The Future of the Desktop PC

[c_hegge]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

i have successfully written HTML on a phone

I don't even try to type more than a sentence or two on a phone.

[ddscentral]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

I do sometimes write code on my Asus TF300T. But I use Ubuntu and a keyboard dock for that.
(I only use the stock Android for games and some light browsing).
Current mobile OSes are mostly suitable for multimedia consumption, not for productive stuff.

[kaboom]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

i have successfully written HTML on a phone.

Oh ya? How much "code"?

Even [rant]Windows H8 has silly tiles[/rant] is too much for a "phoney" phone!

"Stupid Tiles! You make me look bad!" ooga-booga-boo!

Either think for yourself or be an "android."

[dood]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

I think it's a dying breed for a lot of people. Of course, in a forum of PC power users, the biggest opinion will be that they will never die...

I think a typical user can get by with a laptop. Especially the generation that's growing up now where a laptop is a requirement for college, if not also high school. I remember my sister lugging her gigantic computer (I forget if it was Dell or Gateway, but it was solid steel with a Pentium 133) to college, and just being excited that she had a computer in her own room!

Now, everyone is expected to have something in the lecture with them, so (almost) everyone has one. If you spend 4+ years of your life using a laptop exclusively, chances are you're going to continue to use a laptop.

In business, desktops will continue to live on, although VDI and thin clients are becoming more common once again. Funny how it went from dumb terminals on a mainframe, to desktop PCs, and now back to terminals again. Anyway, many of my users need laptops, but there's also a good set that don't, so we deploy desktops. Even those that use laptops almost universally require a docking station, monitor stand, and separate monitor to work efficiently from their main office.

For me, personally, my desktop (which I'm typing on now) is primarily used for bulk storage (5tb total disk space), and occasional gaming. If all I'm doing is surfing the web while watching TV, I'm in my comfy chair with the laptop. My ASUS TF300T tablet is used almost exclusively for stupid free games, browsing reddit, and the occasional web browsing session if I'm too lazy to haul my laptop out.

[kaboom]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

...If all I'm doing is surfing the web while watching TV, I'm in my comfy chair with the laptop. My ASUS TF300T tablet is used almost exclusively for stupid free games, browsing reddit, and the occasional web browsing session if I'm too lazy to haul my laptop out.

And the thing is, non-m$/non-apple devices are more than adequate at this time. I don't like them, but it doesn't change the fact that they're now more powerful- we can't ignore that fact.

After 10-15 years of combined m$ and wor$tbuy ripoffs, people have come to seek alternatives in these "smart" devices.

Given a choice between a "consumer" dell, hp, evilmachines, and all that comes along for the ride, and a supposedly simple phone, what are they going to pick? Especially after they may have lost all their music or worse, pictures, and have been turned away from "PCs"?

But for me, the PC's not going anywhere. For storage, CPU/GPU power and utility, there's no better choice.

[Topcat]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

I am surprised at this thread...but maybe d00d is right....this was probably the wrong place to post this thread....as we're a bunch of die hard compugeeks. Post this same thing on some phone tweaking forum, I bet the results are a complete 180 of this thread.

[eccerr0r]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

Can't argue with the fact people want smaller and smaller computers, who wants a box if they don't need one.

I just prefer the box because I can repair/work on it. I hate disposable computers

[TELVM]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

... Post this same thing on some phone tweaking forum, I bet the results are a complete 180 of this thread.

And if you ask in a mennonite forum the consensus will be that all computers are doomed .

That's why opinions are no substitute for facts.



http://netmarketshare.com/report.aspx?qprid=61

^ Copy and paste on the face of the 19 year old luminary .

[Compgeke]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

I think the future of the desktop lies within the field of use.

An example is something like Photoshop or CAD work. Both of them I've played with however there is no way I could ever do either without a full keyboard and mouse. Two monitors helps with both as well.

A laptop can be used for Photoshop or CAD or whatnot, however most consumer laptops can't keep up with some of the Photoshop blur filters on large documents and higher detail renderings (textured) of 3D stuff is just a nice and slow process, especially without any GPU rendering.

Web browsing on the other hand can be done fine on a mobile device just fine, even a laptop. My only complaint is how hard your fingers bottom out on a tablet or whatnot, simply by the fact that there is no travel in virtual keys on a LCD. They really should make tablets with flip down Model M keyboards.

[Lorijan]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

I hope the desktop PC is here as long as I am, i can not imagine my world with only laptops and tablets.

[EdT]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

Find me a tablet or laptop that has as much computing power and verstility as a $30 desktop PC ...case close !

[dj_ricoh]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

i think the desktop will be like imac or it will have a small box near the screen.
it will not go away; maybe the size will not be the same.
i like the idea but i don`t know if i can count on that small box.

it depends how reliable are they.
i don`t wanna buy one and do a reflow or a reball after 1 or 2 years.
do you wanna live in world where you can`t RECAP your motherboard ?

[mariushm]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

If the trend continues and all processors will move the dc-dc converter into the cpu itself (like intel does, cpu has a high frequency dc-dc converter inside generating the voltages it needs from around 1.4-2v produced outside by a simpler 12v to 1.5-2v), soon you won't have much capacitors to change.

Just yesterday I was looking at a buck regulator that runs at 500 kHz (granted, it was only capable of 3.7-4.5 amps) ... but basically can't even use polymer capacitors with that, must use ceramic or tantalum with it.

[PeteS in CA]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

What I use: a 4 year-old laptop that is basically stationary; a Galaxy Tab 10.1; an iPhone 4S. IOW, all three types of devices are useful to me. The ways and degrees in/to which I use them illustrate some key usability factors that I don't think will change much. In no particular order:

* Portable devices have shorter lifetimes; smaller tends to be less durable; devices carried from place to place experience greater stresses than stationary devices (e.g. my laptop is not likely to fall into a toilet or nearby creek);

* Small screens suck for many usages; want to type a largish document? want to see a map with fine details and the bigger picture? a smart phone won't suffice, and a 7" tablet will be quite marginal;

* Keyboards; touchscreens; if you aren't a 98-pound-soaking-wet person, smartphone keyboards are unpleasant, and smartphone touchscreen keyboards add touchscreen quirks and parallax error to the problem of small geometry;

* Permanence; hard drives crash, sometimes, and humans can be stupid about failing to back up their data (including present company), so PCs are not perfect; smartphones and tablets make those problems even worse, people being less likely to back up pix and documents (don't bring up Evernote ... I recently lost 8-9 months of Evernote files, not due to anything stupid I did), accidents, loss, and theft to/of devices; PCs', tablets', and smartphones' files can all be backed up to an external hard drive, but it's less clunky with a PC;

* Pointer usability; would anyone seriously claim touching a touchcreen, even on a 10.1" tablet, is as precise and as error-resistant as a mouse cursor?!

Individually and synergistically, I think these guarantee there will be some sort of desktop device/functionality for a long time to come. The CPU, memory, storage, and display circuitry may get stuffed into the display case, keyboard case, and/or storage case (like current all-in-ones) or the smartphone/tablet might be most of that and pluggable to the large screen display, keyboard and mass storage, but I think there will be some sort of desktop function-device for at least the medium-term future.

[eccerr0r]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

I just want to reiterate, the only reason for a desktop PC these days is that you can service it. Really, reballing surface mount on a tablet is a PITA, plus upgrading such is virtually impossible. You can always hook up a full sized keyboard and mouse to a 17" tablet (if they make one, which isn't impossible) and use the tablet as a monitor only, this usage model emulates that of a desktop but without the serviceability / upgradeability aspect. Connect that 17" tablet to a detachable physical keyboard and you get a laptop. Once again even that can't be serviceable as a real laptop.

Nobody wants "the box" or "the bulk" unless they want the serviceability. But it seems people would rather throw away the tablet(machine) and get a new one because it's cheaper to repair/upgrade... Sigh.

[Rulycat]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

Saying the desktop PC will die and be replaced with phones and tablets is like saying that a Toyota Hilux is going to be replaced now we have the SMART car. There's nothing wrong with either of them, but they just do different, if similar, jobs. The desktop will still exist. When all chips are extremely powerful, perhaps your phone WILL be your desktop, and it'll have so much RAM CPU grunt and bandwidth it won't matter that all your displays and surround are hooked up over a USB 5.0 hub. What concerns me is longevity. I don't mind not being able to change much in the phone (now desktop) as long as it lasts. If it's been made to last in the first place it won't need replacing.

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

a friend of a friend likes his surface too much. Moron!

Let me guess, it's an ARM version with Windows RT...

The only "RT" I like is Linux RT!

[goontron]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

Let me guess, it's an ARM version with Windows RT...

The only "RT" I like is Linux RT!

a real time linux kernel? sounds good to me!

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

a real time linux kernel? sounds good to me!

Yes! Right on!


The ARM version of Windows is restrictive to the point that it makes Google look like a perfect saint!

When that isn't true either, but at least, Google don't deserve the chair and the like.

[goontron]

Re: The Future of the Desktop PC

Yes! Right on!


The ARM version of Windows is restrictive to the point that it makes Google look like a perfect saint!

When that isn't true either, but at least, Google don't deserve the chair and the like.

these tablets are to slow to have a RT kernel BTW hence why the desktop will never disappear.