Yup, touch screens will take the place of laptops soon, especially with an accessory like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bluetooth-Laser-Virtual-Keyboard-Mouse-Projector-Magi...

Of course we hope the price will drop on this thing... it is very small as it is, so I don't think they can miniaturize it much more.
And if they incorporate the idea in with a touchscreen, it would be an awesome machine, whats next? a projectable mouse?

Yes, Ubuntu is going to take a real try at it on the next LTS version, due to hit the mirrors 04/2014.

Ubuntu is going to be very selective about what ARM devices they support first off, so they can do a decent enough job on the limited number of things they include first off.

They will likely do the Google Nexus devices and just a very few other very popular upper end devices .....

But 5 long years of support comes along with a LTS version.    So 14.04 LTS might well pick up some extra devices over the 5 long years the LTS version spans.

So, while MS is still fumbling about in their catatonic state of headlessness during the first part of this year both Ubuntu and Google Chrome may well be making some progress, both  in picking up new hardware partners and in writing some good solid software that CAN be supported in the long term.  

Meanwhile look for MS to crank up some new legal actions and be dispersing FUD at whoever looks to be making some real progress, be it Ubuntu or Google.

Windows 9 release is currently being called "Threshold" and MS internal memos have referred to it as a "make or break" release as it will come to the party nearly 2 years from now and if it flops, it is likely impossible for MS to overcome the market penetration that the new open source OS products may have achieved in the next 2 years.

Chrome OS is doing well on laptops and Android is king on phones and tablets right now.    MS market share is currently shrinking as a year on year percentage, the shrinkage being driven by Win 8 sucking so very badly AND the great big HUGE increase in the overall size of the world of computing, both items combined making MS move way way down in total market share over the next 2 years.


======================


When there is a real functional ARM desktop OS or two that can do the entire span of computing, then MS has some real competition other than Apple.  

And Apple is increasing by 13% on the desktop just this past quarter, so I'd say all the balls that are being dropped on the desktop by MS are going over to Apple right now.  

When Ubuntu and Google Chrome get it right, then Apple won't get as much new growth as they have been getting since Apple is still very very pricey right now.  

Plus, the newest Apple processor isn't even "processor superior" to the new Allwinner A80 chipset, much less the new 64 bit super chips coming out soon from the ARM big boys.

IF Ubuntu can manage to support A80, K1 Tegra, Krait 805, etc. on just the most popular devices then the world might just revolve right out from under MS while they thrash aimlessly about in the snow awaiting a new head being sewed on.

Remember, all that existing MS market share that is called XP will age out this year as MS dumps off the XP security updates and support in 2014-- the old XP hardware may start to swing over to Ubuntu in a larger fashion than it already has.  

Also, realize that if Novell goes under then the networking backbone of the MS world may indeed shrivel and evaporate -- and that has got to affect things to promote the further IT based "Rise of the Chromebooks" that we saw this past year.

If Ubuntu and/or ChromeOS can put out a commanding presence on all three of the big platforms using the same interface enough so to become a viable commercial general OS in the eyes of the computing public ....  then MS is gonna be hurting for certain.  

Free is sorta hard to compete against.

Now, a new MS CEO might crack the whip on the backs of the MS silo boys and make them work together better and produce a really nice Win 9 software release, and then he might choose to price it better so as to win some ground back.

...... but how likely is that, really ???

http://www.zdnet.com/acer-c720-chromebook-first-impressions-fast-and-cheap-70...


So, how is Acer doing on its Chromebook based recovery program to stop losing money on the upper end Wintel stuff?


Acer C720 Chromebook first impressions: Fast and cheap




Chromebooks are not exactly mainstream but the new models now appearing may change that. The new model from Acer is leveraging the Intel Haswell processor to leave the rest behind.

Acer is not a stranger to the Chromebook world and the new C720 is looking to outperform the rest of the pack. The decision to use an Intel Celeron with Haswell technology was a sound one by Acer based on our hands-on testing. The Acer C720 Chromebook is the fastest model we've tested with the exception of the $1,200 Pixel by Google.
Acer C720 Chromebook side profile(Image: James Kendrick/ZDNet)

What makes the presence of the Haswell Celeron so unusual is that Acer is able to use it while keeping the price of the C720 at $249.99. That makes this Chromebook an outstanding value given the performance compared to the ARM and Atom Chromebooks on the market.

So, you have a review from an old school Wintel lover who says that the new direction Acer is taking is fast and inexpensive and out of the gate they came up with a combo that is "leading the pack".

IE,  Acer has become competitive again and will survive.

So will the reviewer.   He has finally gotten over his bias (mostly) and is beginning to understand the Chromebook / Google world well enough to actually write a review.

This is not unusual -- people like what they know how to use.   Going cloud based takes a learning curve of sorts and older folks (reviewers included) are not going to go there willingly.

But all of them say the same thing, it is quick and fast and the cloud stuff isn't bad once you understand how to use it.

Google is growing the Chrome experience quickly as the "expert reviews" on Chrome have become much more detailed and as Google sees needs it is providing the solutions by background update very quickly.

That's something else to get used to ....   no antivirus, no weekly Tuesday updates., no defragging.    You IT department doesn't have to do much except issue the machines originally and kept track of the asset numbers.

You log into a machine and your experience is up to date right now (and if your local load requires something it happens silently while you use it).

Businesses have begun to trust Google with their Chromebook background services -- actually MS has been just as deep into your stuff as Google is for years and years now, they just were clumsier about it.

When it rains, it pours .....



I guess this is an expected follow up by the Cheapie Chinese lacrosse stick equipped football players.

Several of the CC guys got them a bigger more modern lacrosse stick so now ALL CC guys have to have them  a new, bigger stick with which to whack each other on the noggin with.

http://liliputing.com/2014/01/huaweis-first-octa-core-cpu-ready.html

Huawei’s first octa-core CPU is ready



Both of Huawei's new processors are 28nm chips with support for Chinese 4G LTE networks. The octa-core processor uses ARM’s big.LITTLE architecture to pair 4 Cortex-A15 cores with 4 lower-power Cortex-A7 CPU cores.

It’s also possible that Huawei is getting ready to introduce its first 64-bit chip based on an ARMv8 design. Engadget reports that Yu made a post about 64-bit chips on Chinese social network Sina Weibo.




..... you do know this means octa-core level power is going to become the new norm and laptop performance level chipsets
are going to be running around all over the place by the end of this year, right?