Desktop PCs and the Windows desktop: Endangered species?

The PC industry worldwide sold 136 million desktop PCs last year, along with 160 million traditional notebooks driven by keyboards and touchpads. Those big numbers explain why Microsoft is feverishly improving the desktop experience for "the next iteration of Windows."

At the Build Developer Conference earlier this year, Microsoft officially announced plans to return the Start menu to “the next iteration of Windows,” along with a new option to run Metro/Modern-style apps in their own windows on the Windows desktop.

Microsoft Executive Vice President Terry Myerson made the announcement at the Build Day 1 keynote on April 2, 2014. You can watch the clip on YouTube below, with Myerson's remarks coming a little more than two hours in to the morning’s proceedings.

Read more at: Desktop PCs and the Windows desktop: Endangered species? | ZDNet


[video=youtube;AmF_izdlsvY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmF_izdlsvY#t=7724[/video]
 
I guess they haven't read this yet:
Sales of Big Smartphones Are Totally Killing Tablets - Windows 7 Help Forums

We must be entering the "Post-Tablet" world.
wink.gif
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64 bit), Linux Mint 18.3 MATE (64 bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    n/a
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II x6 1055T, 2.8 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASRock 880GMH-LE/USB3
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 1333 G-Skill Ares F3-1333C9D-8GAO (4GB x 2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD6450
    Sound Card
    Realtek?
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S23B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital 1.5 TB (SATA), Western Digital 2 TB (SATA), Western Digital 3 TB (SATA)
    Case
    Tower
    Mouse
    Wired Optical
    Other Info
    Linux Mint 16 MATE (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 17 MATE (64 bit) - 2014-05-17
    Linux Mint 14 MATE (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 16 MATE (64 bit) - 2013-11-13
    Ubuntu 10.04 (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 14 MATE (64 bit) - 2013-01-14
    RAM & Graphics Card Upgraded - 2013-01-13
    Monitor Upgraded - 2012-04-20
    System Upgraded - 2011-05-21, 2010-07-14
    HDD Upgraded - 2010-08-11, 2011-08-24,
Tablets and smartphones are a nice portable traveling solution. At home, I still want a desktop or large laptop.
 

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.
Why do I feel I am always being lectured to by Microsoft?

<yawn>

I am going to cut my afternoon classes
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 7 & 8
Why do I feel I am always being lectured to by Microsoft?

<yawn>

I am going to cut my afternoon classes

With no intention of rudeness, possibly because you appear to be still at school?

I was familiar with the MS talk.- I did not feel I was being talked down to. Microsoft are trying to please the users who have complained of the two major differences - the start menu and multiple windows. fwiw, there are many such complainers on this site and other forums.
Why not show some cooperation with their attempts to please, instead of cynicism and sarcasm every time they utter a comment. One can understand their apparent secrecy and scarcity of comment, in these circumstances.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Use several different computers during a day, so specs are irrelevant.
Why do I feel I am always being lectured to by Microsoft?

<yawn>

I am going to cut my afternoon classes

With no intention of rudeness, possibly because you appear to be still at school?

I was familiar with the MS talk.- I did not feel I was being talked down to. Microsoft are trying to please the users who have complained of the two major differences - the start menu and multiple windows. fwiw, there are many such complainers on this site and other forums.
Why not show some cooperation with their attempts to please, instead of cynicism and sarcasm every time they utter a comment. One can understand their apparent secrecy and scarcity of comment, in these circumstances.
With no intention of rudeness, possible because they make me feel like I am back in school.

I did not say "talked down to" I said "lectured". I have heard so many "lectures" about the New Start Menu, it is like a broken record. They need to shut-up, simply tells us when it is going to be out and then do it. I think I have shown cooperation with them since they started Windows 8 and now on to 9, what has it been 5+ years from when Ballmer first started his discussions.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 7 & 8
I've been in IT for 25 years and if I had a nickel for every time I heard that the "PC is dead", I'd be a wealthy, retired ex-IT guy". If they predict this long enough, they'll eventually be right...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 10 Pro 64bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built Intel i7-3770k-based system
    CPU
    Intel i7-3770k, Overclocked to 4.6GHz (46x100) with Corsair H110i GT cooler
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula 2.30 BIOS
    Memory
    32GB DDR3 2133 Corsair Vengeance Pro
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GTX 980ti SC ACS 6GB DDR5 by EVGA
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD, Corsair SP2500 speakers and subwoofer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 27EA33 [Monitor] (27.2"vis) HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB (system drive)
    WD 6TB Red NAS hard drives x 2 in Storage Spaces (redundancy)
    PSU
    Corsair 750ax fully modular power supply with sleeved cables
    Case
    Corsair Air 540 with 7 x 140mm fans on front, rear and top panels
    Cooling
    Corsair H110i GT liquid cooled CPU with 4 x 140" Corsair SP "push-pull" and 3 x 140mm fans
    Keyboard
    Thermaltake Poseidon Z illuminated keyboard
    Mouse
    Corsair M65 wired
    Internet Speed
    85MBps DSL
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, MalwareBytes Pro and CCleaner Pro
    Other Info
    Client of Windows Server 2012 R2 10 PC's, laptops and smartphones on the WLAN.

    1GBps Ethernet ports
I've been in IT for 25 years and if I had a nickel for every time I heard that the "PC is dead", I'd be a wealthy, retired ex-IT guy". If they predict this long enough, they'll eventually be right...

Exactly. I've been hearing the reports of the death of the PC for decades now. I'll always have a PC, as it's my main work and gaming machine at home. I love my smartphone, and my tablet, but I can't use Dreamweaver on either, so they'll never replace my PC.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Tech Preview 10041 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    AMD FX-8350 8-core Black Edition @ 4.0 Ghz (4.2 Turbo)
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 1333
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus R9 290 DirectCU II OC, Gigabyte R9 290 Windforce OC in Xfire
    Sound Card
    Integrated w/ Creative A250 2.1 speakers
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Main: Asus VN289H 28" Secondary: Acer G246HL 24"
    Screen Resolution
    3840x1080
    Hard Drives
    128 GB SanDisk Ultra Plus (Windows drive)

    240 GB Crucial M500 SSD (Data drive)

    1 TB WDC WD10EACS 7200RPM HDD (Data drive)

    2 TB Seagate Expansion Desktop external HDD (Backup drive)
    PSU
    900w Antec HCG-900
    Case
    Raidmax Agusta Full ATX
    Cooling
    Corsair H80 liquid
    Keyboard
    Cooler Master Devastator KB24
    Mouse
    Cooler Master Devastator MS2K 1000/1600/2000 DPI
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbps cable
    Browser
    Chrome
Gee! What could I say? Endangered Species? Indeed, not for us old timers.
I built my first PC in ~1980 out of spare parts I scrounged up. That old PC with a 20 meg hard drive and two full height floppy disks, launched me into the computer repair business. The PC I'm on right now, I built in 2005 and I've upgraded it several times since then to keep it running at its MAX capability. Windows 8 and a touch screen just isn't for me. I've tried it and didn't like it at all.
I'm still running XP-Pro-SP3 here.

Cheers Mates!
:cool:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win-8.1/Pro/64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer X-1200
    CPU
    AMD 2 Core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    Crucial, 4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDEA GeForce 9200
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Acer
    Hard Drives
    Sandisk, SSD 500GB
    PSU
    Acer
    Case
    SFF Slimline
    Keyboard
    emachines 101 key
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Internet Speed
    5 Meg
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Using Classic Shell on Win-8.1 /pro/64
"PC is dead" ???

NOPE. Not yet, anyway.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Upd 1 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sony Vaio Pro 13
    CPU
    Intel i7
    Hard Drives
    PCIe SSD
    Browser
    FF
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender
Hi there

Yawn -- Yawn -- we've been through this ad Nauseam.

Tools are Tools - people will use what's best for the job (given half a chance). For some things Mobile / Touch and / or other types of devices we haven't even thought about yet might be appropriate -- for others the Traditional desktop.

Previously (sounds like a re-cap on a TV series !!) you ONLY had the choice of a PC --then came the Laptop with a huge improvement for mobile / flexible workers and now mobile phones, smart TV's and "convertible PC / tablet" devices. New business methods also are devised for using these new tools - often making them much more successful and certainly more convenient for their customers.

Some applications requiring mega amounts of processing / graphics / HDD space etc will still be done in the "Classical" way with conventional gear so it won't disappear --it will become much more niche.

I think Ms has actually got it right - trying to devise a common interface across as many device types as possible --the initial implementation (W8) was totally bonkers -- I mean who ever needed TOUCH tiles on a SERVER for instance !! (W2008 server !!) but W8.1 update 1 is a huge improvement and maybe W9 will finally give us a modern OS to encompass ALL these devices conveniently.

Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Centos 7, W8.1, W7, W2K3 Server W10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 X LG 40 inch TV
    Hard Drives
    SSD's * 3 (Samsung 840 series) 250 GB
    2 X 3 TB sata
    5 X 1 TB sata
    Internet Speed
    0.12 GB/s (120Mb/s)
I have 2 pc's .. and they run 24/7. They just do what they do .. very efficiently and never quit. A smartphone could never do what they do .. and laptops are just a pain. I want a real keyboard.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus MB11
    CPU
    AMD A8-6500
    Memory
    6 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon HD 8570D
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer V233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    Samsumg 840 EVO 250 GB
    Keyboard
    MS Keyboard 600
    Mouse
    MS Mouse ver 2.0
    Browser
    Firefox ver 30.0
I have 2 pc's .. and they run 24/7. They just do what they do .. very efficiently and never quit. A smartphone could never do what they do .. and laptops are just a pain. I want a real keyboard.

Hi there

That's what I'm saying - some apps need what you are using others can run quite happily on a mobile device -- as the Brits say "Horses for Courses".

I would never again take a large clunky laptop on to a plane any more though - especially with the tedious security at airports and often expensive fees for storing anything other than "Carry on Luggage"

Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Centos 7, W8.1, W7, W2K3 Server W10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 X LG 40 inch TV
    Hard Drives
    SSD's * 3 (Samsung 840 series) 250 GB
    2 X 3 TB sata
    5 X 1 TB sata
    Internet Speed
    0.12 GB/s (120Mb/s)
Back
Top