2 ms·

Adding another datapoint: We're down to just three Windows boxes (four if you count the Xbox Series X) in our household, and are likely to winnow that down fur

Adding another datapoint: We're down to just three Windows boxes (four if you count the Xbox Series X) in our household, and are likely to winnow that down further following the resounding success of a Linux gaming box on old Sandy Bridge CPU + GTX 970 GPU + HDD. The eldest gamer in the household is so sick of Microsoft's nonsense that the only reason they're not fully on Linux already is because their production box is reliant upon Intel RST, which makes dual-booting a dangerous game. Including the rest of my family, we have but one other Windows box amongst an extended family of ~dozen folks. Everyone else has moved to macOS or Linux. Speaking from an IT perspective, I've also seen more organizations court macOS as a standard machine in lieu of Win11, especially with Microsoft's shift to InTune and away from Group Policy. Microsoft thought inertia would carry their customers into the cloud, but the costs involved posed enough of a speed bump that customers are reconsidering their Microsoft estate, provided they weren't already in Azure and/or didn't have M365 E5. It's a bloodbath. Microsoft extending free support is tacit acknowledgement they s*t the bed and have no other gameplan ready to go right now.

Yeul 1y ago
The desktop computer is dying. The only reason why I still have one is because I play videogames. Serious stuff is done on my phone. If we want to talk about disaster it's that Microsoft lost the smartphone battle. The real future of computing.
- keyringlight 1y ago
  The phone/tablet as most common 'personal computer' is what I see that will be a constant bleed on the audience for the desktop PC. At least for the home audience the price trends over the past decade seems like a big deterrence, and the old model of having a desktop for home use and an enthusiast upgrading/modernizing it involves more. I do a fair amount of gaming on my 8-9 year old PC, and it's hard to justify an upgrade (which at this point is a whole new build) for more recent games versus getting a PS5 for 400 bucks or so (or a used one for 200-300) which is less than a reasonably capable/modern GPU by itself. I guess my concern is where are the gradual on-ramps for getting people into that desktop PC (windows or otherwise) environment so they can explore and discover what it enables for them? There's no trouble if you already know you're an enthusiast, you can make an informed decision if the bill of parts is worth it, and I don't see professional-workstations going away as a tool.
  - stego-tech 1y ago
    If we want to revive interest in the desktop or laptop computer, and cost is a concern, then we should be steering more folks towards pre-built NUCs and SBCs with an efficient OS on top (like a friendlier Linux Desktop). The problem is that so much of the internet is so bloated and heavy that, with the way the average person uses a computer, the specs quickly become anemic. So I guess I’m banging my efficiency and optimization drum again, is what I’m saying.

Yeul 1y ago

The desktop computer is dying. The only reason why I still have one is because I play videogames. Serious stuff is done on my phone. If we want to talk about disaster it's that Microsoft lost the smartphone battle. The real future of computing.

keyringlight 1y ago
The phone/tablet as most common 'personal computer' is what I see that will be a constant bleed on the audience for the desktop PC. At least for the home audience the price trends over the past decade seems like a big deterrence, and the old model of having a desktop for home use and an enthusiast upgrading/modernizing it involves more. I do a fair amount of gaming on my 8-9 year old PC, and it's hard to justify an upgrade (which at this point is a whole new build) for more recent games versus getting a PS5 for 400 bucks or so (or a used one for 200-300) which is less than a reasonably capable/modern GPU by itself. I guess my concern is where are the gradual on-ramps for getting people into that desktop PC (windows or otherwise) environment so they can explore and discover what it enables for them? There's no trouble if you already know you're an enthusiast, you can make an informed decision if the bill of parts is worth it, and I don't see professional-workstations going away as a tool.
- stego-tech 1y ago
  If we want to revive interest in the desktop or laptop computer, and cost is a concern, then we should be steering more folks towards pre-built NUCs and SBCs with an efficient OS on top (like a friendlier Linux Desktop). The problem is that so much of the internet is so bloated and heavy that, with the way the average person uses a computer, the specs quickly become anemic. So I guess I’m banging my efficiency and optimization drum again, is what I’m saying.