Windows 8 Killed the PC, Says Analyst

Windows 8, often referred to as “the new Vista,” is still a hot topic among analysts across the world, even though people familiar with the matter claim that Microsoft is making the final plans for the new Windows 9 operating system.

But independent analyst Ben Thompson says in a new post on his website that Microsoft’s Windows 8 has actually hurt the PC industry, rather than to boost sales and support the adoption of new PCs.

The main reason is the overall complexity of the operating system which was causing quite a lot of problems for users who wanted to purchase new computers and found themselves stuck on a desktop without a Start button.

In essence, Windows 8 was well-designed, the analyst says, because it was created in such a way that it tackled two main issues of the PC industry.

“By making touch a central part of the interface, customers would find that their current non-touch PCs were not good enough, and thus be motivated to buy new hardware (and new Windows licenses),” the analyst explained.
Windows 8 Killed the PC, Says Analyst
 
It didn't help but I wouldn't go so far as to say it killed it. Just my 2 cents.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
Unfortunately, it made things worse.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7/8/ubuntu/Linux Deepin
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
It was like throwing rubbish on a mature camembert.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3 771G-6443
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
    ADATA SSD SP900 128GB
    PSU
    90 watt brick
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Antivirus
    Comodo
    Other Info
    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
This isn't news, this has been a reported phenomenon since like, at least 2009. It's just the way things are going, people's preconception of a "PC" isn't a desktop, it's a laptop. When people go buy a computer, it's a laptop. If people want ultra mobile, they buy a tablet? Why would you need a desktop if a laptop or even a tablet does just the same?

The desktop is something we ALL should know by now is an enthusiast, gamer, content creation, and enterprise geared form factor.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
Would not agree with statement that laptops are that good choice comparing to desktops. Desktops are much more flexible than laptops, easier to fix, change and upgrade components and because power requirements and cooling, laptops can not employ full potential of the processor and some other components, specially video cards. They are more expensive too, for a price of really powerful laptop that could answer most of my requirements I could make a real "Killer" desktop. I think that laptop is going to be replaced with powerful tablets but desktop will be mainstay for demanding jobs for a long time. Mainframes were thought to on the way out when PC took of but they are now getting more and more powerful.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
The world of "analysts" vie to outdo each other with sensational headlines (look at the publicity this shmoe is getting!). Time and innovation are killing the PC, but the death will be excruciatingly long one.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 consumer 64 bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire M5 481PT-6644
    CPU
    Intel Core I5
    Memory
    6 GB
    Hard Drives
    Spinning/SSD hybrid 500GB/20GB
    Mouse
    ELAN Trackpad
    Internet Speed
    18mbs/5mbs
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
I don't subscribe to the view that desktop pc's are on the way out. Thing is, most homes now have a pc... many in addition to other devices. And at this point, given the relative power of the average computer, people just are not replacing them, as there is no point.

But, they are still being used on a regular basis. That part remains stable. For the most part, if you have a pc at home, you're gonna use it, for all the obvious reasons. And most people have a pc.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 Pro, Desktop Mode
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Me
    CPU
    AMD FX-8150
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H
    Memory
    8.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 (9-9-9-28)
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon HD 6570
    Sound Card
    Creative X-Fi Titanium
    Monitor(s) Displays
    PX2710MW
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080@60Hz
    Hard Drives
    1x1TB Western Digital WDC WD1001FALS-00J7B1 ATA Device Caviar Black -

    4 x 2TB Seagate ST32000542A -
    1 x 4TB Seagate External
    Case
    Antec
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14
    Keyboard
    Logitech Illuminated Keyboard K740
    Internet Speed
    60meg cable
    Browser
    Cyberfox
    Antivirus
    AVG Security Suite
Why would you need a desktop if a laptop or even a tablet does just the same?
If you have very poor vision and you need at least a 22 or 24" screen. Also if you need a lot of CPU power to encode videos or if you need the CPU powere for 3D design.

I own 4 laptops because the wife likes them. But I myself are much more comfy with one of my desktops. Even on an i7 laptop, video work takes a lot longer than on an i7 desktop. The i7s are not the same.

And forget a tablet for any serious piece of work. They would just die under the load or not finish the job in my lifetime. Make the test. Take a 1 hour video and convert it from .mov or .mp4 to .wmv on a tablet.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
I don't like how the term "PC" corresponds to a desktop.

Your Personal Computer could be a laptop. Your Personal Computer could be a tablet. Your Personal Computer could even be a smartphone.

It's and shouldn't be just one form factor decades old.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
I don't like how the term "PC" corresponds to a desktop.

Your Personal Computer could be a laptop. Your Personal Computer could be a tablet. Your Personal Computer could even be a smartphone.

It's and shouldn't be just one form factor decades old.

It depends what you mean with 'computing'. I don't think you want to use a smartphone to run a payroll program for 10.000 employees or run an accounts receivable. Nor would you run any CPU intensive tasks on a smartphone or tablet. I would also hate to edit pictures with Gimp on a 4" screen.

But if you think 'computing' is emails and facebook, then you can use all devices.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Historically, a PC is a computer that does not take whole room and does not need a crew to operate. Hence "Personal Computer", at the beginning it meant just a good part or whole desktop, so, desktop computer. Similar thing with "Lap"top which is not very advisable because of the heat and there goes another misnomer.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
I don't like how the term "PC" corresponds to a desktop.

Your Personal Computer could be a laptop. Your Personal Computer could be a tablet. Your Personal Computer could even be a smartphone.

It's and shouldn't be just one form factor decades old.

It depends what you mean with 'computing'. I don't think you want to use a smartphone to run a payroll program for 10.000 employees or run an accounts receivable. Nor would you run any CPU intensive tasks on a smartphone or tablet. I would also hate to edit pictures with Gimp on a 4" screen.

But if you think 'computing' is emails and facebook, then you can use all devices.

Computing is whatever YOU personally do the most. If it's facebook and emails, ok. If it's payroll software, fantastic. If it's Dreamweaver and cryptocurrency mining, awesome.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
I don't like how the term "PC" corresponds to a desktop.

Your Personal Computer could be a laptop. Your Personal Computer could be a tablet. Your Personal Computer could even be a smartphone.

It's and shouldn't be just one form factor decades old.

It depends what you mean with 'computing'. I don't think you want to use a smartphone to run a payroll program for 10.000 employees or run an accounts receivable. Nor would you run any CPU intensive tasks on a smartphone or tablet. I would also hate to edit pictures with Gimp on a 4" screen.

But if you think 'computing' is emails and facebook, then you can use all devices.

Computing is whatever YOU personally do the most. If it's facebook and emails, ok. If it's payroll software, fantastic. If it's Dreamweaver and cryptocurrency mining, awesome.
True, but not all devices lend themselves to do all those computing tasks - that was my point.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
It depends what you mean with 'computing'. I don't think you want to use a smartphone to run a payroll program for 10.000 employees or run an accounts receivable. Nor would you run any CPU intensive tasks on a smartphone or tablet. I would also hate to edit pictures with Gimp on a 4" screen.

But if you think 'computing' is emails and facebook, then you can use all devices.

Computing is whatever YOU personally do the most. If it's facebook and emails, ok. If it's payroll software, fantastic. If it's Dreamweaver and cryptocurrency mining, awesome.
True, but not all devices lend themselves to do all those computing tasks - that was my point.
But not everyone's computing needs lends themselves out to just one device, hence why a tablet or laptop can be that person's PC.

Whatever device best suits your computing needs and/or is what you use most often will be the PC of your choice.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
I think we beat that one to death. So be it. Nuff said.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
I was just reading an article about seven consecutive quarters of decreasing PC sales and it leads to two conclusions: people don't upgrade their two year old laptop with a new one nor do they really require newer hardware.

This is the dilemma with the PC, they just last SO much longer than a smartphone or simple tablet. Smartphones are on such a hyper release cycle but again, there is really no legitimate NEED other than want. Analysts can point blame where ever, but will completely disregard the fact that when it comes to Windows and PCs, those aren't on a hyper release cycle. An Intel i3 or i5 processor is abundantly enough for MOST people, not all. It doesn't make a difference if there is a new release of them.

Which then it makes me think, what if Windows RT was expanded out beyond the tablet form factor? Instead of pushing x86 high end processors on people who have simple computing needs and probably could fair with a lower end Pentium or even Atom, why not move over to ARM based PCs? ARM has the benefit on Windows with very long battery life, and malware immunity thus far. Windows RT is immune to "winrot," and all the apps are centralized from one well known source. If Windows RT was rebranded, and built with better and more features similar to what is found on the Desktop side of things, it could actually ignite SOME of the loss of PC shipments. Those chromebooks that cost less than 200 dollars? If Windows RT's licensing fees were dropped, that paperweight called a chromebook can actually be useful.

Fascinating.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
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