Whats up with all of these death of the pc articles the last few months?

[yoda313]

It seems like every other day there is another article online about the death of the pc.

Sure mobile and tablets are the "new hotness" and are gaining traction all the time. And cloud computing is making computer horsepower somewhat irrelevant.

But to say that the pc will just go away is pure nonsense.

It may end up being a much more niche market than it is now. It may be the more unusual person that has only a desktop computer and not a tablet. But to say that you won't be able to go to a store and buy a traditional desktop pc is crazy.

Sure lots of tech trends come and go over the years but you still can't get the same performance out of portables that you can from a traditional pc. (laptops don't seem to be completely lumped together with pc, what with the new "convertible" units that are turning into tablets and stuff).

Even one of the articles I was reading admitted that much that you can't do everything on a portable unit.

Not to mention how nettbooks are kind of disappearing.

Its just like the windows 8 hysteria that is going through the media. Sure its not xp and its not 7. I haven't used it myself so I can't pass judgement on it but is it truly that horrible? Or is it just more microsoft hating?

Actually when win 8 first came out some where praising ms's bold moves.

I'm sure when win 9 comes out things will settle down and go back to normal.

[TreeTops]

Don't know about all the hype you mentioned, but from my observation, I blame the Win 8 fiasco and the beginning trend of subscription services for popular software. Now Microsoft is talking about subscription (yearly fees to start) for office programs similar to what Adobe is doing for it's photoshop and video programs. Who wants to buy a new computer and then have to pay every song and dance software maker yearly fees for ever? This is a sure killer for computer sales. And I predict that if they get away with this subscription thing then they will soon ask for a more frequent schedule of fees like twice a year to start then each month with a nice hook statement that: 'if you pay a yearly subscription fee, then it may be cheaper' then by the month. Just like the hosting of web sites.

[Clockwork]

It may end up being a much more niche market than it is now.

niche market = expensive

The great "Home PC Experience" was supposed to be about giving Joe Lunchbox all the tools at his disposal to create and manage content from the comfort of his living room. Make your own music...write your own book...create your own art...archive your memories...

The reality is that the vast majority of the PC using world just wants to go on Facebook, waste time on uninspired game titles and watch people getting hit in the nuts with wiffle ball bats on YouTube.

[SquirrelDip]

Desktops aren't going away any time soon. They're just not a "growth" market the way they once were.

We now have multiple tablets in the home (in addition to smartphones) but still a couple of desktops and laptops... We use the desktops less than we once did but they still definitely have their place.

[ranchhand]

Yeah, I'd like to see some serious photo and video editing, or music editing on an Ipad.

[Joe The Dude]

Are there any tablets, or Smart Phones, that can run SolidWorks, or AutoCAD, at a decent speed?

[deadrats]

i think a lot has to do with the general economic downturn coupled with the fact that we are very close to the point where desktops are fast enough for most people.

people in the tech industries got spoiled by huge profits earned by robust economic growth and lots of room for computing improvement which tended to generate excitement from the general public with regards.

whenever you have any prolonged economic downturn people tend to become pessimistic about various portions of the old guard though it may also be people realizing that in about 5 years tablets will be potent enough for most computing needs and they have a portability that desktops inherently lack.

[yoda313]

though it may also be people realizing that in about 5 years tablets will be potent enough for most computing needs and they have a portability that desktops inherently lack.

That may be true for lots of stuff. But joe the dude does have a point. Will tablets ever have enough power to run traditional programs beyond office suites and light digital media work?

And there is something to a fixed work environment. Your more likely to do serious work at a desk with a lamp and maybe a window then you would when you are on a couch lounging. Just something about sitting upright that makes you focus more. Granted you can still do that with a tablet but you would be more inclined to lounge that way.

Also how come the laptop hasn't killed the pc a generation ago? The laptop has been around for ages now and it lived along peacefully with the desktop. It still has the problem tablets will have to solve - which is:

How can you make something portable but still powerful?

That is the question that has been around since the laptop was first developed. The really powerful laptops that are desktop replacements are essentially giant paperweights. You can't make them light enough and portable enough to be like a tablet and still be the workhorse a traditional desktop can be.

Now maybe they can solve that equation but until they do the portable device will still have inherent weakness that only a desktop or desktop-replacement unit can deal with.

[El Heggunte]

Maybe I'm wrong and uninformed, but I serious doubt that most/any software/OS targeted at the portable devices was written and/or compiled on a portable device.

[gadgetguy]

The desktop won't be threatened until they figure out how to put a 20" screen in a 9" tablet.

[yoda313]

The desktop won't be threatened until they figure out how to put a 20" screen in a 9" tablet.

Don't they have those oled screens that are flexible? I remember seeing ones that could be rolled out but they were low res and only green in color.

But if they had some kind of flexible screen that could be rolled out say like a window shade you could conceivably do just that.

I think I'm thinking of something that was real....

[gadgetguy]

The desktop won't be threatened until they figure out how to put a 20" screen in a 9" tablet.

Don't they have those oled screens that are flexible? I remember seeing ones that could be rolled out but they were low res and only green in color.

But if they had some kind of flexible screen that could be rolled out say like a window shade you could conceivably do just that.

I think I'm thinking of something that was real....

Yeah, there was something about a screen you could roll up like a newspaper a couple years ago. I haven't seen anything recently though so I don't know if anything came of it. There might have been a prototype, but I don't think it was ever in production anywhere. But a 20" screen rolled like a newspaper probably wouldn't be much more practical as a portable device than a laptop. And I question whether it could be made touch-screen capable.

[gadgetguy]

Duplicate.

[Joe The Dude]

The only truly portable big-screens that I know of, are embedded in some kind of eye-wear.
Not everyone should use them, though, due to various issues...