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The PC is not dead, we just don't need new ones

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Re: The PC is not dead, we just don't need new ones

#201

Post by pessimizer »

downandout wrote: post #115

If everyone adopted the attitude of the author of this blog, all innovation everywhere in the world would cease instantly because, for most of us in the developed world, everything is good enough already. There are many points throughout computing history at which existing hardware was overkill for the things that we were asking our computers to do. Had we stopped innovating because of that, the world wouldn't be any…

>I for one am glad that we have continued to innovate, even when things were good enough.

Needing more RAM and more HD space (especially in order to offer the same feature set) is not innovation.

Re: The PC is not dead, we just don't need new ones

#202

Post by Havoc »

x0054 wrote: post #153
justincormack wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would pay for a silent PC. I paid a lot for a quiet Apple PowerPC Mac pro back in the day and built a quiet PC but they are not silent and I have moved to a quieter place and I can hear them (yes the Mac runs Fedora now). I have some silent ARM machines but they don't quite cut it yet though maybe the new quad core one will.

I have seen full size ATX cases from Silverstone with passive cooling, where the entire case is machine out of aluminum and acts like an enormous heat sync. Have yet to find a good fanless power supply. The new Mac Pro supposed to be only 12DB. It's hard to beat that, most rooms have ambient noise of at least 18db.

> The new Mac Pro supposed to be only 12DB.

Until the dust hits it...

Re: The PC is not dead, we just don't need new ones

#203

Post by meerita »

As a guy who has been involved in computers I tend to buy something to last at least 3-4 years. Once I start feeling I'm behind I like to upgrade.

I had a 2005 imac before acquire this 2011 iMac and in between I've bought MacBooks and Macbook Air. I'm thinking in getting my new desktop on 2015.

Thing is, when I go to my parents house, I see 2003 computers. I think this reality apply's to many families: parents don't care about speed, they get used because their needs are less computational and more casual, like browsing, Facebook and Skype. The trend I'm seeing in Spain is getting iPads for parents is getting notably high. All my friends instead upgrading their parents pc desktops are buying ipads and parents love it. Are you having the same experiences?

Re: The PC is not dead, we just don't need new ones

#204

Post by taigeair »

rythie wrote: post #194
justincormack wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would pay for a silent PC. I paid a lot for a quiet Apple PowerPC Mac pro back in the day and built a quiet PC but they are not silent and I have moved to a quieter place and I can hear them (yes the Mac runs Fedora now). I have some silent ARM machines but they don't quite cut it yet though maybe the new quad core one will.

My MacBook Air (2012) is completely silent most of time (except viewing videos in Flash or Silverlight). Given is silent, I can actually hear the power supply of my monitor buzzing! (actually it's very quiet buzzing) - be careful what you wish for I guess.

but the video is so loud!

Re: The PC is not dead, we just don't need new ones

#205

Post by meerita »

colanderman wrote: post #139
simonsarris wrote: post #96

I've felt this way since I built my last desktop in 2008. I was sort-of waiting for the "gee its time to upgrade" mark to roll around in 3 or 4 years, but it hasn't happened yet. Any games I want to play it still runs very well, and it still feels very fast to me even compared to modern off-the-shelf systems. When my friends ask for laptop-buying advice I tell them if they like the keyboard and screen, then its just…

people do not need $2000 Facebook and email machines I dunno, Facebook and GMail seem to get slower each month. They're unusably slow, even in Chrome on Windows, on both my and my wife's circa-2008 machines.

I still use Facebook on old iPad 2. And it goes faster as the same day I've bought it.

Re: The PC is not dead, we just don't need new ones

#206

Post by downandout »

ScottWhigham wrote: post #169
downandout wrote: post #115

If everyone adopted the attitude of the author of this blog, all innovation everywhere in the world would cease instantly because, for most of us in the developed world, everything is good enough already. There are many points throughout computing history at which existing hardware was overkill for the things that we were asking our computers to do. Had we stopped innovating because of that, the world wouldn't be any…

Wow, downandout, your post truly has it all: - Genuine loathing for the blog post OP - Smarmy "I'm better than you" attitude - Examples of how you aren't like OP - Call out to historic reasons why OP's mindset is terrible - Multiple over-the-top statements ("If everyone adopted the attitude of the author..." is my favorite!) Jeez.

>Jeez.

I was just about to say that about your response. All I said was that if everyone adopted the "good enough" attitude, innovation might have stopped before we ever had computers. You somehow used that to call me a smarmy scumbag. Are you somehow related to the author?

Re: The PC is not dead, we just don't need new ones

#207

Post by rythie »

I think people are pissed off with PCs.

They bought a windows machine for what to them is a lot of money (more than a iPad), it didn't last long before it slow and it's got extra toolbars and all sorts of rubbish. What's worse is that this happened last time they bought a PC and the time before and the time before that. They are not going to add a SSD because that's not how they think + they don't how + it's throwing good money after bad + they are dubious of the benefits.

The iPad in contrast exceeded expectations and in the year or two they've had it they had a better experience. They can't get excited about a another windows machine because it's expensive, more of the same and not worth it really.

Re: The PC is not dead, we just don't need new ones

#208

Post by [deleted] »

usaphp wrote: post #188
arjunnarayan wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You overpaid. You're better off spending $800 and upgrading 3 times as often.

That's not the point. He said he can run any modern game on high settings on the computer he bought 3 years ago, I doubt you can play any game in 2016 on high settings if you buy a computer for $800 today.

[deleted]

Re: The PC is not dead, we just don't need new ones

#209

Post by rythie »

taigeair wrote: post #204
rythie wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My MacBook Air (2012) is completely silent most of time (except viewing videos in Flash or Silverlight). Given is silent, I can actually hear the power supply of my monitor buzzing! (actually it's very quiet buzzing) - be careful what you wish for I guess.

but the video is so loud!

Yeah I know it's awful, if my Celeron 450Mhz could play DVDs at no effort, I don't know why this can't play videos on 5-10% CPU and not spin up the fan.

Re: The PC is not dead, we just don't need new ones

#210

Post by RussianCow »

roc wrote: post #143
RussianCow wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very true, but the vast majority of computer users aren't pushing the limits of their systems, and I think that's what the author is getting at. If you look at the market as a whole, the need for more powerful computers isn't nearly as big as it used to be.

And those users are overwhelmingly the ones that tablets suit just fine. That's the problem in this type of "PCs are fine, people just don't have to upgrade" argument. (And I've made it myself, before I really worked it through and took stock of just how far tablets have already come.) The use cases satisfied by an old PC could all be satisfied just as well by today's tablets. Yes, the software support for keyboards,…

I completely agree. I wasn't trying to say that PCs aren't dying, I was just trying to contend the notion that power users make up a significant portion of the market we're talking about. In fact, I think tablets directly show that the vast majority of consumers don't need powerful hardware, because tablets aren't very powerful machines at all.
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