5 ms·

Fall of PC platforms? I don't see any fall there, really, however much Horace wants it to be true. The metric that matters is usage, obviously almost everyone

Fall of PC platforms? I don't see any fall there, really, however much Horace wants it to be true. The metric that matters is usage, obviously almost everyone has a PC and since most PCs sold in the last 5 years are capable to satisfying users without an upgrade, the fact that PCs are still selling in such a high volume doesn't bode well for the doomsday predictions by number-twisting bloggers. For example, take the mobile vs. desktop browsing metric from StatCounter. http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_vs_desktop-ww-monthly-201012-201112 http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_vs_desktop-ww-monthly-2010... The mobile share is barely inching up to 8% over the whole of 2011. That doesn't really show a fall of PC unless it's a headline from a site that has a reputation of twisting statistics to push its agenda.

cooldeal 15y ago
What else do you expect from Asymco and Horace? They predicted that Android would never take off like it did, The whole site seems to be predicated on telling Apple fans what they want to hear with a lot of twisted analysis. They're basically the inventor of the "profit derived" metric (by which IIS is totally dominating Apache/nginx in web servers). Of course the PC is dying according to them.
TheCowboy 15y ago
I also don't understand how he has PC has as its own category of data, yet separates out PCs such as the TRS-80. I can't look it up in Wikipedia, but I don't recall how the TRS-80 or other Tandy machines would not be categorized as PCs, even if they also carry the label of micro-computer. This comes off as another tired attempt to write yet another "The Death of" article that are common to talking heads. Except for older people who never had a chance to acquire the basic intuition to operate a PC, I'm not aware of anyone who does not own a PC and at least one or many other non-PC devices. I think it is best said that the PC market has simply matured.
- Gormo 15y ago
  "PC" in this sense refers specifically to the hardware platform descended from the IBM-PC, and traditionally running some variant of DOS or Windows.
usaar333 15y ago
He also seems to be trying to compare against past platforms to show that PCs are peaking and will soon collapse. Of course ignores what you point out - that the PC market is saturated (everyone has a computer), unlike in the 1980s where there was tons of room for growth from new adopters.
cjensen 15y ago
The term "PC" for Personal Computer predates the IBM-PC. There really was a time when you could say "I want a new PC: an Apple ][". So PC which have fallen include the TRS-80, Commodore, the Apple ][ and others.
onemoreact 15y ago
Sure, it ignores actual gaming systems, a logrithmic scale, ignores the cost / unit, and glosses over flash games. It's still an interesting as a propaganda piece.

cooldeal 15y ago

What else do you expect from Asymco and Horace? They predicted that Android would never take off like it did, The whole site seems to be predicated on telling Apple fans what they want to hear with a lot of twisted analysis. They're basically the inventor of the "profit derived" metric (by which IIS is totally dominating Apache/nginx in web servers). Of course the PC is dying according to them.

TheCowboy 15y ago

I also don't understand how he has PC has as its own category of data, yet separates out PCs such as the TRS-80. I can't look it up in Wikipedia, but I don't recall how the TRS-80 or other Tandy machines would not be categorized as PCs, even if they also carry the label of micro-computer. This comes off as another tired attempt to write yet another "The Death of" article that are common to talking heads. Except for older people who never had a chance to acquire the basic intuition to operate a PC, I'm not aware of anyone who does not own a PC and at least one or many other non-PC devices. I think it is best said that the PC market has simply matured.

Gormo 15y ago
"PC" in this sense refers specifically to the hardware platform descended from the IBM-PC, and traditionally running some variant of DOS or Windows.

usaar333 15y ago

He also seems to be trying to compare against past platforms to show that PCs are peaking and will soon collapse. Of course ignores what you point out - that the PC market is saturated (everyone has a computer), unlike in the 1980s where there was tons of room for growth from new adopters.

cjensen 15y ago

The term "PC" for Personal Computer predates the IBM-PC. There really was a time when you could say "I want a new PC: an Apple ][". So PC which have fallen include the TRS-80, Commodore, the Apple ][ and others.

onemoreact 15y ago

Sure, it ignores actual gaming systems, a logrithmic scale, ignores the cost / unit, and glosses over flash games. It's still an interesting as a propaganda piece.