a long time before I am playing a version of Amalur or Mass Effect, or whatever future games I want on a tablet.