4 ms·

It is true that, for all the cool stuff Google does, it is still fundamentally an advertising company where the future in those revenue streams looks bleak. Th

It is true that, for all the cool stuff Google does, it is still fundamentally an advertising company where the future in those revenue streams looks bleak. That said, Microsoft didn't die off in the "post PC" era even after spectacular failures in things like trying to make inroads in mobile phones. So with Google yes there are dark clouds on the horizon, but they could pull off a change in revenue streams and still do quite well. The clock is ticking though... they're spending tons on these other pet projects that have yet to pay off so the pressure is really on to prove that they can actually create a viable business with revenue outside advertising.

seabird 9y ago
The zinger with the "post PC era" bullshit was that it was a ridiculous marketing/buzz campaign that attempted to completely eschew the reality that most people need something more than a compact touch screen device to effectively complete their work. You cannot genuinely ask an electrical engineer, Excel jockey, photographer, or any other professional or power user to use something other than a laptop or desktop to make their living. I think you can can see the difference between Microsoft's model (which never did go out of style and won't any time soon) and Google's model (which was doomed from the start).
- slededit 9y ago
  It's still a net reduction in the size of the market. Early 2000s your office had a PC and you had one at home. The office computer may remain but the home one is gone for the vast majority of people.
  - seabird 9y ago
    There's a net reduction, but that loss in the market didn't translate directly into tablet/mobile usage. Anecdotally, I would say that the home PC isn't gone, just less focused on entertainment. I've noticed a significant shift towards occasionally used laptops that are used for work and study while mobile devices make up for the entertainment/simple browsing/bullshitting that would have been done on a desktop ten years ago. Regardless, the relevance to my point is still there; PCs are a product that will have worthwhile demand for the foreseeable future while internet advertising could disappear with little fanfare. That isn't a good fit for Google.

seabird 9y ago

The zinger with the "post PC era" bullshit was that it was a ridiculous marketing/buzz campaign that attempted to completely eschew the reality that most people need something more than a compact touch screen device to effectively complete their work. You cannot genuinely ask an electrical engineer, Excel jockey, photographer, or any other professional or power user to use something other than a laptop or desktop to make their living. I think you can can see the difference between Microsoft's model (which never did go out of style and won't any time soon) and Google's model (which was doomed from the start).

slededit 9y ago
It's still a net reduction in the size of the market. Early 2000s your office had a PC and you had one at home. The office computer may remain but the home one is gone for the vast majority of people.
- seabird 9y ago
  There's a net reduction, but that loss in the market didn't translate directly into tablet/mobile usage. Anecdotally, I would say that the home PC isn't gone, just less focused on entertainment. I've noticed a significant shift towards occasionally used laptops that are used for work and study while mobile devices make up for the entertainment/simple browsing/bullshitting that would have been done on a desktop ten years ago. Regardless, the relevance to my point is still there; PCs are a product that will have worthwhile demand for the foreseeable future while internet advertising could disappear with little fanfare. That isn't a good fit for Google.