ou can't compare computer users of the '80s with users of today. Back in the '80s computer users were a self selected minority, maybe 10% of the population of Australia or the US. Out of those a minority, maybe 10% of those, were doing creative things, but even if you say half of them that's still only 5% of the total populace. Creative use of computers was never the norm and never will be the norm.
I have to agree... back in the 80's and for some of us, the 70's, owning a home computer was an end in itself. The ability to do something useful was unimportant or an excuse to justify it to the significant other. ;-)
As for the original question.... if you discount things that have microprocessors in them... cars,microwaves,tvs... well just about anything electronic now... the only things I use outside of the desktop are an MP3 player and Kobo ebook. But I still need the desktop to manage those. My TV is also in my desktop pc, so i guess that makes my VCR on it as well. And then there's digital cameras... unless you plan to keep a whole pile of flash cards around, some time you need a desktop machine to store your pictures long term. I suppose someone could build some kind of stand alone or networked device for that, but it's handy to have them on a desktop for editing.
