I don't see Continuum as game changer, what is the practical use of Continuum?

[Harrie-S]

If MS integrates hololens in continnum , working on your phones, PCs, or XBOX will be at completely different level.
I guess i've taken it too far , haven't I ?

Maybe, but that would be nice (for the future) and with hololens you do not need a screen.

 

[crimsonvspurple]

Re: I don't see "Continuum" as game changer

--who gonna use their mobile device to connect to external monitor+ keyboard+ mouse
just to use the app in big screen.
-- whats is the practical use of continuum? every one has laptop/desktop/tablets/2in1.

lol. Do you live in your own bubble reality or forgot that there is a huge world outside of that?

Most people in the world don't even have computer and you are saying everyone has laptop/desktop etc along with their phone. rofl.

 

[hiya15]

Maybe, but that would be nice (for the future) and with hololens you do not need a screen.

Yeah, but hololens is more portable, you can actually project your connected devices anywhere, inbuilt battery is huge plus .

 

[Krystianpants]

To get a big PC or full laptop experience you still need a full-sized keyboard, at least a trackpad but probably a mouse, and a big monitor. If you have all that stuff available the chances are very good that you will also have a laptop or PC available in that same space--might as well use the much more powerful, more rugged, and cheaper system. Even a crummy PC or laptop is far more powerful than a great phone, But, even if the phone was uber powerful, you still need the keyboard, mouse, and monitor--just no getting around that for most work-related things. For road warriors it would be a pain to carry all that crap, so they carry laptops, and know that sometimes they can plug into a nice big monitor, keyboard, and regular mouse where they are going but they can't count on it. There are some physical limitations we just can't get around--it's why I think smart watches are doomed. The screens are either too small to use or too big to want to wear. It's either one or the other.

Actually it's been known for a while that Microsoft will be using x86 chips in future hardware. They have been partnered with Intel on developing a reliable chip. Honestly, most people do most of their internet on the phone. I know a lot of younger girls that do everything on the phone. I've always seen the future heading towards this sort of world where the phone is your only gadget and it acts as your central computing device, even for gaming. The solution to all the hardcore video cards that require size could be a simple docking station with GPU extension. It's the equivalent of my PC which runs on the intel graphics subsystem and switches to my nvidia card when I play games. I think the problem is a lot of gamers find it hard to believe that you can put so much power into a small area. Remember the first computers were pretty huge taking up rooms. I doubt anyone would think we would have thin phones with way more power.

Even nvidia is focusing on getting small chips that are super powerful. This is the future and they know it. A central device that does everything from paying for your purchases, playing video games, using it as I.D. and even streaming movies to your tv.

There's also the fact that Microsoft wants Windows 10 running in small appliances too. If you have other systems in the house with processors you could theoretically borrow processing power from nearby devices. There's a lot of ways things can go, but mobile is huge and this is why Microsoft will not give up on it. It is the future, in a decade you likely won't see many pc's at all.

Future consoles could be extensions of your phone. All it has is a powerful GPU and the phone slides into it. There's a lot that can happen.

 

[denzilla]

I think it would be awesome if every place you went (Hotels, restaurants, etc) had docks that you could just plug your phone in and have a trusted, functional PC right in front of you. Hardware is there technologically, we just need the infrastructure in place to make it reality.

 

[Christian Del Rosario]

if continuum works well with microusb to vga/hdmi adapter, then my students would be blown up when they see desktop interface when i connect my phone to the projector.

same with my boss when i project research presentations on our office screen, versus his iphone6.

 

[sweatshopking]

Thank you. I was losing faith in the ability of fan boys to completely disregard reality. You've restored it for me.

 

[Ten Four]

I know a lot of younger girls that do everything on the phone. I've always seen the future heading towards this sort of world where the phone is your only gadget and it acts as your central computing device, even for gaming.

True for consumers, and I'm thinking that's the best market for this at this time. Walk into any business anywhere in the world and you will find multiple PCs or laptops being used to get work done. Same at any college. You simply need the keyboard and bigger screen to be able to work. The gear is already there and in use. Why switch to docking a phone that will always be less powerful and more hassle than using the PC that is already there? And what if you need to talk to someone on the phone while you are manipulating what is on the monitor? Yes, there will be some business people that can benefit, but the workhorses of most business (and college) will continue to be laptops and PCs because you need the keyboard, mouse, and monitor, and if you have all that stuff available you might as well plug in a small PC and have a better, more durable computer than any phone. Anyone who has tried to work for long without the full-sized versions of these things knows the limitations of physical size.

By the way, before any business is going to rely on phones for important computing power the durability and battery life of phones will need large improvements. "Oops, dropped my phone in the toilet. There goes the presentation and all the spreadsheets I worked on all night that I didn't dare upload to the cloud because the security on the hotel wifi is so sketchy."

 

[Christopher Kendalls]

I would. But only if I can do everything wirelessly. Consider that my machine is an old Vista from 2007, and I do not want to upgrade my PC. Only thing my PC has that my phone doesn't is that it is 1 GB of RAM, as opposed to 512 MB of RAM on my phone, and it has a 300 GB hard drive, as opposed to my phone handling a maximum of 128 GB That's about it.

At some point, your new phone is going to become more powerful than your old PC. The only true advantages are that PCs still have more RAM, and they have more storage, but we may not need more than 2 GB of RAM in the future, and with a good data connection the limitations of SD storage are more of an inconvenience than anything.

On the other hand there will always be more powerful PCs, for those that need them, but that doesn't necessarily mean I want to carry them everywhere.

 

[Christopher Kendalls]

Re: I don't see "Continuum" as game changer

I think Continuum is going to be for modern apps only, not for executable. I could be wrong though.

 

[Yazen]

Re: I don't see "Continuum" as game changer

I think Continuum is going to be for modern apps only, not for executable. I could be wrong though.

Yes, that is correct. Not wrong xD

 

[Krystianpants]

True for consumers, and I'm thinking that's the best market for this at this time. Walk into any business anywhere in the world and you will find multiple PCs or laptops being used to get work done. Same at any college. You simply need the keyboard and bigger screen to be able to work. The gear is already there and in use. Why switch to docking a phone that will always be less powerful and more hassle than using the PC that is already there? And what if you need to talk to someone on the phone while you are manipulating what is on the monitor? Yes, there will be some business people that can benefit, but the workhorses of most business (and college) will continue to be laptops and PCs because you need the keyboard, mouse, and monitor, and if you have all that stuff available you might as well plug in a small PC and have a better, more durable computer than any phone. Anyone who has tried to work for long without the full-sized versions of these things knows the limitations of physical size.

By the way, before any business is going to rely on phones for important computing power the durability and battery life of phones will need large improvements. "Oops, dropped my phone in the toilet. There goes the presentation and all the spreadsheets I worked on all night that I didn't dare upload to the cloud because the security on the hotel wifi is so sketchy."

That's what I don't get. Microsoft made a point to say you can still use your phone in continuim with new supported hardware. You can still receive calls and do your job on the keyboard and mouse.

You're simply thinking from a close minded perspective. Future monitors may not even have any cables but simply the phone will project onto it and you will touch a button on the monitor to allow the phone to do so. All a company needs is a keyboard/mouse and monitor sitting at a terminal. Tech/support/customer service reps are given a phone when they come and sign in to work. It can act as the phone they use for receiving calls as well as the computer they use. It can be moved anywhere. Easier for I.T. to support this sort of environment as the phone can be locked down. Profiles can easily be swapped to a different phone while checking for issues on one.

There are many solutions. You are thinking like dinosaurs. It's the old generation that is trying to hold technology back. I mean this forum is known for this kind of stuff. Complaining that their 512 meg phones don't support every game. Give me a break. You either adapt or get left behind.

And your worries about the cloud make no sense as it is an encrypted connection. That is the whole idea behind the cloud otherwise no one would use it.

 

[Krystianpants]

Re: I don't see "Continuum" as game changer

I think Continuum is going to be for modern apps only, not for executable. I could be wrong though.

True but how many companies will make regular desktop executable apps when they can make universal apps that will run on multiple versions of hardware? Most developers will move away from standard executable apps.

 

[Yangstax]

It is not just for the enterprise customers, it will be handy for all the business professionals and all the travelers. You don't need to bring your laptop or tablet with you, just use your Continuum phone to project to the hotel room TV. You can do Skype video conference call and watch your friends on big screen.

 

[Ten Four]

There are many solutions. You are thinking like dinosaurs. It's the old generation that is trying to hold technology back. I mean this forum is known for this kind of stuff.

I don't think anyone here is "trying to hold technology back." It's just that many of us have a hard time picturing how this particular technology would be useful in our own lives and businesses, and some of us have seen many different innovations come and go without catching on. Who knows, we may be wrong. I am reminded of a picture I saw of a Microsoft conference room with a massive knot of routers, HDMI cables, ethernet cables, USB cables, adaptors, etc. in the middle of the table and a bunch of people all connected with a wide variety of devices. It seems like every time someone invents a new connector it is hailed as finally the one that will be the new standard, the one to replace all that went before. And, what ever happened to the idea of wireless connectivity eliminating all those cables, connectors, and adaptors? Sure, we have wifi, but at work where speed and reliability are must-haves everyone uses ethernet to plug in still, HDMI cables to plug into big screens, USB to plug in keyboards and mice. I use it at home--better connection, better speed, less interference from all the other wifi all around me. My point is not that Continuum is a bad idea or might not be a great advance, but that from my perspective right now it is hard to see its great benefits. Flying cars sounded great too, and there is no technological reason we couldn't have them, but there are lots of practical reasons they aren't common.

 

[Yazen]

I have a concern with your answer:

There are many solutions. You are thinking like dinosaurs. It's the old generation that is trying to hold technology back.

Continuum itself does not provide anything new. Some might argue that Continuum is actually holding people back! Remember WinMo5, with its desktop-esque interface? Think back to when the first iPhone was unveiled, with its capacitive touchscreen (hid) and its mobile optimized ui. We could argue for either device, however only one was designed with "the future" in mind. ~ WinMo for me any day

A Computer Science Philosopher could argue that Continuum prevents "the future". Even the definition of Continuum implies this XD
He/She would probably say that "the future" of computing requires an entirely different interface in which humans interact with computing devices.

Literally speaking, Continuum may be the future, however is it really the future of computing as we know it? We already have keyboards and mice, and we certainly have been accustomed to capacitive touchscreens. We have had laptops, netbooks, tablets, and hybrids.

This is all Continuum, but what does the future hold for us?

 

[Omar9399]

It is not just for the enterprise customers, it will be handy for all the business professionals and all the travelers. You don't need to bring your laptop or tablet with you, just use your Continuum phone to project to the hotel room TV. You can do Skype video conference call and watch your friends on big screen.

You don't need continuum to do this; you can use miracast.

 

[EspHack]

for traveling, now all I need is my phone and a Logitech k400 to go the distance, maybe a miracast adapter in case I find some ancient tv where I go, its just a matter of convenience, just 1 device to keep you connected and comfy

 

[Yazen]

I don't think anyone here is "trying to hold technology back." It's just that many of us have a hard time picturing how this particular technology would be useful in our own lives and businesses, and some of us have seen many different innovations come and go without catching on. Who knows, we may be wrong. I am reminded of a picture I saw of a Microsoft conference room with a massive knot of routers, HDMI cables, ethernet cables, USB cables, adaptors, etc. in the middle of the table and a bunch of people all connected with a wide variety of devices. It seems like every time someone invents a new connector it is hailed as finally the one that will be the new standard, the one to replace all that went before. And, what ever happened to the idea of wireless connectivity eliminating all those cables, connectors, and adaptors? Sure, we have wifi, but at work where speed and reliability are must-haves everyone uses ethernet to plug in still, HDMI cables to plug into big screens, USB to plug in keyboards and mice. I use it at home--better connection, better speed, less interference from all the other wifi all around me. My point is not that Continuum is a bad idea or might not be a great advance, but that from my perspective right now it is hard to see its great benefits. Flying cars sounded great too, and there is no technological reason we couldn't have them, but there are lots of practical reasons they aren't common.

If you separate each technology and examine it in detail you might feel differently. One could argue that a wired landline phone is better than a wireless mobile phone right? Some people care about call quality obviously

Wired vs Wireless has a lot of overlapping benefits/compromises/etc, however you probably would not want to lump them all together.

Technology is about increasing efficiency and productivity in peoples lives. Today people are mobile, and would not want to be tethered to the cloud like a bumper car in a bumper car ring XD

 

[Greywolf1967]

Continuum will not be just for the Business Person use only!!!! I for one travel and visit fiends and family, the Bus trip to see my folks used to be 5 hrs.
If I can cut back on what I have to carry around with me to just a Phone a cable and portable keyboard and mouse, bring it on!!!
I am sure Internet explorer will also work as it does on the PC with the phone in desktop mode. Is Microsoft Edge going to be on 10 for Phones as well?

It sure looks PC enough for my needs.