IBM Declares the End of the PC Era

RST101 · 13 Aug 2011

So why do they keep making new parts for them if they are dead? I mean, the cpu, ram and gpu businesses seem to be doing quite well don't they.

zEric7x · 13 Aug 2011

I dont think so. I still look forward to having a powerful desktop someday. When I can afford one that is....Its more like the end of some people giving a crap about PCs. Not the end of them themselves.

pparks1 · 13 Aug 2011

Max Peck said:

If all I wanted to do with a computer was do e-mail, read and respond to forums and read books over there in my easy chair then an iPad would do me fine.

Reading a forum on a tablet for me is fine, responding is a serious pain in the butt. Having a full physical keyboard is a must for me to get anything done in a reasonable amount of time. Trying to type what I have just put here on a touchscreen keyboard would have taken me at least 5 to 6 times longer than I have been typing thus far on my laptop.

As for reading books, I would prefer doing that on my Kindle as it costs less than 1/5 what an iPad does and it runs easily for 4-6 weeks for me on a single charge. And it's got free 3G included with it.

rraod · 13 Aug 2011

All these new tablets, iPads, Galaxy's are fancy items and highly portable. They have their own niche.

I have an iPod and an iPhone. It is very inconvenient to type an email on the virtual keyboard with one hand while holding the device in other hand, forget typing a long article.

For comfort, ease of use and some serious computing, nothing beats a desktop and a notebook with real keyboards and pointing devices.

The tablets are not going to replace the PCs in the near future but only augment them. They are only an evolution but not a revolution.

Max Peck · 13 Aug 2011

pparks1 said:

Reading a forum on a tablet for me is fine, responding is a serious pain in the butt. Having a full physical keyboard is a must for me to get anything done in a reasonable amount of time. Trying to type what I have just put here on a touchscreen keyboard would have taken me at least 5 to 6 times longer than I have been typing thus far on my laptop.

Agreed, though for short responses and e-mails the tablet would be fine.

As for reading books, I would prefer doing that on my Kindle as it costs less than 1/5 what an iPad does and it runs easily for 4-6 weeks for me on a single charge. And it's got free 3G included with it.

For that and practically everything else portable I use my iPhone4. The "retina" display on it makes book reading extremely easy on my eyes and having all that capability in my pocket is beautiful. I've been a PDA user for years and the PDA finally "arrived" with this one. I use it only secondarily as a phone but even there it's the best phone I've ever used.

Having said all that, though, the iPhone is no replacement for my desktop and laptop machines. It augments them, not replaces them.

-Max

Baja Maniac 913 · 13 Aug 2011

Teerex said:

Attachment 169887 :d

We sure have come a long way.

smarteyeball · 13 Aug 2011

Max Peck said:

Having said all that, though, the iPhone is no replacement for my desktop and laptop machines. It augments them, not replaces them.

And so it shall remain in the immediate and forseable future.

One day they will surpass being an augment - but today is not that day.

Max Peck · 13 Aug 2011

smarteyeball said:

Max Peck said:

Having said all that, though, the iPhone is no replacement for my desktop and laptop machines. It augments them, not replaces them.

And so it shall remain in the immediate and forseable future.

One day they will surpass being an augment - but today is not that day.

Perhaps. However, the tablet and/or smart phone will have to grow a full sized keyboard and 15.6" screen before it'll replace my laptop. Wait ... that's a laptop! ;-)

-Max

Coke Robot · 13 Aug 2011

mikedl said:

Wait, isn't the average laptop a PC? PCs will be around for quite some time.

As was so eloquently presented by Max Peck (thanks, Max):

One other thing. Anybody else notice this constant back-and-forth thing between centralized and localized computing? I've seen it cycle back-and-forth at least a couple of times in my 35-year career as a developer. Now they're calling the central computing model the "cloud". Before that it was called the "web". Before that it was called "time sharing". Nothing new here!

A laptop is basically a PC. You can install software and games that are built for PCs on either laptops or desktops, the only difference is one is portable and consumes less power. Which really annoys me because every time I see something saying the PC is over, that's like saying every single laptop is becoming extinct when they're becoming more popular than desktops.

QuackPot · 14 Aug 2011

"Steve Jobs thinks so"

That's an indication to stop reading the article. PCs will be here for a long time to come. Screw apple and their overpriced mp3 players.