I was at a party this weekend and some unfortunate person asked me what I do for a living and we then got into a half hour conversation about PCs before he managed to escape. I never even asked his name either – how unsociable of me! One thing we did talk about was how there’s more gadgets that do wonderful things. It got me to thinking – if you keep up with the advance of technology, why would you need a desktop PC?
This isn’t a new question – everyone has been asking this for years now. Microsoft has developed entire operating systems for this purpose. Hardware manufacturers have developed specific technologies for this purpose. My point is that now it’s not just an idea or only available for the very rich – you can get this without spending a fortune!
Our household income isn’t massive, not a lot more than most people, however we have various “toys” that mean our desktop PC disappeared quite a while ago when we were kitting that room out for our second born. And that’s the first nail in the coffin of the desktop PC. It’s needs it’s own space. Either a room set up as a study or at least a computer desk taking up a corner in another room. And people don’t like that – although PCs have got a lot better looking recently, they still look out of place in your living room. Why bother with all this inconvenience just to check your emails and shop online from your spare room?
If people do feel that they need a dedicated PC – maybe they also write letters or have their budget on a spreadsheet (I do) then most of the internet enabled devices might not be enough. Families might not be able to make do with a simple browsing through their TV, iPhone or Xbox – there’s photos to organise and print, kid’s homework to organise, secure banking and other websites to visit. But why have a desktop PC for all this? You can pick up a decent laptop that would do most people for 5 years for less than £400. That’s nothing compared to the amount most families spent on a desktop PC about 5 to 10 years ago. Sorted – that’s most people happy. But…
What about the gamers? Well as discussed previously here – why go with a PC for your gaming? For the cost of getting a decent gaming machine these days you could buy a PS3, Xbox, Wii and a laptop to do all the PC type stuff. So, now even the gamers are happy! Right, who does that leave? Ah – the light internet users.
If you want to browse the internet casually and you don’t have a set top box with internet access, or a smartphone, or a gaming device with internet access and you don’t want a laptop, then maybe a desktop PC is for you. Nip off and buy one before they go the way of the VCR!
I'm a web developer based in the East Midlands, UK and if I keep up the current rate, I might have developed 3 million sites by the time I retire