PC sales plunge, Microsoft and Windows 8 blamed
blogs.seattletimes.com
PC sales plunge, Microsoft and Windows 8 blamed
1–10 of 56 posts
Re: PC sales plunge, Microsoft and Windows 8 blamed
#2Is this a satire? I find it hard to believe that Microsoft and Windows 8 is to solely blame for any decline in PC sales. Haven't PC sales been declining for some time now? This sounds like a pretty far-fetched claim to make here. Considering here in Australia you can still buy a new PC with Windows 7 installed, I find it hard to believe that consumers are opting not to buy a computer just because of Windows 8 comes pre-installed. Remember when Windows Vista was an even bigger failure upon launch? That didn't make people stop wanting to buy a PC, how is Windows 8 any worse than when Vista first launched? It's the best version of Windows yet, the lack of start menu is a non-issue.
I'll tell you why PC sales are declining, because PC's are no longer our sole means of downloading, playing games, reading news or running apps. Mobile phones and tablets are to blame for the drop in PC sales, this isn't a bad thing and the PC isn't all of a sudden going to disappear because a PC will always serve a purpose. Sounds like a consulting firm trying to sound insightful and draw comparisons that shouldn't be drawn.
Re: PC sales plunge, Microsoft and Windows 8 blamed
#3There was a time when I would have felt seriously behind the times using my 3.5 year old PC. Maybe I just have different priorities now, but I no longer feel any compulsion to upgrade. I'm not aware of anything that a new PC can do that my current one can't, besides an incremental, barely noticeable speed bump.
On a related note, am I right in thinking that we are currently in the longest ever gap between new HD capacities? 4TB has been the top size for two years now.
Re: PC sales plunge, Microsoft and Windows 8 blamed
#4Unlike the early 2000s you can squeeze 6 years out of PC and 4 out of gaming PC with only upgrade of the video card. It is a mature market with slowing rate of replacement.
Re: PC sales plunge, Microsoft and Windows 8 blamed
#5Is this a satire? I find it hard to believe that Microsoft and Windows 8 is to solely blame for any decline in PC sales. Haven't PC sales been declining for some time now? This sounds like a pretty far-fetched claim to make here. Considering here in Australia you can still buy a new PC with Windows 7 installed, I find it hard to believe that consumers are opting not to buy a computer just because of Windows 8 comes p…
Vista was nowhere near as bad as people made out, and in fact after SP1 a lot of problems were resolved. Win8 is a car crash its the bastard child of a Desktop/Tablet OS that only really works on tablets.
I actually like the look of Metro and how it works on a tablet, but Microsoft forcing desktop users down this path is not going to work.
Re: PC sales plunge, Microsoft and Windows 8 blamed
#6There was a time when I would have felt seriously behind the times using my 3.5 year old PC. Maybe I just have different priorities now, but I no longer feel any compulsion to upgrade. I'm not aware of anything that a new PC can do that my current one can't, besides an incremental, barely noticeable speed bump. On a related note, am I right in thinking that we are currently in the longest ever gap between new HD capa…
I use a May 2004 Dell Precision 650 running Windows XP every day for VMware, Dynamips Router Simulation, Visio, Outlook, Power Point, Excel, Word, PDF generation. I've got a 150+ Page document open in Word right now.
I realize that a new machine might be a bit faster - but, this current computer has been so rock for the last couple years - I haven't had a blue screen/lockup in 3+ years - that I don't want to mess with anything.
So - I totally agree with you, one of the reasons why Desktop Sales might start to drop, is that for the average office worker, right around 2004/2005, Desktops got "Good Enough" that you really don't need to upgrade.
When Microsoft stops supporting Windows XP, we might see another round of system purchases though.
Re: PC sales plunge, Microsoft and Windows 8 blamed
#7There was a time when I would have felt seriously behind the times using my 3.5 year old PC. Maybe I just have different priorities now, but I no longer feel any compulsion to upgrade. I'm not aware of anything that a new PC can do that my current one can't, besides an incremental, barely noticeable speed bump. On a related note, am I right in thinking that we are currently in the longest ever gap between new HD capa…
Hard drive makers have been able to make 1 TB platters for a while, so 5 TB drives wouldn't be a problem at all (or even bigger drives, though in the past few years 5 platters have been the maximum). They simply chose not to make them because the demand even for 4 TB drives isn't so strong.
Re: PC sales plunge, Microsoft and Windows 8 blamed
#8Is this a satire? I find it hard to believe that Microsoft and Windows 8 is to solely blame for any decline in PC sales. Haven't PC sales been declining for some time now? This sounds like a pretty far-fetched claim to make here. Considering here in Australia you can still buy a new PC with Windows 7 installed, I find it hard to believe that consumers are opting not to buy a computer just because of Windows 8 comes p…
Exactly. As much as I would find it amusing to blame Microsoft, it's really just a sign of the times. It's a combination of device saturation for general consumers, and hardware stagnation for power users, so that really doesn't leave many in the market for a new pc.
Re: PC sales plunge, Microsoft and Windows 8 blamed
#9Personally, I missed the start button.
Re: PC sales plunge, Microsoft and Windows 8 blamed
#10Is it me or are 90% of the Microsoft articles voted up on HN slaps to Microsoft. I've been using them for years and really enjoy their tools but, admittedly, don't go for OS upgrades often. Still love XP when I can get it. btw- At work, we're still in cost cutting (e.g. "savings") mode so I haven't had a desktop upgrade since I got there 3yrs ago. I suspect the economy is playing a major role here as well.