bbc Does the PC Have a Future?

[ARchamps]

I think it is here to stay. At the end of the day, new tablets and smartphones have to be replaced every 2-3 years just like a computer and has a fraction of the capability.

I think mobile smartphones and tablets can work alongside PCs, but never replace.

[Melfster]

My guess is the PC is still here to stay but will change drastically in next few years. I pretty sure that Windows will take huge chunck of market share away from apple and its ipad. I think laptop will use both touch and keyboard more and more.

[Vice]

The PC isn't going away. There is a big thing that Tablets and Smart Phones suck at and that is content creation.

Be it image creation, music composition, video editing, modelling, CGI, Programming, CAD. These devices lack the sophisticated and granular interfaces required for these complex tasks. For consumers you can do some of these things on a tablet with good results but for real content creation anyone that takes their hobby seriously or does it for a living they will not give up a physical keyboard, an on-screen cursor and large screen display for a Touch Screen keyboard-less tablet.

Every application, game, song, tv show and movie consumed on these devices was created on a personal computer and that is the way it will stay. There is something still to be said for the Cursor, the finger touching may feel more natural and fluid but your finger is a lot bigger than a Cursor and it blocks the interface as you poke and prod at things. This is why every touch screen equipped interface is 'dumbed down' with lots of advanced features stripped out and replaced with more 'one size fits all' options. Just look at the power that the Windows Default Shell provides.. then compare it to Metro the interface Microsoft has put on for finger touching. Almost every function has been stripped back to just giant boxes that can take up to 30x more room than an application launch icon (depending on your display size).

Having said all this I do think that as time goes on consumers will more and more be buying tablets instead of an entire desktop computer, already we have seen a great shift to notebooks in the past 7 years. But I still feel that content creation will keep the PC affordable and squarely in peoples sights. It's not going away that's for damn sure.

EDIT:// Changed 'Mouse' to 'Cursor'

[threetonesun]

The PC isn't going away. There is a big thing that Tablets and Smart Phones suck at and that is content creation.

Be it image creation, music composition, video editing, modelling, CGI, Programming, CAD. These devices lack the sophisticated and granular interfaces required for these complex tasks. For consumers you can do some of these things on a tablet with good results but for real content creation anyone that takes their hobby seriously or does it for a living they will not give up a physical keyboard, mouse and large screen display for a Touch Screen keyboard-less tablet.

Every application, game, song, tv show and movie consumed on these devices was created on a personal computer and that is the way it will stay. There is something still to be said for the Mouse, the finger touching may feel more natural and fluid but your finger is a lot bigger than a mouse and it blocks the interface as you poke and prod at things. This is why every touch screen equipped interface is 'dumbed down' with lots of advanced features stripped out and replaced with more 'one size fits all' options. Just look at the power that the Windows Default Shell provides.. then compare it to Metro the interface Microsoft has put on for finger touching. Almost every function has been stripped back to just giant boxes that can take up to 30x more room than an application launch icon (depending on your display size).

Having said all this I do think that as time goes on consumers will more and more be buying tablets instead of an entire desktop computer, already we have seen a great shift to notebooks in the past 7 years. But I still feel that content creation will keep the PC affordable and squarely in peoples sights. It's not going away that's for damn sure.

I would argue the mouse issue, as laptops and other trackpad input devices essentially translate finger motion into mouse motion with acceptable accuracy. The bigger issue of touch is that you can't see around your own finger.

I think eventually we'll all have tablets and docks for them that turn them into full-input devices running full OSes. Any of the really heavy lifting done at corporations will be handled by racks somewhere else. The industry has wanted that kind of a system for a long time now (the Windows run remotely rumors have been going on as long as Windows has), and I think with things like tablets and Windows 8, we're starting to see how it will actually work.

[Arceles]

I want to put a AMD Radeon 6750m in a tablet... woops, I cant. too much "consumption".

[KingCrimson]

I can see why Dell is worried. But why Intel & Microsoft? The new Atom processor combinbed with Windows 8 on a tablet will be the ultimat experience!

[Vice]

I would argue the mouse issue, as laptops and other trackpad input devices essentially translate finger motion into mouse motion with acceptable accuracy. The bigger issue of touch is that you can't see around your own finger.

I think eventually we'll all have tablets and docks for them that turn them into full-input devices running full OSes. Any of the really heavy lifting done at corporations will be handled by racks somewhere else. The industry has wanted that kind of a system for a long time now (the Windows run remotely rumors have been going on as long as Windows has), and I think with things like tablets and Windows 8, we're starting to see how it will actually work.

When I said mouse maybe I should have actually said Cursor as that is what I meant. I wasn't talking about the physical device but the representation of it on the screen that facilitates very accurate and granular control.

[Dwarden]

PC will become smaller, mobile ... that's all ...

soon instead of need to have desktop size box i will have nice small tablet, with some 4-16 core CPU, 4-32GB memory, 100-1000GB SSD

due it having all the modern wifi, USB3, HDMI, (mini)displayport etc. for I/O (and maybe even wireless display (40GHz))

why i would need normal PC when i have this mobile one, i can use everywhere and when i return home i link it with my keyboard/mouse/monitor(projector) and play some games or watch movie :)

PC is not dead, as it evolve

[ichi]

PC will become smaller, mobile ... that's all ...

soon instead of need to have desktop size box i will have nice small tablet, with some 4-16 core CPU, 4-32GB memory, 100-1000GB SSD

due it having all the modern wifi, USB3, HDMI, (mini)displayport etc. for I/O (and maybe even wireless display (40GHz))

why i would need normal PC when i have this mobile one, i can use everywhere and when i return home i link it with my keyboard/mouse/monitor(projector) and play some games or watch movie :)

PC is not dead, as it evolve

Exactly. What will be dead at some point is the classic serviceable PC box... well, not dead, but niche.

[Dan~]

Yes, all will do.

[Crisp]

Isn't this just like saying, servers are doomed because the cloud is taking over...

lulz.

[Wakers]

Somehow this article completely ignores (or didn't bother to research) what most people do with desktop computers.

Step 1) Buy a decent computer

Step 2) A year or so later, upgrade graphics card, possibly memory

Step 3) Another year or so later, upgrade Processor

Step 4) Again, up to a year later, upgrade graphics card. At this time, possibly change motherboard and upgrade processor again, if not this comes later. Also PSU is upgraded around here.

Step 5) New case?

I haven't bought a new computer for 6 years - but the only original components that are still in mine are an old 160GB HDD that is now a secondary and an optical drive. It's not just computer enthusiasts that do that either, it's people with half a brain that realise they don't need to splash out ?800 every other year, they can achieve the same by spending ?100 - ?300.

[+DKAngel Subscriber²]

without my pc we have no mass storage no streaming service no hd recording for media center nothing powerful enough to edit things with etc etc yeah i may not update it every 3months espicially since the hardware i have is still fairly decent as it is doesnt mean im going to get rid of it, hell i couldnt live without it and with the cost of tablets at 700$ i could build a decent pc for that

[Muhammad Farrukh]

Somehow this article completely ignores (or didn't bother to research) what most people do with desktop computers.

Step 1) Buy a decent computer

Step 2) A year or so later, upgrade graphics card, possibly memory

Step 3) Another year or so later, upgrade Processor

Step 4) Again, up to a year later, upgrade graphics card. At this time, possibly change motherboard and upgrade processor again, if not this comes later. Also PSU is upgraded around here.

Step 5) New case?

I haven't bought a new computer for 6 years - but the only original components that are still in mine are an old 160GB HDD that is now a secondary and an optical drive. It's not just computer enthusiasts that do that either, it's people with half a brain that realise they don't need to splash out ?800 every other year, they can achieve the same by spending ?100 - ?300.

Thumbs up dude (Y)

[ichi]

Somehow this article completely ignores (or didn't bother to research) what most people do with desktop computers.

Step 1) Buy a decent computer

Step 2) A year or so later, upgrade graphics card, possibly memory

Step 3) Another year or so later, upgrade Processor

Step 4) Again, up to a year later, upgrade graphics card. At this time, possibly change motherboard and upgrade processor again, if not this comes later. Also PSU is upgraded around here.

Step 5) New case?

I haven't bought a new computer for 6 years - but the only original components that are still in mine are an old 160GB HDD that is now a secondary and an optical drive. It's not just computer enthusiasts that do that either, it's people with half a brain that realise they don't need to splash out ?800 every other year, they can achieve the same by spending ?100 - ?300.

Average users are already replacing PCs with not so upgradable (if at all) laptops.

[alphaomegainfinity]

The reason may be even high end laptops have nowadays become very affordable and light on the wallet.

[fix-this!]

Please Im sick of stupid editorials like this, the PC is going nowhere. Tablets are just another fad in the long line of passed fads. Pocket PCs/PDAs, UMPCs, Netbooks, eventually the market will get oversaturated just like when Netbooks started getting bigger and bigger and started the blur the line between Netbook and Notebook.

^....100%.

the desktops are going no where. the tablets are just a phase that will die off. if anything smartphones will get larger and replace that need.

[remixedcat]

I'd like to see you do graphic design or game development on a smartphone or ipad.... good luck...

the pc is here to stay.

[Hardcore Til I Die]

The pc isn't going anywhere. It might be more expensive and less portable, but it's still best suited to many jobs. All of these mobile devices are good, but I'm still a lot more productive on a desktop.

[pack34]

Computers are tools. Depending on what job needs to be done will determine if you need a desktop, laptop, or a tablet. People who need high performance and cutting edge technology will naturally gravitate towards a desktop. These would be developers, designers, artists, etc. Laptops will be the middle ground for people who need to use office tools or are hobbyists/pro-sumers. Tablets work well as a supplementary device for desktop and laptop users and are all that is needed if your needs are only web browsing, some light games, and email.

It's all about what tool is best suited for the job. You can't tell me with a straight face that a tablet is fine for someone who needs to use autoCAD all day. Inversely, you don't need huge monitors and a 16-core processor if you just read email and browse the web.

[Manish]

Personally I'd love to see a device that would act as a (simple) tablet when on-the-go, but then it could also provide a more mature/powerful OS for a larger monitor in combination with some sort of docking station (which could have the various device ports). Almost like a laptop meets tablet meets desktop, and kind of in the direction that the Motorola Atrix was heading in with its laptop dock.

Such a device would require desktop PC-level hardware in a far smaller (tablet-sized) form factor, as well as an OS that could "scale" well from tablet form to desktop form (almost like Windows 8). I suppose the docking station could also handle some of the processing power, like the Power Media Dock that Sony has for its Vaio Z series.

[Growled Member]

PC is not dead, as it evolve

I agree. I can see it becoming more mobile too, as you mentioned in the part I didn't quote.

[dafin0]

Personally I'd love to see a device that would act as a (simple) tablet when on-the-go, but then it could also provide a more mature/powerful OS for a larger monitor in combination with some sort of docking station (which could have the various device ports). Almost like a laptop meets tablet meets desktop, and kind of in the direction that the Motorola Atrix was heading in with its laptop dock.

Such a device would require desktop PC-level hardware in a far smaller (tablet-sized) form factor, as well as an OS that could "scale" well from tablet form to desktop form (almost like Windows 8). I suppose the docking station could also handle some of the processing power, like the Power Media Dock that Sony has for its Vaio Z series.

something kinda like this?

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-XE700T1A-A03US-11-6-Inch-Slate-128/dp/tech-data/B005OUQ9WO/ref=de_a_smtd

the docking station has ethernet, HDMI port and USB so you can set it up on a large monitor if needed