Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 23rd Jan 2013 22:09 UTC
"Apple Inc reported quarterly revenue that slightly missed Wall Street expectations as sales of its flagship iPhone came in below target, sending its shares down more than 4 percent. The world's largest technology company shipped 47.8 million iPhones, lower than the roughly 50 million that Wall Street analysts had predicted. Sales of the iPad came in at 22.9 million in the fiscal first quarter, about in line with forecasts." I'll leave the financials to the experts, but one thing that stood out to me: Apple sold 4.2 million Macs, almost a million below expectations. How much of a future does desktop computing have at Apple? Update: The NYT/Reuters changed the title during the night. Fixed it.
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RE[4]: Comment by Valhalla
by Soulbender on Thu 24th Jan 2013 06:44
in reply to "RE[3]: Comment by Valhalla"
Member since:2005-08-18
Stuff like an increased value for the price in "static" use cases
True but tablets are already pretty cheap. Either way, this still spells the decline of desktop computing.
larger and higher-quality screens
Well, what if you can connect a larger monitor to your tablet?
screens, better ergonomics when you want to work for an extended period of time
I really don't see how a desktop would provide better ergonomics in the case where the tablet has an external mouse and keyboard.
Not everyone needs a desktop, but those desktops which haven't been replaced by laptops likely won't be replaced by tablets either.
True but they won't last forever and when they die, or are no longer "good enough", they're unlikely to be replaced by another desktop.
Edited 2013-01-24 06:44 UTC
RE[5]: Comment by Valhalla
by Neolander on Thu 24th Jan 2013 07:27
in reply to "RE[4]: Comment by Valhalla"
Member since:2010-03-08
Of course, one can often do what I did at work and wire a laptop or tablet into a full desktop setup, complete with a keyboard, mouse, large screen, faster and more reliable wired networking, etc...
The core reason why I did this, though, is that I didn't really need a laptop to begin with. If I actually did, I wouldn't bother with the constant plugging and unplugging and would just buy a second desktop machine for the "static" work, with some sort of periodic data syncing between both.
That's what I meant when I said that good enough docking could change the situation. As of today, using a tablet or laptop in a desktop configuration when all you actually need is a desktop, is just too much of a hassle for too high of a price.
As for your argument that desktops are still being phased out in favor of laptops, I frankly doubt it. The average desktop lasts less than a decade, and "good enough" laptops have been around for longer than that, so people who actually needed a more portable device have likely already made the switch.
Edited 2013-01-24 07:36 UTC
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.More Features »
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2010-03-08
Right and with more and more powerful and flexible mobile systems why would you buy a desktop once your old desktop no longer is good enough?
I guess the same reasons why people buy desktops instead of - or in addition to - laptops today would still apply. Stuff like an increased value for the price in "static" use cases, larger and higher-quality screens, better ergonomics when you want to work for an extended period of time, more flexible and robust hardware, easier sharing within a family...
Not everyone needs a desktop, but those desktops which haven't been replaced by laptops likely won't be replaced by tablets either. Only laptops need to be afraid of the rise of touchscreen devices, as soon as the software on these things grows up beyond the "Fisher Price, my first computer" stage.
A cellphone/tablet docking mechanism which doesn't suck could remove some of the aforementioned advantages of desktops over laptops, but AFAIK, no one has been seriously working in such a direction so far.
Edited 2013-01-24 06:39 UTC