How long 'til the desktop is a relic in history?

[Tom Sawyer]

The one we have will be the last one... I swear! Don't have that much room as it is. AND, we have a laptop we rarely use, and an ipad, smart phones....etc...

 

I say 1-2 years, they won't make them anymore, 2-3 and they are relics along with 5.25 floppy's and 8-tracks

[alphseeker]

QUOTE (Tom Sawyer @ Aug 28 2012, 09:09 AM)

The one we have will be the last one... I swear! Don't have that much room as it is. AND, we have a laptop we rarely use, and an ipad, smart phones....etc... I say 1-2 years, they won't make them anymore, 2-3 and they are relics along with 5.25 floppy's and 8-tracks

It all depends on what you need it for - If it's just social networking and surfing the web, smart phones, i-pads, tablets will be all you need - But for development / design / gaming etc... desktops are invaluable. I have to process hundreds of pictures using memory hogs like Photoshop and it would be impossible without a desktop - Sometimes I'm running 4 programs at the same time impossible on a net-book or tablet -

[thesweetscience]

I agree, while small mobile devices will suffice for basic browsing and email, desktops will stick around for a while because they are still required to do the really "heavy" work. There are many things I do daily that wouldn't work on a tablet, smart phone or your average laptop.

[USB Connector]

The desktop PC will never truly vanish due to high performance programs like graphics/rendering software/high end video editors and video games. It's much cheaper to build a PC with high specs than a laptop. The laptop also risks becoming an oven and no upgrades are available while individual components can be replaced.

[ridertoo98]

^^ agree, wont replace mine with a laptop. The kids have them but I like my big box. Upgrades much easier and cheaper. Plus it looks cool

[Tom Sawyer]

good points

[Ancient Ways]

they will be in offices for a long time. Home use they are almost gone. I haven;t owned one in years.

[Lost In Xanadu]

QUOTE (Ancient Ways @ Aug 29 2012, 07:10 PM)

they will be in offices for a long time. Home use they are almost gone. I haven;t owned one in years.

That's pretty much exactly what I was going to say.

 

Many of the people I work with have gone to laptops, but I have stuck with my desktop because of the speed. Mine has twice the memory, so my development programs load much faster.

[snowdogged]

QUOTE (Lost In Xanadu @ Aug 30 2012, 08:59 AM)

QUOTE (Ancient Ways @ Aug 29 2012, 07:10 PM) they will be in offices for a long time.  Home use they are almost gone.  I haven;t owned one in  years. That's pretty much exactly what I was going to say.   Many of the people I work with have gone to laptops, but I have stuck with my desktop because of the speed. Mine has twice the memory, so my development programs load much faster. And there are so many other things also. Desktops will be around for many years for gaming, audio/video editing, graphic art, programming and anything else that requires plenty of speed from your cpu and video card. They do make some powerful laptops these days but not as powerful as the most powerful desktops and you can not really upgrade parts with a laptop.

[Ancient Ways]

[USB Connector]

[Tarkus406]

Desktops have a long time to go before they fizzle out, that's for sure.

 

I don't have so much of a need for them at home. I do spend most of my computer time on my iPad (on it right now). However, at work, it's a requirement. Designing stamping tools requires:

 

 

Very powerful and expensive graphics card

Large amounts of storage space (64GB tablet won't cut it )

8-12GB of RAM (at least for the most recent CAD software)

All of that packed into a spacious, open, and well ventilated case

A mouse and keyboard

The ability to easily switch between applications, and view more than one on the screen at once.

Nice big widescreen monitor

Plenty of other things that smartphones and tablets can't really offer.

 

So for business applications, desktops will most likely always be a necessity; depending on what you do, of course.

[Ancient Ways]

[Mr. Not]

If big boys like Apple / Windows end the convenience and perfection of the desktop, then Linux will surely still offer it and many will stick with it.

 

There's a point where you're not upgrading, but over simplifying and consequently inconveniencing.

[snowdogged]

QUOTE (Mr. IsNot @ Sep 3 2012, 02:44 AM)

There's a point where you're not upgrading, but over simplifying and consequently inconveniencing.

What does that even mean?

[USB Connector]

QUOTE (snowdogged @ Sep 3 2012, 05:09 PM)

QUOTE (Mr. IsNot @ Sep 3 2012, 02:44 AM) There's a point where you're not upgrading, but over simplifying and consequently inconveniencing. What does that even mean? I believe it means some people are too cheap to upgrade or just don't understand specs.

[GeddyRulz]

I think they already ARE relics, at least in the case of personal computing. (At work is another matter.) Anyone who's using a desktop PC at home is behind the times; the rest of us are using laptops at home and connecting to the Internet via our mobile devices the rest of the time.

 

When we moved two years ago, we put our desktop PC in a room we were going to use as "an office." Guess what? We NEVER use that desktop (I never even bothered setting it up!) and we never use "the office" - instead, we exclusively use a laptop or our mobile devices, usually while also watching TV in the living room. Who wants to go sit in another room every time they want to use the computer? Just set up a laptop in front of the TV, or whip out a smartphone.

 

 

Most companies are still using desktops in the workplace, although some people are issued laptops by their employer and then bring it to and from work. It'll probably still be several years, maybe even 10 or more, before desktops are phased-out at most companies and then become true "relics." But for Personal Computing, I believe they already ARE relics.

Edited September 28, 2012 by GeddyRulz

[KenJennings]

[thesweetscience]

[GeddyRulz]

QUOTE (KenJennings @ Sep 28 2012, 02:45 PM)

Answer: a centralized desk, big desktop PC, three monitors, a laptop on a sub-tier of the desk off to the side, a flat screen TV mounted up above and beyond the monitors, and a large luxurious leather chair in the middle of it all.

Question: What is Darth Vader's bathroom?

 

 

[KenJennings]

QUOTE (GeddyRulz @ Sep 28 2012, 02:03 PM)

QUOTE (KenJennings @ Sep 28 2012, 02:45 PM) Answer: a centralized desk, big desktop PC, three monitors, a laptop on a sub-tier of the desk off to the side, a flat screen TV mounted up above and beyond the monitors, and a large luxurious leather chair in the middle of it all. Question: What is Darth Vader's bathroom? Darth Vader poops in a leather chair??