Ok. Tell me what a pc/laptop will do that a tablet will not.

[Theas18]

I have a dying desk top pc. It has an external hard drive to back up.

I also have an old gen iPad that I like and use lots mainly because it actually does stuff instead of just thinking and thinking then crashing lol

Why do I need a pc - what would it do that a really god tablet wouldn't ? Wondering about the asus transformer or 3rd gen iPad ..

I'm not really sure what I'd miss on the pc iyswim. I use it for watching tv browsing the net , word proscessing, professional development e modules etc etc

As I have an androd phone now I'm all backed up to google and use google drive. I almost never need to transfer anything via the pc. The iPad backs up to the apple cloud and ,again I almost never connect it o iTunes ( the computer has awful issues with iTunes /recognising the iPad etc. ) . I guess running an iPad would be an issue if I didn't have iTunes access.... The android device accesses the external hard dive and transfers music from there with ease but I don't seem to be abe to do that on the iPad.

Thanks for yor help

Typing on a touch screen is hellish....

PCs have CD/DVD players (eg ever archive to a disk? Been sent a cd by a company?)

They have giant harddrives for storing lots of, err, stuff.

They can (theoretically) open any website, no matter how flash/weird/etc

They have lovely keyboards and big screens for lots of typing/looking

Of course if you don't want any of that there is no law you have to have one!

You don't need a PC, no.

If DCs are not yet of school age then you might find you need one when they're older for homework - not so easy to print from a tablet, however, it's not impossible and I'm sure that compatability will likely continue to improve.

Nice also to have a proper keyboard if you do a lot of typing, which an asus transformer (or slide!) tablet would solve.

Oh yeah bigger hard drive on a PC, much bigger.

Hmm.

Also you can play PC games on a PC which wouldn't have a hope in hell of running on a tablet because they don't have the room for proper graphics cards.

Yeah, it's typing that is the main factor.

We got rid of the desktop in advance of DS being born - we needed the buggy space - and we now just have a laptop. I need a keyboard for work otherwise we would have gone for an ipad.

I got a Bluetooth keyboard for my iPad which solved the rich screen typing problem.

I did then buy myself a MacBook though, about 18 months later.

Soup I have the blue tooth keyboard. It's great if a little rattle. What pushed you to get the MacBook?

Also is there any way and iPad will talk to an external hard drive?

Thnks for the helpful responses so far everyone !

Not sure how 'open' an iPad or other tablet would be to different software (you know how sometimes a web site really looks a mess with one browser and you need another installed?)...

You might be able to access the external hard drive if it is connected to your router. I guess it depends on the drive - is it USB or one with ethernet? Apple would probably assume you'll use iCloud so no use for that drive (!)

I think there's still a long way to go before a tablet could match a laptop for software compatibility / reliability. I don't have one of the Transformers but I don't think I'd want to invest so much cash into relatively 'cutting edge' kit, with 'even better' around the corner (and be kicking myself on wrong choice) when a 400 quid laptop would easily do for 2-4 years (John Lewis has 2 year warranty on most kit, and 3/4 laptops at 430 quid - possibly others to come in next few months during Christmas run-up - with 13" or 15" screens and 4 or 6 GB RAM, and big HDD capacity).

Sorry, I'd go for a laptop for any serious work / typing / viewing (even though I can use my tablet with a 42" TV), having both wireless and ethernet, and multiple USB ports, really makes a difference for me, with external card readers, hard drives, webcam, etc, and I can use a nice mouse and [OK, personal choice] separate full size keyboard, so can move PC to laptop and have identical layouts on every one in house [except for the iMacs].

I'm not sure why I got the MacBook - it may well have been just because I wanted one :o

I use it a lot and I don't think the iPad is designed for that kind of use. I did feel more hunched over as a result of using it. For long working periods I don't think you can beat a desktop in that respect as the screen is far higher meaning you don't curl your neck/back.

I use my laptop at my kitchen table and my iPad on the sofa/in bed/out and about.

Oh, and if you want Flash, download the Puffin browser - a tip I got from MN. I think even the free version offers flash now - it was offered temporarily for the Oylmpics and then removed but it seems to be back.

I have the free version of the Puffin browser and I can play Education City on it but it seems rather slow - is the paid-for version better?

I only have the free one

Hard drive storage (I prefer to have loads on my laptop even tho I use online back up) Easy of transfer docs at work ..usb pen drives are still used a lot where I work. Screen size, ease of typing, ease of printing, external card reader for my camera. CD drive ..not used that often but sometimes for installing new programmes, watching DVDs without faffing about converting them to ipad format.

I have an ipad and a macbook. I love the ipad for a quick browse, reading in bed and 'light duties. such as email, but for anything more I still always reach for the macbook..it is so much easier for typing and of course for anything that uses flash!

You need both

I think I'll have to go for a desktop/laptop running windows at the moment.

I've tried to feel the ipad love, and like the phone I'm just getting narked with apple not integrating with other systems. eg just found I can upload photos to google drive in the app, and make new documents, but upload and existing document- nope! bonkers!

And it still wont talk to the external drive.