Is the PC on it's way out?

beancounter

beancounter

The Fire That Burns Within
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So, I was going through Google news and came upon an article that said the PC is on deaths door. I've seen similar articles over the past few years, that claim that everyrything is eventually going to be on a tablet or phone.

I disagree.

People who write these articles are journalist or bloggers. They produce brief articles that can easily be done on portable devices...but

Have you ever built a spreadsheet on a tablet? How about create a PowerPoint presentation, a database, or even a 10+ page written procedures document? Not so easy.

Sure, you could buy a separate keyboard for a tablet, but then why not just get a laptop....

The reports of the PC's demise are grossly exaggerated.
 
A phone is a lot easier to travel with than a laptop. As ever more powerful computers take up less and less space, or at least you get the same computing power on a smaller chip, it just makes sense to go for the smaller format. You will obviously still need a keyboard and an external monitor to do certain kinds of tasks.
 
Indian Summer said:
A phone is a lot easier to travel with than a laptop. As ever more powerful computers take up less and less space, or at least you get the same computing power on a smaller chip, it just makes sense to go for the smaller format. You will obviously still need a keyboard and an external monitor to do certain kinds of tasks.
Click to expand...

Yea, but there is a a point at which a screen is too small to be practical for a lot of business related tasks. And carrying a laptop is IMO, a lot easier than carrying a separate monitor, keyboard, and a tablet. I can go through airport security with little hassle with a laptop. The individual portability is just not worth carrying three separate smaller items.
 
As long as there is a pc-gaming community (ie, forever), there will be a strong market for pcs. There are also, as you mentioned, many business-related tasks that pretty much require a pc.
 
beancounter said:
And carrying a laptop is IMO, a lot easier than carrying a separate monitor, keyboard, and a tablet. I can go through airport security with little hassle with a laptop. The individual portability is just not worth carrying three separate smaller items.
Click to expand...

For my iPad, I can get a mini-keyboard that doubles as a front cover, or a full-sized but thin wireless keyboard that would fit into a small bag. These can all be carried in a bag the size of a laptop bag, or smaller, if necessary. Heck, iPad with a keyboard cover fits into my purse. This really isn't any additional hassle to take through airport security than a laptop in a laptop bag.
 
For people who are mostly passive consumers, yes, a tablet may be more desirable than a PC.

But for active creators of content, a laptop (at least) tends to be very, very useful. Sure, you could hook up a keyboard and a mouse to a tablet, but at that point, you're reinventing the laptop.
 
I like a full keyboard. I like a screen which I can actually see all of a website without having to load a crappy version or a page scroller. Also not everything can be transferred over wifi/bluetooth.

So yeaaah I cant see PCs dieing. Maybe for people who just want a computer to check their e-mails and surf facebook.
 
The CD has been on its way out for a long time now, but it's still here. It takes a lot of time for these transitions to take place. I think it's a little early to speculate on the demise of the PC. Especially considering the workplace.
 
PC's, at least in the form of laptops, will stay around.

Apart from business applications (and gaming, of which I have no firsthand experience), what you have to take into account is that tiny screens and tiny touchscreens are not just frustrating as one grows older, but become unuseable at a certain point in one's life. You guys are still young enough that you aren't experiencing that firsthand, but if you live long enough, you'll find out what I'm talking about.

I've used a laptop rather than a desktop for quite a few years because I like the portability, but the last couple of laptops I've purchased have been the biggest available on the market - I need the screen size, and even then, I have it set at 150% or higher.
 
beancounter said:
Yea, but there is a a point at which a screen is too small to be practical for a lot of business related tasks. And carrying a laptop is IMO, a lot easier than carrying a separate monitor, keyboard, and a tablet. I can go through airport security with little hassle with a laptop. The individual portability is just not worth carrying three separate smaller items.
Click to expand...
Of course no-one would travel with all those items. They would bring the tablet or phone only, and then connect to an external monitor and keyboard on the airplane, in their hotel room or provided by the company they go to visit etc.

This piece of news seems relevant to this thread:
"It's quite incredible that we're at this point when the power of the phone is crossing over that with baseline processing power of basic laptops," Mr Shuttleworth told the BBC.

"We're taking advantage of that so for the first time in history you have the full consumer PC platform available on a phone.

"I'm very confident if we look ahead over the next three to five years that's a transition that Apple is going to have to make... and if it's not Windows 9 it will be Windows 10 that will see Microsoft bring its phone and laptop together into one device. It's really cracking to do that ahead of everyone else."
Click to expand...
Ubuntu operating system comes to Android smartphones (BBC)
 
Indian Summer said:
Of course no-one would travel with all those items. They would bring the tablet or phone only, and then connect to an external monitor and keyboard on the airplane, in their hotel room or provided by the company they go to visit etc.

This piece of news seems relevant to this thread:

Ubuntu operating system comes to Android smartphones (BBC)
Click to expand...
My son loves linux and hates smartphones. I think he is their market. :D
 
Envy said:
Not to mention competitive and hardcore gaming.
Click to expand...
You may have a point there that remains valid at least for a while yet. However, just a few days ago I heard about the Steam Box:
The "Steam Box" modular computer announced by hardware maker Xi3 and Valve at CES is codenamed "Piston" and is modeled after the PC maker's X7A line of pint-sized computers, Xi3 reps tell Polygon.
Click to expand...
http://www.polygon.com/2013/1/7/3849284/piston-valve-steam-box-xi3
As you can see from the picture, it really is quite small. (And it runs Linux!) So if this is a sign of things to come, it's not inconceivable that even real gaming computers will one day shrink to the size of a mobile phone.
 
Indian Summer said:
You may have a point there that remains valid at least for a while yet. However, just a few days ago I heard about the Steam Box:

http://www.polygon.com/2013/1/7/3849284/piston-valve-steam-box-xi3
As you can see from the picture, it really is quite small. (And it runs Linux!) So if this is a sign of things to come, it's not inconceivable that even real gaming computers will one day shrink to the size of a mobile phone.
Click to expand...

That depends on how graphic-intense games will be in the future.

If small computers like laptops and tablets will be powerful, just imagine the stuff that you can do with the increased space inside a desktop computer.
 
Indian Summer said:
(And it runs Linux!) So if this is a sign of things to come, it's not inconceivable that even real gaming computers will one day shrink to the size of a mobile phone.
Click to expand...

But even assuming phones get as powerful as PC, why would you want to play a game (the type that's traditionally played on a PC) on a tiny screen? Can you imagine trying to play Civ4 or Simcity on a phone sized screen? It just wouldn't be the same experience. In fact, it would be a big step backwards.
 
beancounter said:
But even assuming phones get as powerful as PC, why would you want to play a game (the type that's traditionally played on a PC) on a tiny screen? Can you imagine trying to play Civ4 or Simcity on a phone sized screen? It just wouldn't be the same experience. In fact, it would be a big step backwards.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I'm currently playing Infinity Blade II on the Iphone - while it has cool graphics - it would be so much better with a much larger screen. Not to mention - I want something that I can't easily throw across the room when the game whips my ***. :p
 
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I use my iPad for a whole lot of things I consider my phone screen "too small" for.

Since I got the iPad, I pretty much never use my netbook. I do use my PC for things I can't do on the iPad or phone.
 

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