The PC is dead, long live the PC!

[Remus]

Just read this hilariously bad article that yet again predicts "the death of the PC" *que dramatic music*

http://www.livescience.com/14492-apple-pc-dead.html

The rapid rise of cloud computing, coupled with a slew of increasingly powerful mobile computing devices,
is killing the PC faster than analysts had predicted.

In fact, some now say, the desktop PC is essentially dead an immobile zombie that's already irrelevant to
many consumers and soon will be to businesses, too.

Yesterday's announcement of Apple's iCloud, which will store content online and synch all of a user's Apple devices wirelessly,
is the latest in a series of nails being hammered into the PC coffin.

People that write articles like this are forgetting a simple fact. All these mobile devices are content consumers, not content producers.
If you want to create content (programs, games, movies, etc.) you still need and will continue to need a PC for the foreseeable future.

 

[Stylo]

Written by the Harold Camping of computing, no doubt.

 

[Kadayi]

30 million Steam users disagree with the article writer.

 

[arch5]

More like "the PC does everything people need it to do so nobody is buying new ones."

 

[Krynn72]

Its actually not that inaccurate. While PC gaming isn't going anywhere, and therefore PCs aren't going to die, he is right that we're going to see significantly less PCs as we know them today. Tablets and smart devices are going to satisfy the vast majority of consumers, leaving only certain businesses and enthusiasts (gamers and such) with conventional desktop PCs. For your average shmuck, who uses computers to socialize and write emails and papers, portables like tablets are going to rule that market. A statement like "stationary PCs are already irrelevant to many consumers" isn't far-fetched, at all.

 

[Robbo]

Its actually not that inaccurate. While PC gaming isn't going anywhere, and therefore PCs aren't going to die, he is right that we're going to see significantly less PCs as we know them today. Tablets and smart devices are going to satisfy the vast majority of consumers, leaving only certain businesses and enthusiasts (gamers and such) with conventional desktop PCs. For your average shmuck, who uses computers to socialize and write emails and papers, portables like tablets are going to rule that market. A statement like "stationary PCs are already irrelevant to many consumers" isn't far-fetched, at all.

This, saying that the PC is dead is silly because it will always be the better option where power is more important than mobility. Though in the future I can see a point where the internet might become fast enough to allow you to do all that off a central computer but thats not anytime soon.

 

[Maestro]

This, saying that the PC is dead is silly because it will always be the better option where power is more important than mobility. Though in the future I can see a point where the internet might become fast enough to allow you to do all that off a central computer but thats not anytime soon.

That's already possible, but the critical fact is that mobility comes at a price and always will. Desktops will always be the choice of those in need of power.

 

[ktimekiller]

so the casuals stay away from my good games, good for me

 

[Stigmata]

Is it just me, or do the people who write these articles not realise that the slight slowing of a demographic's expansion isn't the same as that demographic disappearing completely?

 

[CptStern]

god no. they're too busy trying to write an article on their blackberry to take time to think things through

 

[99.vikram]

They're not far off actually. The PC stems from an era where machines were rooted to physical spots. Laptops changed that a little, but not much.

Today I can easily see myself never buying a PC again. I have never said, "I wish I had more power under the hood" in the last 4 years. Most of my apps are web based. I can open 30 tabs while running Eclipse on my machine, and more of the hard computation is moving to the cloud. The most intensive thing I do is on-the-fly compilation, and that's not that expensive these days. Once services like OnLive take off and achieve enough ubiquity to have a working datacenter near my city, I won't look back. People say games are unplayable with a ping of 30, but I played counterstrike that way for years. It may not satisfy gamers like you - or photoshoppers - but I'm betting 90% of people are more like me apropos their usage pattern.

The primary roadblock to PCs being first class citizens in the game wars was that the majority of PCs sold are weaker than consoles. With cloud based gaming, every PC that runs Chrome/FF4 decently is game-ready. Couple this with the fact that PCs will move to an "app economy" like smartphones, which makes these games discoverable to your average PC buyer (it's inevitable, developers love having a structured market for their wares even if we don't.) This means more people write games to run on x86 VMs in the cloud with a dumb client. This makes it trivial to get those games running natively on your rigs which use the same architecture.

In summary: powerful PCs will drop sharply in sales and become a niche product. On the other hand PC gaming won't die, it will probably thrive.

 

[The Monkey]

The PC is dead, long live the PC!

How does that work? In the original saying regarding kings ("the king is dead, long live the king"), the second part refers to the new king who succeeds the dead one. The two parts don't refer to the same person or entity, as your corruption of the saying seems to imply.

 

[Remus]

How does that work? In the original saying regarding kings ("the king is dead, long live the king"), the second part refers to the new king who succeeds the dead one. The two parts don't refer to the same person or entity, as your corruption of the saying seems to imply.

So I dind't understand the phrase. Sue me *arms*

 

[Mogi67]

I'll probably never buy another desktop again, or another uberly powerful laptop. My gaming needs are easily met with my PS3. As much as I support PC games and prefer them over console titles, it's just so much more economically viable for me to do it this way than to upgrade my PC every couple years. Very few games are PC exclusive anymore and that's not going to change anytime soon, so it's just really the best option for me at this point.

 

[Maestro]

Even if PCs do die off, the parts won't so I'll still be building my own systems.

 

[CptStern]

I'll probably never buy another desktop again, or another uberly powerful laptop. My gaming needs are easily met with my PS3. As much as I support PC games and prefer them over console titles, it's just so much more economically viable for me to do it this way than to upgrade my PC every couple years. Very few games are PC exclusive anymore and that's not going to change anytime soon, so it's just really the best option for me at this point.

ya there's a lot of things you can do on a pc that you cant on ps3. not everyone just uses their pcs as a gaming machine

 

[Stylo]

So I dind't understand the phrase. Sue me *arms*

*Files lawsuit*

All the computers I have are laptops (3 of them, 2 that work, one that only works with a fan pointed at it's grill because it's a f*cking lame-assed VAIO and it's internal fan is shitty).

I need my laptops for the kind of work I do, digital animation and audio editing and the like. I couldn't do that on a little phone screen it would piss me the hell off. Even on something like an iPad it'd just be too small for me and besides, to run Adobe After Effects efficiently, I need the power that most smaller-scale mobile devices don't provide.

Plus, I do game on my laptops occasionally (although, tbh, I'm not a massive fan of PC format games, I usually only play strategy games like C&C or SIM games).

I doubt that a market for the PC is gonna just die off like that.

 

[kupocake]

People that write articles like this are forgetting a simple fact.

I write articles of this calibre all the time (just on subjects other than technology. I'm a resident expert on Wine for instance). That guy is fully aware he doesn't know what the shit he's talking about. He's generating content to improve the link profile of the website, to drive ad-revenue. Even better if he creates something that trolls the internet, gets a few retweets and appears on niche websites where people all grumble. Being wrong is basically the only way to generate traffic on a website that has no credibility in the first place. Where did you even find this?

Cloud computing for gaming has a lot of potential, but I can't fathom what the **** Apple are are trying to do with iCloud. 'Storage on personal computers just keeps getting bigger, cheaper and more efficient, so why not SURRENDER ALL YOUR DATA TO US NOW SO YOU NEVER HAVE TO USE A HORRIBLE PERSONAL COMPUTER AGAIN'. Err, no thanks.

 

[Acepilotf14]

While I use my laptop for school things and text-based RPGs and stuff, I'll always use my PC for serious 'gaming' and stuff. Once I get a steady income I'm planning on building a kick-ass PC without worrying about price or how ripped off I'm getting.

 

[Mogi67]

ya there's a lot of things you can do on a pc that you cant on ps3. not everyone just uses their pcs as a gaming machine

Tell me more

 

[Ennui]

god no. they're too busy trying to write an article on their blackberry to take time to think things through

This was my response too. Seriously? Who the **** would want to write anything that is long and needs to be extensively edited on a mobile touch screen keypad? Typing on my iphone drives me up the wall, and the ipad is only a little better... give me a real ****ing keyboard and mouse any day of the week.

Desktops will always exist because the fact that they aren't mobile will always mean they are more powerful and awesome than any mobile product... there will always be people who want their projectors and 30" triple monitor setups and SLI graphics. The way I see it the desktop PC is just going to eat every other entertainment device in your house (or at least network with them). 10 years from now I expect pretty much everyone to have a HTPC or equivalent where it controls all your music, digital content, etc and interacts with every tv/sound system in every room in your house. Its perfectly possible to do this now.

 

[99.vikram]

Desktops will always exist because the fact that they aren't mobile will always mean they are more powerful and awesome than any mobile product... there will always be people who want their projectors and 30" triple monitor setups and SLI graphics.

True. PC gamers and content creators will continue to have workstations.

The way I see it the desktop PC is just going to eat every other entertainment device in your house (or at least network with them). 10 years from now I expect pretty much everyone to have a HTPC or equivalent where it controls all your music, digital content, etc and interacts with every tv/sound system in every room in your house. Its perfectly possible to do this now.

Here's where I believe you're wrong. This technology has existed for years, but never took off. Microsoft has squandered a lot of resources trying to push Windows Media Center and other HTPC products for years, and nobody bought into that vision. While you're right that PCs will remain, their userbase will reduce massively as more people use tablets as their personal computers. The power needed to get everyday things done has long since leveled off. Regarding physical keyboards etc., I believe that tablet + dock (with keyboard) will be the ubiquitous model of the future.

 

[CptStern]

the cloud comes to the rescue:


Ray Trace Wolfenstein on a tablet

http://blogs.intel.com/research/2011/06/wolfenstein_gets_ray_traced_-_1.php

watch video

their userbase will reduce massively as more people use tablets as their personal computers. The power needed to get everyday things done has long since leveled off. Regarding physical keyboards etc., I believe that tablet + dock (with keyboard) will be the ubiquitous model of the future.

so in other words a laptop? you miss the point of a tablet: it's a media consumption tool not an everything replacement tool. hell simply getting a link from a website is a pain in the ass on a tablet I dont see how it's going to replace a workstation. desktops didnt go the way of the dinosaur when laptops were introduced so I dont see why something with even less functionality will replace desktops; they're just not comfortable to be working on all day. 15 mins while on the can yes but 8 hours and I'd be ready to kill someone