Microsoft exec admits new reality: Market share no longer 90%, it's 14

[JerometheGiraff]

Professional graphics work such as 3D rendering will also absolutely require professional-grade video cards like the Nvidia Quadro series that cost upwards of several grand a card, their kind of specialized workloads are simply too much for integrated graphics solutions (let alone consumer-grade discrete video cards) to handle.

Not Quite, that arena is changing. Quadro cards are not all that they are made out to be.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there.

I think a lot of the 100% Desktop only people probably don't understand how much MOBILE computing is out there already

Or they just don't care. I know I don't.

Are you getting royalties for mentioning the Surface pro or something?

Hi there

I'm surprised that you admit to "Just not caring" what is going on in an industry you are either working in or have some knowledge about. That's probably the same attitude in a lot of businesses who fail to make it when new technology comes along - not just because of the new technology itself but the whole process of doing business is likely to be changed. For example some of the Old Film processing labs you used to see in high streets had to adjust to people using digital film and smart phones -- now you can make nice prints -- but even here the market is small so you have to offer a specialized service to survive.

Even if you DONT LIKE new technology you should if you are working in an industry embracing it at least get to grips with it and realize that there are many situations where whatever your actual personal preference it will get used.

Finally I'm not getting anything for pushing the surface 3 pro -- currently there isn't any competition for that kind of device -- but I'm open to any suitable competing product if it's a) superior and b) cheaper - preferably both. I'm sure Lenovo will come up with something soon anyway.

As an Engineer I'm always in favour of using THE BEST TOOL for the job -- I wouldn't use a Steam Hammer to crack a nut with. There are obviously situations where rugged equipment / extreme discrete powerful graphic cards / other "fixed equipment / peripheral types" etc are needed and the type of work is totally NOT suited to mobile devices -- my point is that Mobile devices are HERE to stay and will be increasingly used in businesses - maybe for applications that we haven't even thought of yet - nothing in this post says that Desktops will disappear but they WILL become increasingly a niche market.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[eatup]

Inferior cooling? Theyre already going to release CPUs that won't need a fan on top of it to keep it cool soon... Just wait a few more years, integrated graphics will become so much more powerful and run much cooler that you won't realize notice a benefit in discreet graphics. That'll be the day gamers run Unreal Engine VI on their large screen monitor powered by a tiny tablet!

Fanless CPUs have been around for a long time, largely with CPUs like Intel Atom and ARM geared towards power and temperature efficient mobile applications. However, these mobile CPUs have always sacrificed performance and power to achieve the power (as in electrical) and temperature requirements that need to be met.

Until we move to a fundamentally different idea of crunching numbers, CPUs (and GPUs) will produce more heat as they try to go faster. Intel hit this wall with their Pentium 4s back in the day and they finally got around it by introducing multi-core CPUs rather than trying to make a single core extremely powerful.

With regards to integrated graphics, one of the biggest bottlenecks holding them back is slow RAM. Part of why discrete video cards are so much faster than integrated solutions is because they have their own store of RAM (GDDR RAM); integrated graphics need to borrow system RAM (DDR RAM) which is considerably slower than the GDDR RAM used in video cards which in turn slows down the entire graphics subsystem of a computer.

Professional graphics work such as 3D rendering will also absolutely require professional-grade video cards like the Nvidia Quadro series that cost upwards of several grand a card, their kind of specialized workloads are simply too much for integrated graphics solutions (let alone consumer-grade discrete video cards) to handle.

Atom and ARM? How about a full-fledge fanless Broadwell CPU (next gen after Haswell)? How about the gen after that? These won't be the Atoms that are actually based on rebranded netbook CPUs. These will be extra low-voltage Broadwells and Skylakes, almost the same architecture (hench the same branding/naming) as you'd find on their desktop counterparts, but fanless!

Heck, I predict 12 years from now, you'll dock your smart phone to a large screen monitor and keyboard, and it'll be more powerful than the most powerful desktops we have today!

Remember folks, desktop cpus stopped obeying that law where the power doubles every couple of years. They may not get more powerful, but that doesn't mean smaller devices like tablets and smart phones can't make quantum leaps to catchup to their desktop counterparts!

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...Heck, I predict 12 years from now, you'll dock your smart phone to a large screen monitor and keyboard, and it'll be more powerful than the most powerful desktops we have today!

I'm not holding my breath. It'll happen someday but not in my lifetime.

 

[jimbo45]

...Heck, I predict 12 years from now, you'll dock your smart phone to a large screen monitor and keyboard, and it'll be more powerful than the most powerful desktops we have today!

I'm not holding my breath. It'll happen someday but not in my lifetime.

Hi there

I can ALREADY connect my Samsung S5 mobile phone to a large external monitor via HDMI yielding full HD resolution 1080p (1920 X 1080) which is a lot better than the common 768 X 1366 resolution seen on most laptops. I can also connect this WIRELESSLY too for more convenient connections. With a Blue tooth keyboard I've got access easily to the Android OS including the apps on the phone - the QUAD processor is already more powerful than some of the older Celerons / atom processors seen in laptops. I believe the NEXT generation of phones will use 8-WAY processors - they'll be like HARDWARE looking for applications that need that type of processing.

Playing a Blu Ray quality movie stored on a micro sdHC card on the phone (including the sound) and using a large TV as the external display gives me at least as good a quality that I'd get from the laptop . Browsing the internet too is easily done.

Currently the phone system doesn't have a mouse - but that's only a question of someone writing an interface.

I think your "10 years" might be far too pessimistic.

Using the phone like this still generates quite a lot of heat - but that problem will surely be overcome as devices use newer materials and "quantum" physics.

(BTW using things like email, Kingsoft Office (Goodish Ms Office clone - especially for simpler EXCEL functions) and some Internet browsing with the phone connected to a Hotel LCD TV and a blue tooth keyboard is often more convenient than getting out a laptop - also for watching movies. The lack of a Mouse though does prevent some applications from being used like a "Normal PC" - but give it time !!).

These also work brilliantly too for wifi between phone and TV.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/1212...ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Boozad]

I'm surprised that you admit to "Just not caring" what is going on in an industry you are either working in or have some knowledge about.

Why are you surprised? I have no interest in a Surface Pro that costs upwards of £2,000, I do all of my computing at home and my computing at work is done on one of nearly 1,000 desktops that are geared up for the work we do.

I will never own a Surface Pro, and a Srface Pro will probably never be able to replace my upgradeable desktop. Nor would I want it to. Any advancement on desktop components I'm all ears about, and there will plent to come.

 

[jimbo45]

I'm surprised that you admit to "Just not caring" what is going on in an industry you are either working in or have some knowledge about.

Why are you surprised? I have no interest in a Surface Pro that costs upwards of £2,000, I do all of my computing at home and my computing at work is done on one of nearly 1,000 desktops that are geared up for the work we do.

I will never own a Surface Pro, and a Srface Pro will probably never be able to replace my upgradeable desktop. Nor would I want it to. Any advancement on desktop components I'm all ears about, and there will plent to come.

Hi there

No further comment Is really is needed on this -- if businesses never looked at new equipment and technology then we'd still be in the stone age -- Look at a lot of UK infrastructure -- railways just coming out of Victorian era -- Signalling faults every day on Tubes / trains due to equipment built almost before ist world war, power stations falling to pieces and having to get FRANCE (or even CHINA !!) to build new one's which might not be ready before the country runs "out of juice" and even the latest CROSS RAIL system which should have been built 50 years ago is being handed over to the Germans to run it.

The Spanish own one of the UK's biggest Banks (Santander), an Egyptian national owns the country's most celebrated store (Harrods) and the airports and ports are owned by a mixture of businesses from SPAIN. QUATAR and DUBAI.

The top pharmaceuticals are also going to the USA (SHIRE PHARMA) for example) and the main confectionary business (Cadbury's ) has long since been swallowed up by the US firm Kraft's.

Even the last Wind turbine plant in the UK in the Isle of wight was closed recently and now all the turbines are built in Germany (Siemens) or Denmark -- neither country has particularly cheap labour either.

Finally if you like Cars -- Landrover and Jaguar have been taken over by an INDIAN Firm (TATA) and even the Mini - that iconic car of the 60's and 70's has been swallowed up by the German company BMW.

Seems UK PLC is rapidly being sold in bits and pieces to the highest bidders -- just hope for all your sakes the assets don't all end up in what is known as "Vulture Funds".

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I'm surprised that you admit to "Just not caring" what is going on in an industry you are either working in or have some knowledge about.

Why are you surprised? I have no interest in a Surface Pro that costs upwards of £2,000, I do all of my computing at home and my computing at work is done on one of nearly 1,000 desktops that are geared up for the work we do.

I will never own a Surface Pro, and a Srface Pro will probably never be able to replace my upgradeable desktop. Nor would I want it to. Any advancement on desktop components I'm all ears about, and there will plent to come.

Hi there

No further comment Is really is needed on this -- if businesses never looked at new equipment and technology then we'd still be in the stone age -- Look at a lot of UK infrastructure -- railways just coming out of Victorian era -- Signalling faults every day on Tubes / trains due to equipment built almost before ist world war, power stations falling to pieces and having to get FRANCE (or even CHINA !!) to build new one's which might not be ready before the country runs "out of juice" and even the latest CROSS RAIL system which should have been built 50 years ago is being handed over to the Germans to run it.

The Spanish own one of the UK's biggest Banks (Santander), an Egyptian national owns the country's most celebrated store (Harrods) and the airports and ports are owned by a mixture of businesses from SPAIN. QUATAR and DUBAI.

The top pharmaceuticals are also going to the USA (SHIRE PHARMA) for example) and the main confectionary business (Cadbury's ) has long since been swallowed up by the US firm Kraft's.

Even the last Wind turbine plant in the UK in the Isle of wight was closed recently and now all the turbines are built in Germany (Siemens) or Denmark -- neither country has particularly cheap labour either.

Finally if you like Cars -- Landrover and Jaguar have been taken over by an INDIAN Firm (TATA) and even the Mini - that iconic car of the 60's and 70's has been swallowed up by the German company BMW.

Seems UK PLC is rapidly being sold in bits and pieces to the highest bidders -- just hope for all your sakes the assets don't all end up in what is known as "Vulture Funds".

Cheers
jimbo

Oh WOW! Going from one person not needing a high priced tablet to the demise of England? Fascinating (not necessarily in a good way)!

 

[Boozad]

I'm surprised that you admit to "Just not caring" what is going on in an industry you are either working in or have some knowledge about.

Why are you surprised? I have no interest in a Surface Pro that costs upwards of £2,000, I do all of my computing at home and my computing at work is done on one of nearly 1,000 desktops that are geared up for the work we do.

I will never own a Surface Pro, and a Srface Pro will probably never be able to replace my upgradeable desktop. Nor would I want it to. Any advancement on desktop components I'm all ears about, and there will plent to come.

Hi there

No further comment Is really is needed on this -- if businesses never looked at new equipment and technology then we'd still be in the stone age -- Look at a lot of UK infrastructure -- railways just coming out of Victorian era -- Signalling faults every day on Tubes / trains due to equipment built almost before ist world war, power stations falling to pieces and having to get FRANCE (or even CHINA !!) to build new one's which might not be ready before the country runs "out of juice" and even the latest CROSS RAIL system which should have been built 50 years ago is being handed over to the Germans to run it.

The Spanish own one of the UK's biggest Banks (Santander), an Egyptian national owns the country's most celebrated store (Harrods) and the airports and ports are owned by a mixture of businesses from SPAIN. QUATAR and DUBAI.

The top pharmaceuticals are also going to the USA (SHIRE PHARMA) for example) and the main confectionary business (Cadbury's ) has long since been swallowed up by the US firm Kraft's.

Even the last Wind turbine plant in the UK in the Isle of wight was closed recently and now all the turbines are built in Germany (Siemens) or Denmark -- neither country has particularly cheap labour either.

Finally if you like Cars -- Landrover and Jaguar have been taken over by an INDIAN Firm (TATA) and even the Mini - that iconic car of the 60's and 70's has been swallowed up by the German company BMW.

Seems UK PLC is rapidly being sold in bits and pieces to the highest bidders -- just hope for all your sakes the assets don't all end up in what is known as "Vulture Funds".

Cheers
jimbo

What the hell has my personal needs and wants and the requirements of the company I work for got to do with any of that? Nothing whatsoever, maybe you should become an economist and contract out to England instead of advertising the Surface Pro every time you post.

 

[Layback Bear]

A phone or Surface Pro that hooks up to a big screen, mouse, keyboard, printer I have no doubt this and more will come to be.
I just wonder who gets to carry the phone and who gets to carry the big screen, keyboard and mouse and printer when one travels.

Sounds crazy doesn't it.
Let me explain.
When some one travels and carries their portable to a location and plugs into all the PC system and other equipment, some one had to buy all that stationary equipment and have it at that location. Then the next location and so on.
When someones traveling to several location to do business with their portable they will be hooking it up to several stationary system. (PC system)
When one takes this portable to 6 places and hooks it up to 6 in house PC and hardware; well that is a 6 to 1 ratio. Someone in each and every location a portable is plugged into had to buy all that stationary equipment.

A laptop, tablet, phone ect. has one advantage and only one advantage over a Stationary PC System. It's portable, that it. That is a good thing if needed.

It always come down to; I plugged my tablet into this or that and it worked just great. Somebody had to buy this or that you just plugged into.

So both PC's and portables are a niche market. You buy what you want and or need. Many buy into both niche markets.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Actually, portables are no longer a niche market but, the fact remains, not everyone needs portable computing. A 15" notebook conveniently meets my computing needs when I travel since I don't need to be connected 24/7. My cell phone is an ancient Oystr I keep in my pocket or purse for emergency phone calls; in fact, phone calls (and texting, which I never do) are all it can do. It stays turned off except for the rare occasions when I actually use it (otherwise, I would have to recharge it daily; like I'm going to remember to do that!). I have to pay only the equivalent of $7.25/month for it. The only other portable device I ever carry when away from home is an e-book reader (at home, I read from my TV, which is connected to my computer). Somehow, I don't feel the least bit deprived.

 

[andrew129260]

Man,

Jimbo sure loves his surface.

Were starting to get close to apple fanboy levels here...

Of course you got to feel better about yourself for buying it since it cost $1,000+

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Man,

Jimbo sure loves his surface.

Were starting to get close to apple fanboy levels here...

Of course you got to feel better about yourself for buying it since it cost $1,000+

I don't know about that. It would make me feel bad to pay almost twice as much more than what I paid for my notebooks for a tablet that can't do half of what my notebooks can do. The tablets are lighter than a notebook but I wouldn't say they are more portable. If I needed that much portability, I would get a smart phone; those will fit in a pocket or purse much more easily than a tablet and they can even—get this—make phone calls!

 

[lffoar]

Sheee, I better tell the grandkids they can use those "things" they constantly have in their hands to actually make a phone call!! Fitzy, I'm confused......I only pay 10 cents for my notebooks, always in the pocket with the pen ready to jot down anything I need to remember....if I haven't forgotten already
Of course tablets are much lighter and yes, more portable than a notebook. I measured a little white one I take for the headaches computers give me just then.....only around a quarter of an inch in diameter!!
And hey, if you can find a "smart" phone good luck. Mine's not smart at all and I'd have to buy a woman's bloody big bag to carry it around....after I knock it off the wall.
Technology, Bah humbug!!

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Sheee, I better tell the grandkids they can use those "things" they constantly have in their hands to actually make a phone call!! Fitzy, I'm confused......I only pay 10 cents for my notebooks, always in the pocket with the pen ready to jot down anything I need to remember....if I haven't forgotten already
Of course tablets are much lighter and yes, more portable than a notebook. I measured a little white one I take for the headaches computers give me just then.....only around a quarter of an inch in diameter!!
And hey, if you can find a "smart" phone good luck. Mine's not smart at all and I'd have to buy a woman's bloody big bag to carry it around....after I knock it off the wall.
Technology, Bah humbug!!

:roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:

 

[Layback Bear]

Yep I still use note pad and pen. Fits just about any place.
With my hen scratching you could consider it encrypted.
No batteries to keep charged.
Haven't figured out how to hook it to the internet yet. No usb port or LAN. Oh well.

Cell phones use to make phone call; do you think that idea will ever catch on?

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Yep I still use note pad and pen. Fits just about any place...

I keep a pad and pen by my bed, in my purse, and in my truck. They take almost no time at all to boot up and shut down.

...With my hen scratching you could consider it encrypted...

I just call my hen scratches Sanskrit. It sounds more high falutin'.

...No batteries to keep charged...

The best part!

...Haven't figured out how to hook it to the internet yet. No usb port or LAN. Oh well...

Easy, take a picture or scan it.

...Cell phones use to make phone call; do you think that idea will ever catch on?

:roflmao: Not a chance.

 

[jimbo45]

Man,

Jimbo sure loves his surface.

Were starting to get close to apple fanboy levels here...

Of course you got to feel better about yourself for buying it since it cost $1,000+

Hi there

My last few posts were meant to emphasize that ANY suitable mobile device would work and that businesses that DON'T look at new technology will certainly lose ground in the future to those that embrace it. Mobile devices can often change how a whole business changes the way it operates -- some older business processes will get replaced while other processes that we might not have even thought about will come into play.

Any decent competitor to a surface pro 3 is fine -- I mentioned the SP3 because it's the FIRST one that has the power and facilities to be a decent laptop replacement --of course other manufacturers will come out with similar / maybe better and certainly cheaper models.

One should NEVER operate with totally closed minds -- even if YOUR business is not appropriate to using new devices at the moment it's almost impossible to say they will NEVER be used in the future - and if you are in technology the most successful people are those who are aware of what's going on even if you don't happen to like the new stuff or ever want to use it.

I'm quite amazed with some of the sentiments expressed in this thread -- I used to think it was 'Us Old'uns' who had the most difficulty with new technology and new business processes --I'm not so sure any more. !!

In any case the old adage in business is STILL true -- there's no standing still -- you have to keep innovating / make products more interesting / provide better service / cheaper service etc or eventually you will go out of business. A few exceptions like selling gasoline at a gas station I suppose don't lend themselves to a significant amount of automation -- although I'd like a robot attendant so I don't have to get greasy hands when filling up with diesel (Those plastic gloves are horrible !!) but generally it's true for a business --INNOVATE or DIE.

I'll just give one simple example I saw in rural Botswana -- African stall holder used to walk several km to market to get stock (food) to sell in the village. One person --- he managed to get two old rusty bikes ( which was new technology for him) - to be able to send his two boys to the market --they could come back with a lot more stock and quicker - so it was fresher and sold quicker.

Simple use of new technology -- that guy now has expanded first using motorbikes and now using a motorized and refrigerated delivery -- both the village population get better safer food and he's made his pile --good luck to him.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Jimbo, your long post compares apples to kumquats, especially your African stall holder analogy. No one here is saying no to all new technology; what we take issue with is new technology that doesn't improve our lives or workflows or isn't cost effective. For the cost of one bare bones Surface 3, I can buy two notebooks that are more powerful, have more storage capacity, a larger screen, a real keyboard, more USB ports, far superior multitasking capability, etc. While heavier and more awkward to hold than a Surface, I, and many others, don't need to carry a computer around with us all the time. Those of us who do most likely will find a smart phone to be far more practical than a tablet. Smart phones can be easily held and used with one hand. Try that with a tablet. Smart phones will fit in a pocket or a purse (or even a bra). Try any of that with a tablet.

I'm not saying tablets don't have their uses in business; they do. But not to the extent you seem to believe. And they certainly will not replace desktops and laptops any time soon for anything other than simple tasks, such as checking email and social media sites and simple internet surfing (and smart phones can do that with far more portability).

 

[andrew129260]