4 ms·

I think you're misunderstanding the term decline as used here. See the following link, http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/decliningindustry.asp http://www.inv

I think you're misunderstanding the term decline as used here. See the following link, http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/decliningindustry.asp http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/decliningindustry.asp

ekianjo 12y ago
There's plenty of life in the PC platform. When you'll want to have high quality VR at home, it won't be on PS4 nor on Gear VR, it will be on a High specs PC with an Oculus or Valve headset. So not sure where you see this as an ongoing decline, when new uses are on the rise. EDIT: besides, based on your link, it should be classified as Mature Phase and not Declining phase. See sales numbers.
- jessedhillon 12y ago
  First, we're talking about laptops not all PCs. Second, the chart is of profit, not sales volume -- the number you gave. If you have not grown your sales by a rate that is at least in line with economic growth, you're in decline. The term describes a simple economic fact, and is correctly used. You're upset because you see some kind of conspiracy to defame the PC or whatever, but the industry has not grown in sales while the economy has.
  - ekianjo 12y ago
    Even if you consider profits, they are mostly stable. See below. http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/1/9/1389285654877/b70bd524-2654-4e2f-8051-fcbb9638569c-460x226.png http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/20...
    - jessedhillon 12y ago
      Jesus you are desperate to prove something here aren't you? This is a chart of per PC profit. Let's break that phrase down: "per" -- this says nothing about industry-wide profit, which you would need to address in a discussion about whether or not the industry is in decline. If I said that profit-per-telephone for rotary phones was the highest ever this year, would you be convinced that the industry is doing better than ever? "PC" -- not just laptops. This graph goes all the way back to 2006, when laptops were hardly as ubiquitous as they are today. I don't understand what you're trying to do here. The industry is clearly in decline by every accepted measure. Even if we go by your chart, any industry whose major players are doing worse than (or at best, about even) with their numbers from 8 years ago would be said to be declining. Not stable, which is another term with a specific meaning, and also not what you think it is.
      - ekianjo 12y ago
        > The industry is clearly in decline by every accepted measure Feel free to find data showing "clear decline". I'm saying I'm not convinced. It's about as much in decline as anything else that's needed in every life : cars, fridges, stoves... PCs are now commodities, what's the big news ? This means low profit margins, and this means low renewal cycles too except for niche uses. Yet we aren't going to see the sales drop by 50% anytime soon.
        jessedhillon 12y ago
        Oh if you don't believe it, I don't care. It's only my concern that you not make a dumb case against the word "decline" based on a common sense parsing. Yet we aren't going to see the sales drop by 50% anytime soon. For example, the idea that a one-time 50% drop is the definition of a decline. In fact, just last year shipments were down 12% year over year: http://m.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324695104578414973888155516?mobile=y http://m.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324695104578414973... That's just one article. You can try googling "laptop sales year over year" and seeing what comes back. Nobody who knows anything denies that the industry is in decline. But then again, HN's cadre of Ron Paul voters are known to deny basic economic realities based purely on wishful thinking, so you're hardly alone.

ekianjo 12y ago

There's plenty of life in the PC platform. When you'll want to have high quality VR at home, it won't be on PS4 nor on Gear VR, it will be on a High specs PC with an Oculus or Valve headset. So not sure where you see this as an ongoing decline, when new uses are on the rise. EDIT: besides, based on your link, it should be classified as Mature Phase and not Declining phase. See sales numbers.

jessedhillon 12y ago
First, we're talking about laptops not all PCs. Second, the chart is of profit, not sales volume -- the number you gave. If you have not grown your sales by a rate that is at least in line with economic growth, you're in decline. The term describes a simple economic fact, and is correctly used. You're upset because you see some kind of conspiracy to defame the PC or whatever, but the industry has not grown in sales while the economy has.
- ekianjo 12y ago
  Even if you consider profits, they are mostly stable. See below. http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/1/9/1389285654877/b70bd524-2654-4e2f-8051-fcbb9638569c-460x226.png http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/20...
  - jessedhillon 12y ago
    Jesus you are desperate to prove something here aren't you? This is a chart of per PC profit. Let's break that phrase down: "per" -- this says nothing about industry-wide profit, which you would need to address in a discussion about whether or not the industry is in decline. If I said that profit-per-telephone for rotary phones was the highest ever this year, would you be convinced that the industry is doing better than ever? "PC" -- not just laptops. This graph goes all the way back to 2006, when laptops were hardly as ubiquitous as they are today. I don't understand what you're trying to do here. The industry is clearly in decline by every accepted measure. Even if we go by your chart, any industry whose major players are doing worse than (or at best, about even) with their numbers from 8 years ago would be said to be declining. Not stable, which is another term with a specific meaning, and also not what you think it is.
    - ekianjo 12y ago
      > The industry is clearly in decline by every accepted measure Feel free to find data showing "clear decline". I'm saying I'm not convinced. It's about as much in decline as anything else that's needed in every life : cars, fridges, stoves... PCs are now commodities, what's the big news ? This means low profit margins, and this means low renewal cycles too except for niche uses. Yet we aren't going to see the sales drop by 50% anytime soon.
      - jessedhillon 12y ago
        Oh if you don't believe it, I don't care. It's only my concern that you not make a dumb case against the word "decline" based on a common sense parsing. Yet we aren't going to see the sales drop by 50% anytime soon. For example, the idea that a one-time 50% drop is the definition of a decline. In fact, just last year shipments were down 12% year over year: http://m.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324695104578414973888155516?mobile=y http://m.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324695104578414973... That's just one article. You can try googling "laptop sales year over year" and seeing what comes back. Nobody who knows anything denies that the industry is in decline. But then again, HN's cadre of Ron Paul voters are known to deny basic economic realities based purely on wishful thinking, so you're hardly alone.