How to Save the PC Industry

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Steam on Linux has a better chance of saving the PC than Win8. 😀

Seriously though, I know home users who have stopped using a PC because their smartphone (and game console) does everything they need. Steam Box may be the PC of the future.

PCs will not disappear, but the number of models, component selection, and rate of improvements will diminish as the market contracts.
 
1. get intel to lower cpu prices.
2. get microsoft to lower os prices. instead, microsoft develops software/app/media/games based revenue system.
3. end the display standards war and help higher resolution (and higher refresh rate) displays' market penetration faster.
4. bring a linux-based os up to ms' level like valve is doing with steamOS.
5. optimize all modern softwares for latest cpu and gpu architectures. this may be hard on coders but it's necessary.
6. above all: get intel, ms to end their monopolistic hold on (x86) pc market.
 
Steam on Linux has a better chance of saving the PC than Win8. 😀

Seriously though, I know home users who have stopped using a PC because their smartphone (and game console) does everything they need. Steam Box may be the PC of the future.

PCs will not disappear, but the number of models, component selection, and rate of improvements will diminish as the market contracts.
 
1. get intel to lower cpu prices.
2. get microsoft to lower os prices. instead, microsoft develops software/app/media/games based revenue system.
3. end the display standards war and help higher resolution (and higher refresh rate) displays' market penetration faster.
4. bring a linux-based os up to ms' level like valve is doing with steamOS.
5. optimize all modern softwares for latest cpu and gpu architectures. this may be hard on coders but it's necessary.
6. above all: get intel, ms to end their monopolistic hold on (x86) pc market.
 
OT: Did the Bestofmedia web team also work on the Obamacare web site? The random posting failures and haphazard forum integration is really annoying.
 
this is a good article. I think 2 parts that keep PC prices high are Motherboards and Hard Disk Drives. When the manufacturers make cheaper models of these, PC prices can drop further to give a compelling argument to buy them instead of tablets for entry level users.
 
Here is a concern I have.

As things shift towards a more tablet/phone centric world and PC sales are affected, thus forcing OEM's to cut production of pre-made systems (desktops in particular). This in turn could make these types of systems into a niche or retro market and further dive up the prices.

As things shift towards more mobile devices and MS keeps bungling, the OEM's will cut production, thus forcing Motherboard/GPU/Peripheral device makers to either stop producing such items altogether or jack up the prices to unreasonable levels.

The only bright spot in all of this is the development and maturation of SSD's, you have some big players manufacturing these (*cough Intel cough*) and they will want to see a return on that investment, so they will perhaps ride that horse until its dead.

The ideas presented in this article and some of the comments make sense, but #'s and $$$'s are what drives manufacturing and if the companies producing these items are not making enough cash, they will do the opposite of what this article suggests in my opinion.
 
For starters, stop calling it PC vs iPads...

It is Immobile Devices (Workstations of all denominations, so long as they never physically move) Vs. Semi-Mobile Devices (Laptops, netbooks, notebooks, ultrabooks, large tablets) Vs. Fully mobile devices (Phones, mid-to-small tablets, phablets).
 
I really don't see anything worthwhile in this article. You're listing things that already are in effect as solutions to a problem which actually doesn't exist. You are also basically demanding to see a $1000 worth laptop sold at $450. Which is just ludicrous.

Look at the economy in the world, especially markets where PC sales are normally big. We've more or less been in a 5+ year long recession, huge parts of Europe have such huge problems with unemplyment that the created revenue is in a downwards spiral because expenses are far greater than income. When you get beyond 20-25% unemployment society really stops functioning as intended. Still, with perhaps 20% less potential buyers in one of the biggest markets sales are still only declining by 10-15%, and that rate is actually turning around pretty strongly if you look at the numbers on a longer term.

It doesn't matter what you offer in a $1,000 PC if the buyers doesn't have the cash to buy it. Then they will go for the $300 tablet as a "temporary" solution and workaround to their computer needs.

The "Apple knows" argument really is old. Apple has a tiny proportion of the global market. They know how to sell computers to 5-10% of the consumers. That will definitely not "save the PC".
 
The PC/laptop industry doesn't need saving. The logic behind most of this article is flawed and self-serving.

Citing bad examples of poor products as if they epitomize the 'PC Industry' is narrow and ridiculous.

Citing laptops not having touch for Windows 8 as if it is a flaw is ludicrous. Windows 8 was designed with touch for tablets, not laptops or PCs. Why do you think most laptop and PC users just want to keep Windows 7 on their PCs? Why do you think most PC users hate Windows 8? The problem here is with Microsoft and OEMs being so stupid as to think one highly specialized OS & interface fits all. Instead of continuing to offer 7 for PCs and offering 8 for tablets, they just shove everything under 8.

And touch and tablets are both still less productive than a godo laptop or PC. It's cute fun and cool. But the STFU factor comes in the form of the TOP accessories ordered with tablets used in the workplace: A dock, keyboard and mouse. People don't order them because they fear change or want something familiar. They order them because they still work better. And by the time you add these, you have spent as much as you would have on a laptop.

And when comparing cost, how about apples-to-apples? How many tablets come with a usably clocked i5 or i7, large storage, plenty of connections and ports, and large screens...and at what cost? Most use cheap hardware, come with lower clocked mobile CPUs, limited connectivity and storage options, and screens that, while high res, are far too small to be accessible to anyone with less than perfect eyesight.

The trend I see in play with mobile devices has more to do with popularity then practicality or superiority. However the positive caveat comes in the form of improved synergy. People silly enough to buy a tablet because it is cute, cool and the 'in thing' to do probably don't need something as powerful as a PC or laptop anyway. Therefore, we shouldn't even be comparing these seperate classes of equipment because they aren't meant to be equal, or even used by the same types of people.
 
Microsoft also has a lot to answer for the decline of the PC market. As a long time fan of Microsoft and software developer using Microsoft tools and can tell you that lately I am really frustrated with what is coming out of Redmond. Lets compare Microsoft to Apple for example. Apple states that when they begin the design phase the first thing they ask is, how do they want the user to feel? I've come to the conclusion that Microsoft does not give a rats behind about the user experience anymore, because when I use their latest software I just feel angry. And most of this comes from really poor (and I mean absolutely terrible) UI design decisions and not the underlying systems. Although they also have their share of tech issues as well, take XAML for WPF is different to XAML for Silverlight, then there is MCML for media center development. Why does MS have three different types of markup language when the version of XAML used for WPF would work for all of these frameworks. Don’t even get me started on web development… I could go on and on, complaint after complaint. But what's the point. Microsoft is apparently happy to fulfill the "End of the PC era” prophecy by making it not only difficult and upsetting to use their software as an end user, but also painful to develop software using their tools.
 
How to save the PC world:
I agree with the first point, no one is giving anyone a reason to upgrade the computer they purchased in 2008. I've been posting this fact for a while now. But there are solutions.
We need to remember that Microsoft (like Apple), is not just a software company... but the leader of an 'ecosystem' that includes hardware. The PC Hardware industry lives off decisions made by Microsoft 2-3 years ago. As Win 8 was starting to be developed, Microsoft said to themselves "Self, let's piss on all our customers and hardware partners... and build an operating system that is specifically tailored for a product that doesn't exist yet." And then they went on to create the "Surface" series of products so they had something to use Win 8 on.
We need an OS that drives hardware innovation. We need an OS that USES the graphics that today's machines are capable of. Graphics cards have hundreds of Billions of transistors now... and Microsoft gives us little flat colored boxes for an OS?
Microsoft has to realize that if Dell and HP and Sony and Gigabyte and Corsair (and the list goes on)... if these hardware companies fail... then Microsoft fails. End of line.
On the other hand, consumers are very willing to pay $$$ for the latest wiz bang idea... if it is truly worth it.
 
The PC/laptop industry doesn't need saving. The logic behind most of this article is flawed and self-serving.

Citing bad examples of poor products as if they epitomize the 'PC Industry' is narrow and ridiculous.

Citing laptops not having touch for Windows 8 as if it is a flaw is ludicrous. Windows 8 was designed with touch for tablets, not laptops or PCs. Why do you think most laptop and PC users just want to keep Windows 7 on their PCs? Why do you think most PC users hate Windows 8? The problem here is with Microsoft and OEMs being so stupid as to think one highly specialized OS & interface fits all. Instead of continuing to offer 7 for PCs and offering 8 for tablets, they just shove everything under 8.

And touch and tablets are both still less productive than a godo laptop or PC. It's cute fun and cool. But the STFU factor comes in the form of the TOP accessories ordered with tablets used in the workplace: A dock, keyboard and mouse. People don't order them because they fear change or want something familiar. They order them because they still work better. And by the time you add these, you have spent as much as you would have on a laptop.

And when comparing cost, how about apples-to-apples? How many tablets come with a usably clocked i5 or i7, large storage, plenty of connections and ports, and large screens...and at what cost? Most use cheap hardware, come with lower clocked mobile CPUs, limited connectivity and storage options, and screens that, while high res, are far too small to be accessible to anyone with less than perfect eyesight.

The trend I see in play with mobile devices has more to do with popularity then practicality or superiority. However the positive caveat comes in the form of improved synergy. People silly enough to buy a tablet because it is cute, cool and the 'in thing' to do probably don't need something as powerful as a PC or laptop anyway. Therefore, we shouldn't even be comparing these seperate classes of equipment because they aren't meant to be equal, or even used by the same types of people.
 
First off this article should be called how to save the 'laptop' industry and honestly i think other then high end gaming rigs price points for PCs are fair and on target most of the extra money that can be saved if building a custom pc goes to warranty and tech support,now i do think individual coponent prices need to drop a little which would intern drop manufactured PC costs and yes quality products does raise an issue in lower end models but with PC care awareness even the low quality parts can last a very long time..as for laptops i do believe they can be priced a little high but i think its cause most people don't know how or know that they can build a custom laptop..as long as you keep your eyes open you can find some insanely great deals on laptops...and as with PCs proper care will make the low and high quality parts last a very long time..as for tablets its something that will be phased out its already begining with keyboard attachments and larger screens and processors it will eventually get phased back in some how..the only part of the PC world that i think needs somekind of rescuing is the gaming side, with the ease of PC coding a lot of people look to make a quick buck and lack any type of QC...AAA game makers take so long to make a game(thats why they are AAA) that the inbetween is filled up with lackluster mediocre games that turn off people to stop playing or go try something different...of course these are just one mans opinion based on observation
 
There's an easy all-rounder answer to this question that's pretty darn obvious to me:

Use all the god damned hardware at your disposal with features.

It's hard, I know, but for instance. Why aren't we just talking to our computers to interact? Why aren't we using gesturing to do stuff as well? Voice and image recognition kills pretty much any hardware in the market today, but if the software is refined to the point it becomes seamless, you would have a *necessity* to upgrade, hence saving the market.

And yes, cue the "Hello Computer" Star Trek joke. That's my basis.

Cheers!
 
The average derps are just tired of being inundated with spyware and viruses on the PC platform. While content creation is a complete pain on tablets/smartphones, they'd rather suffer through that than have their usually more expensive PC acting as a giant paperweight.
 
While I would agree the economy and a general dislike for Windows 8 helped slow the PC Industry in the beginning; what you’re seeing now is a general shift in the way people access the internet (which is why most people bought PC’s to begin with) and a realization you no longer need a traditional PC to do it. You don’t need a computer to check your email, play video games, get on Facebook, update Twitter, buy junk on eBay or Amazon, read a book, or look for news. What is this “Work/Productivity” that you seem to envision people are doing at home? Most people are not Programmers, Content Creators, or running Home Businesses that would require a computer. Most people who use a computer for work, use it “AT” work and it’s supplied by their employer. If you’ve got a decent smart phone, tablet and a gaming console, what exactly does the average person need with a computer anymore?
 
It is really more a matter of ATX form factor v new form factors such as the tablet as they are all personal computers which is a marketing term used when computers started appearing for use in the home. There was always going to be a drop in PC sales and that came to be pass after the release of the Core 2 Duo which made the ATX fast enough for the majority of users. It is possible prices may rise but this is offset by the fact the need to upgrade is three yearly as opposed to yearly. Water finds its own level and so will the ATX.
 
Some of these points don't make a huge amount of sense.

1 is a given. maybe not always followed through, but still a given in most circumstances. The art points out a single Dell laptop, when they offer at least 4 different LINES, with multiple laptops in each, all of which can be customized and configured.

I halfway agree with 2. Designs like the R7 are just outright dumb, much less user focused. The problem I have though is that he lambasts the Yoga for being chunky for a tablet, when it performs excellently under his criteria, it's an astounding laptop that can also function as a tablet if you wish.

I agree with 3, but it is mostly happening across the board, with 1080p becoming the standard pretty quickly.

For 4, I'm curious where's he's getting his numbers. There are a lot of great laptops with solid battery life [6-8 hours minimum], especially when you filter out non-haswell.

5 is his best point and the sorest spot for me as a computer user. the built-in input devices [especially the trackpad] are almost always terrible.

As someone who uses 8.1 on a multi-monitor non touch desktop, I don't understand why everyone harps on it only being suitable for touch. At its worst, it operates exactly like Windows 7, and at its best, it's much more intuitive and just fun.

I've never really understood the hate Win8 gets. It's a great OS and the first question in my head when someone hates on it is if they used it for any significant period of time. You can't get used to an entirely new interface by playing with it for 30 seconds at Best Buy. Once it's given a legitimate shot, most people end up liking it or simply being neutral compared to Win7.
 
My contribution, especially for the laptop market, is:

STOP PRE-FILLING LAPTOPS WITH BLOATWARE THAT KILLS PERFORMANCE, LOOKS STUPID, AND SEVERELY AFFECTS THIRD-PARTY SUPPORT OPTIONS (DUE TO MUCH OF THE INSTALLED SOFTWARE BEING "UNIQUE" TO THAT BRAND/MODEL).
 
I haven't checked any statistics or even any surveys on the matter so this will be my opinion only. The most obvious reason was that the multi core processors became good enough for the common user. Most users that I come across do not know how to backup their computers or install Windows. These same individuals get malware and acquire problems fairly quickly. The average user does not like reading instructions or have the desire to become a well trained computer user. They run around asking for help when their computer runs into problems instead of learning how to prevent problems. When they see the prices at the local nerd squad to have it fixed, I have seen many in the past just buy a new computer. So one reason could be that the operating system is becoming more secure and lost one avenue of recurring sales. Other users are seeing the simplicity of using tablets without the hassles of becoming infected several months after purchase. The majority of users are not content creators but just content browsers. Why use a PC, with all the inherent complexity, that stops working correctly as soon as it gets infected when a tablet continues to work with a lot less effort or training? Therefore, I believe that the common user would not return to the PC as their preferred choice until it removes the majority of malware and thus it either becomes a closed system or a self repairing operating system in a virtual sandboxed environment. The consumer needs the confidence that clicking on a website link, opening a website, or installing any software will not bring them hassles and nightmares. Because business uses PC's is the main reason why most buy a PC in the first place. They buy it for educational reasons in order to justify the cost, and users become content creators to begin learning the office software to do assignments in school. Anyone would prefer to type on a laptop for content creation but what will an average user use for entertainment? Today we have cell phones and tablets that can easily text, email, video conference, talk, play multiplayer games,and move throughout the home without a heavier laptop. This may create the mindset that tablets and cell phones are cool but laptops are for mostly work. Open Office is good enough for many users and Apple is giving away its office suite with any new purchase. This may create another reason to buy a cheap android tablet over an economical laptop that may stop working in months. I believe the problem is way more complex to fix than build a better laptop with a touch screen for a low price.
 
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