Whatever happened to our hobby?

[antonvaltaz]

It's interesting that with all the rise of tablets, smartphones, netbooks etc you keep getting articles in the mainstream press about the 'death of the desktop computer'. I think what is starting to happen is that for people who aren't actually at all interested in computers as such, they will more and more use other devices for their online shopping, banking, social networking, etc. Meanwhile people who are actually interested in computers 'proper' will carry on using them. In some ways it will revert back.

I don't think that there is necessarily less around for computer hobbyists, it just seems like it sometimes as it is so swamped under all the Facebook etc crap.

[antonvaltaz]

At that point, does it make sense to talk about "desktops"? If the only connection your computer needs is the occasional charging cable, and it fits in your pocket, why chain it to your desk? Maybe you'll keep a large screen and a keyboard at your desk, but no reason to leave the computer there.

That's interesting, I hadn't really thought about that.

I think you're probably right, but I guess there will still be people who want to sit down at a desk properly and tinker for several hours at a time, with a proper screen and full-size keyboard. So maybe it's better to talk about desktop workstations for your computer, rather than desktop computers per se, but I do think they'll always be around, not just for home-office workers but also for computer hobbyists.

Following on from your points, did you see David Braben's tiny £15 ARM-based computer, designed to be attached to a full-size keyboard, mouse and monitor, precisely for the purpose of getting schoolkids to play around with computers as a hobby?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13292450

[antonvaltaz]

But to answer your question, computers are no longer a hobby, everyone uses them, at least in the developed world...  As some one said, it's like cars, or mobile phones or refrigerators.

I think that the comparison with cars in particular is very apt. I use a car every day but I don't care about cars at all, to me they're just a thing to get me from A to B.

But other people I know read car magazines, attend car shows, watch car-related TV shows, participate in car-related online forums - whether vintage or modern. For them, cars are their hobby.

The fact that most people who use cars don't consider it a hobby, doesn't mean that it's not a hobby for some people. Isn't that the same with computers?

EDIT: And I guess the question is, now that computers (including tablets, smartphones etc) are mainstream, are there more or less people for whom computing is a hobby compared to the '80s? My guess is that there are just as many, if not more.