Computing Convergence

Tagged with computer monitor, laptop computer, mini pc, phone on December 3, 2024

Convergence is when two or more things come together to form a new whole. I’ve read a lot about computing convergence in a lot of forums recently. It mostly entails using a smartphone with a computer monitor, with or without a Bluetooth keyboard or Bluetooth mouse.

I once set up a convergence of my own, using a Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus with Samsung DeX and a portable computer monitor. Samsung DeX isn’t available on all Samsung models, just like “Ready For” isn’t available on all Motorola models. Today, I think a mini PC is a better idea.

Portability Instead of Convergence

Most of the conversations I’ve read involve using a smartphone because it’s the device that most people carry around anyway. They talk about finding ways to make connecting easier. It doesn’t get any easier than the mini PC system I have at home right now, except for using a laptop computer, of course. In either case, I can carry all the necessary components with me anywhere.

My mini PC is about four and a half inches wide, about four inches long and about one and a half inches high. It’s a low-power computer that does everything I need it to do. There are many like it, made by other companies. It’s very inexpensive compared to modern gaming computers, and there isn’t any convergence necessary.

With the mini PC, I can use a wired keyboard, a wired mouse, and even a wired headset. Comparable components for a modern smartphone would most likely be wireless, using Bluetooth.

Mobility

The only thing I carry with me everywhere is my smartphone. The only time I need to carry a computer of any type with me is when I’m traveling back and forth from the Philippines to the United States. Although I can carry my mini PC system with me, including the portable monitor, I hope to restore my laptop computer and only use that while traveling.

I’ll eventually have to take all the computers I own with me to the United States anyway, when my wife and I finally move back for good.

Image by [email protected] Larry Ewing and The GIMP, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons