Demise Of Pcs

[think_too_mut]

With Bill Gates leaving the scene, so do PCs as we know them.

In 2-3 years 95% of contents of this sub-Forum would be as irrelevant as, for example, intimate knowledge of Zip drive technology is today.

The harbinger of that new era are Eee and the likes, cheap laptops with hardly anything inside to talk or even think about.

I wonder what will the legions of Microsoft Certified engineers do in 5 years? Would we see something similar to extinction of Cobol programmers in early 90s?

For me, replacing 2 Ghz DELL desktops from 2003. will happen - I'll get 3-4 units of Eee laptops. One to keep in the car, one for living room and 1 for wife.

Too many entrants now, like Commodore, Apple, Sinclair, Atari back in early 80s. I'll wait a few months for market to stabilize.

The Economist: The end of Bill Gates era

[Crushdepth]

These cheap ultra-mobile laptops are just one notch up from PDAs at the moment, ok for reading and browsing but not a lot else. They really need a larger keyboard, one that you can touch type on (ie. substantial data entry), to take off as serious work machines.

Anyway, I like the body plan of the HP Mini-note machines, which come with a 92% of full-size keyboard and a 1280x768 screen resolution (and unfortunately, an inadequate processor). Slightly bigger than the Eee and not the same price range though (yet!), but the design is amazing (the pictures don't do it justice, you really need to see one!). Give it a year or two, they'll get it right eventually.

Edited June 27, 2008 by Crushdepth

[Florin]

I don't think that the legions of MS certified people will disappear, simply because keeping PCs in working order is just one of many tasks...any terminal still needs a server/"cloud" to connect to, and building and maintaining that is no easy task and requires professionals.

Even with the advent of Linux, MS is still firmly entrenched in the office/server/networking market and will be for at least one more decade...it will depend on how much they can change with the times. MS Office still runs only on Windows/OS X (trying to use it on Linux is not a fun experience) and it is the backbone of every office on the planet...while people using OpenOffice or iWork can get basic work done, there is no solution on the market that can provide the sheer power of Word/Excel/PPT, which all took a giant step forward with the 2007 version.

What's more, with solutions like Silverlight and their new programming environments, MS still offers very developer-friendly tools for creating powerful applications. They are a very resilient company, which may not be the first one in a market, but eventually becomes at least a major player (Windows Mobile is the perfect example and XBox is following in its footsteps). I don't see MS becoming another IBM, they've (still) got too much brain/financial power for that...and even IBM, though pushed out of so many markets, is not doing too bad.

[canuckamuck]

I saw the EEE's and I thought, big PDA, maybe I'll get one. But I don't see it as much of a threat to big computers. I need a strong fast computer with lots of software. Sometimes I use 5 Adobe applications simultaneously. Anyways, Microsoft is bound to do something progressive one of these days, or they'll buy a company that does.

[LivinLOS]

I recently made the jump over to linux.. And the biggest contributing factor, to that being workable this time and wasnt workable on the times I have done that over the last decade, is the amount of my stuff thats pruely online and standardised.

My Docs are in google Docs.. My email is through Gmail, much file browsing is through my browser, my portfolios are not online applications.. I have recently seen a site you upload all your photos for editing (Not used it yet, I am a flickr user)..

And in that case having FF3 run sooo much faster on linux means that for all those jobs I have now shifted online.. The whole system is snappier.

Its the shift from localized data to centralized server based data and unifrm access thats made that possible.

[Veazer]

...Anyway, I like the body plan of the HP Mini-note machines, which come with a 92% of full-size keyboard and a 1280x768 screen resolution (and unfortunately, an inadequate processor). Slightly bigger than the Eee and not the same price range though (yet!), but the design is amazing (the pictures don't do it justice, you really need to see one!). Give it a year or two, they'll get it right eventually.

A perfect summary of the HP 2133. I still can't believe they went to all that effort and put a VIA C7 processor inside. IMHO, they could dominate the mini-note scene (at the moment) if it weren't for that decision. It's a lovely machine otherwise.

EDIT: typo

Edited June 27, 2008 by Veazer

[Veazer]

I recently made the jump over to linux.. And the biggest contributing factor, to that being workable this time and wasnt workable on the times I have done that over the last decade, is the amount of my stuff thats pruely online and standardised.

My Docs are in google Docs.. My email is through Gmail, much file browsing is through my browser, my portfolios are not online applications.. I have recently seen a site you upload all your photos for editing (Not used it yet, I am a flickr user)..

And in that case having FF3 run sooo much faster on linux means that for all those jobs I have now shifted online.. The whole system is snappier.

Its the shift from localized data to centralized server based data and unifrm access thats made that possible.

I'm in the same position of moving much of my data online, but I can't say I'm totally comfortable with the idea. About 3 weeks ago, a good friend of mine suddenly lost control of her Yahoo account and doesn't know how. Yahoo ignored her frantic requests for help, but fortunately after a few hours of friendly chatting with the 'hijacker' on yahoo chat he returned her account to her.

I'm frightened of one day logging into gmail only to find that my password is no longer working. I have heaps of important data there at this point, it would be a nightmare.

If Google offered RSA keychain fobs or something similar to protect against this, i'd gladly pay just for the peace of mind.

[JSixpack]

With Bill Gates leaving the scene, so do PCs as we know them.

Not till you pry mine from my cold dead hands . . . .

[Gary A]

I have often wondered why no one builds a computer just for the Internet. It would use an operating system that could boot within a few seconds. A word processing program and enough space to store music and some photos. Being able to plug in a full size keyboard and monitor would keep the unit itself very small. The basic unit shouldn't cost more than a few thousand baht.

[A_Traveller]

^ They have, about every 3 years or so someone has this 'new idea' but no-one buys them

Regards

[LivinLOS]

I have often wondered why no one builds a computer just for the Internet. It would use an operating system that could boot within a few seconds. A word processing program and enough space to store music and some photos. Being able to plug in a full size keyboard and monitor would keep the unit itself very small. The basic unit shouldn't cost more than a few thousand baht.

What is that if not the boom in ultra light lappys like the EEE ??

I have in my bits bins..

2x Virgin iPlayer

iAppliance

And a few other oddball things like fujitsu point 510 tablets.. multiple laptops of 0 value, libretto's, etc..

Up to now the internet was really fast enough or ready.. Plus if your lose net connection you lose everything..

[jeffer]

While the ultra small notebooks have their uses you wouldn't want to have to be using one all the time. Too small, too slow at present. Even when using a 13" notebook with a mid-range processor you really notice the difference when you switch back to a mid-range desktop. I think I'll still be using a desktop wherever possible for a few years yet.

[Gary A]

I have often wondered why no one builds a computer just for the Internet. It would use an operating system that could boot within a few seconds. A word processing program and enough space to store music and some photos. Being able to plug in a full size keyboard and monitor would keep the unit itself very small. The basic unit shouldn't cost more than a few thousand baht.

What is that if not the boom in ultra light lappys like the EEE ??

I have in my bits bins..

2x Virgin iPlayer

iAppliance

And a few other oddball things like fujitsu point 510 tablets.. multiple laptops of 0 value, libretto's, etc..

Up to now the internet was really fast enough or ready.. Plus if your lose net connection you lose everything..

The keyboard and screen are too small. Why pay for a mini keyboard and screen when you could plug in a standard keyboard and monitor?

[Plus]

Maybe people would by those eee pee see's only to complement their big ass desktops at home. I don't think people want to spend less on their computers, usually they want more juice for the same price.

Of course cheap computers open up a whole new market, but little change for the existing several billion users.

[zzdocxx]

My #2 lappy has a 10" screen. It weighs about 3 lbs so it is nice for carrying around, but the screen really is a bit small for comfortable reading. I make the print larger to make it easier, and then the whole page doesn't fit and I have to do some side to side scrolling.

Good in a pinch though.