What is a computer? | Are.na
The title of this collection comes from a January 2018 Apple ad for the iPad Pro (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llZys3xg6sU), which is also the first block (https://www.are.na/block/3121680) included. The Verge has also been running a series of articles and videos (all also within) that reference that same Apple ad and question (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7imG4DYXlM) (block (https://www.are.na/block/3121686)) and mostly focus on the tablet-to-laptop and laptop-to-tablet convergence trend. This collection started as I had been thinking (for well over a year prior) about what to do about replacing my 2011 MacBook Pro, which for a long time hasn’t been eligible for macOS upgrades, has a finicky keyboard and broken trackpad, and generally is running on its last legs. But after a while, I started looking beyond MacBooks, iPads, Surfaces, and Chromebooks as my only replacement options and started thinking about e-ink, Linux, Raspberry Pi, alternate input methods, multiple-device replacement ideas instead of a one-device replacement, etc., and that’s kind of the state of things now. Meanwhile, I still haven’t replaced the laptop that started this whole accumulation. [22 April 2020] [8 June 2023 Update: still no replacement]