3 ms·

> Desktops are going the way of the dodo Frankly, I'm tired of reading this. Desktops are going to lower their market share, yes, but that's all. The desktop h

by gordaco 14y ago

> Desktops are going the way of the dodo Frankly, I'm tired of reading this. Desktops are going to lower their market share, yes, but that's all. The desktop has quite a few advantages: modularity (i.e.: want a new graphics card or a bigger hard disk? No problem. Is some hardware failing? Just replace it, not the whole thing; it's much easier than on a laptop), compatibility with a LOT of software (including a whole world of office applications and games from a very wide range of time. Laptops also share this; tablets and phones, not so much), price (compare any PC with a laptop with the same specs, especially if you select each component instead of relying on a pre-made computer), etc.

dangrossman 14y ago
You're going to be reading it for a long time, because it's true. The desktop is going extinct, and it's going extinct at a faster rate every month. Q4 desktop sales were 6.4% lower than Q4 2011. The advantages you mention are largely irrelevant outside specific professional niches, the only place desktops will stick around for a while. The cheapest laptops are cheaper than the cheapest desktops in stores, and are cheap enough that it doesn't matter if you have to replace the whole thing if it's broken. Both laptops and tablets are compatible with the entire Windows legacy ecosystem. They're portable, they're what the workers and the managers making purchase decisions want to work on, and they cut the company's electric bill by more than half. Towers are going extinct.
- Svip 14y ago
  So what you are saying is that they are not going to go extinct? They will likely still be used in work environments, by software developers and by gamers. Yes, these areas sure are professional niches.
  - bunderbunder 14y ago
    Corporate's taking away my desktop, and replacing it with a laptop. The old computer's being retired, and all of the computers on the menu of replacements I had to pick from were laptops. Developers like me who want performance get a beefy desktop replacement model that I have to admit is on par with what we'd have gotten in an actual desktop computer.
  - dangrossman 14y ago
    I didn't say any of that, and I disagree with all of it.
    - Svip 14y ago
      So work environments, software developers and gamers will all abandon desktops? And go where?
      - dangrossman 14y ago
        Laptops, tablets, smartphones and hybrids. As already makes up more than 80% of computing device sales today, with the desktop slice shrinking (in absolute quantity, not just percentage) every quarter. There's no way for that to happen unless either (a) businesses got hold of desktops that never need replacement, or (b) employees that were previously provided desktops are now using something else.
        Svip 14y ago
        But work environments, software developers and gamers don't make up more than 20% of computing device sales. And most of those sales figures are for consumers, so they are ignoring work places all together. Software developers might get by on a laptop, but most I know most prefer to have a desktop at home. That may be rather anecdotal evidence, but so is reading statistics wrong. And gamers, well, they sure value their customised rigs. Some of them might prefer consoles, but there is still a huge range of gamers preferring desktops over everything. Niche, perhaps, but just like there is some value to having a landline telephone (call a place rather than a person), so is there value to having a desktop. Most consumers won't care, I imagine. But that doesn't mean the desktop will go extinct. Regarding your a) and b); I am certain some businesses are moving to laptops and other non-desktop entities. But that doesn't mean all businesses are or will. It is most likely the lack of end consumers buying them that is reducing the total sales of desktops and not businesses.
        gordaco 14y ago
        I don't think gamers will be ditching desktop for laptops anytime soon (for example: better cooling allows for more performance; plus, multiple graphic cards, and, as I said previously, modularity). There still exists a difference in the higher end, and, while this may make some workers (be it software developers or just people who work with office software) prefer a laptop, many still won't because of the price. Yes, for Facebook and such you are fine with a tablet or a shitty laptop (although in my experience, the cheapest desktop is cheaper than the cheapest laptop; it may just be due to geographic location), and the desktop may lose the lower end; but, when you have higher needs, laptops start to get pricier and less performant, thus becomming less of an adequate option. About the ratio of computing devices, it's not only because desktop sell less; there are many more devices being used now than 5 years ago, and most of the new ones are tablets and smartphones. The absolute decline of the desktop is less marked.
- Shorel 14y ago
  I don't expect desktops to disappear in at least 10 or 15 years. But sure as hell I expect them to become more expensive over time, to a point where to have a desktop means paying a premium price over an equivalent laptop. In fact, I'm just making plans to buy a new Desktop. On the other hand, I don't have any plans to purchase any mobile device, at least until I can install Ubuntu on it and expect it to work just as well as my Ubuntu 12.04 install.

by gordaco 14y ago

dangrossman 14y ago

You're going to be reading it for a long time, because it's true. The desktop is going extinct, and it's going extinct at a faster rate every month. Q4 desktop sales were 6.4% lower than Q4 2011. The advantages you mention are largely irrelevant outside specific professional niches, the only place desktops will stick around for a while. The cheapest laptops are cheaper than the cheapest desktops in stores, and are cheap enough that it doesn't matter if you have to replace the whole thing if it's broken. Both laptops and tablets are compatible with the entire Windows legacy ecosystem. They're portable, they're what the workers and the managers making purchase decisions want to work on, and they cut the company's electric bill by more than half. Towers are going extinct.

Svip 14y ago
So what you are saying is that they are not going to go extinct? They will likely still be used in work environments, by software developers and by gamers. Yes, these areas sure are professional niches.
- bunderbunder 14y ago
  Corporate's taking away my desktop, and replacing it with a laptop. The old computer's being retired, and all of the computers on the menu of replacements I had to pick from were laptops. Developers like me who want performance get a beefy desktop replacement model that I have to admit is on par with what we'd have gotten in an actual desktop computer.
- dangrossman 14y ago
  I didn't say any of that, and I disagree with all of it.
  - Svip 14y ago
    So work environments, software developers and gamers will all abandon desktops? And go where?
    - dangrossman 14y ago
      Laptops, tablets, smartphones and hybrids. As already makes up more than 80% of computing device sales today, with the desktop slice shrinking (in absolute quantity, not just percentage) every quarter. There's no way for that to happen unless either (a) businesses got hold of desktops that never need replacement, or (b) employees that were previously provided desktops are now using something else.
      - Svip 14y ago
        But work environments, software developers and gamers don't make up more than 20% of computing device sales. And most of those sales figures are for consumers, so they are ignoring work places all together. Software developers might get by on a laptop, but most I know most prefer to have a desktop at home. That may be rather anecdotal evidence, but so is reading statistics wrong. And gamers, well, they sure value their customised rigs. Some of them might prefer consoles, but there is still a huge range of gamers preferring desktops over everything. Niche, perhaps, but just like there is some value to having a landline telephone (call a place rather than a person), so is there value to having a desktop. Most consumers won't care, I imagine. But that doesn't mean the desktop will go extinct. Regarding your a) and b); I am certain some businesses are moving to laptops and other non-desktop entities. But that doesn't mean all businesses are or will. It is most likely the lack of end consumers buying them that is reducing the total sales of desktops and not businesses.
      - gordaco 14y ago
        I don't think gamers will be ditching desktop for laptops anytime soon (for example: better cooling allows for more performance; plus, multiple graphic cards, and, as I said previously, modularity). There still exists a difference in the higher end, and, while this may make some workers (be it software developers or just people who work with office software) prefer a laptop, many still won't because of the price. Yes, for Facebook and such you are fine with a tablet or a shitty laptop (although in my experience, the cheapest desktop is cheaper than the cheapest laptop; it may just be due to geographic location), and the desktop may lose the lower end; but, when you have higher needs, laptops start to get pricier and less performant, thus becomming less of an adequate option. About the ratio of computing devices, it's not only because desktop sell less; there are many more devices being used now than 5 years ago, and most of the new ones are tablets and smartphones. The absolute decline of the desktop is less marked.
Shorel 14y ago
I don't expect desktops to disappear in at least 10 or 15 years. But sure as hell I expect them to become more expensive over time, to a point where to have a desktop means paying a premium price over an equivalent laptop. In fact, I'm just making plans to buy a new Desktop. On the other hand, I don't have any plans to purchase any mobile device, at least until I can install Ubuntu on it and expect it to work just as well as my Ubuntu 12.04 install.