News - Steepest ever decline in PC shipments witnessed in Q1 2013

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Worldwide PC shipments are nearly 14 per cent down from a year ago.

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Well I am not surprised about the Windows 8 slowdown, personally I like it apart from the Metro interface which I hardly use now, but realistically no-one or hardly anyone was ever going to upgrade their monitor to an expensive touchscreen.

Think about it this way... When was the last time you saw 'state of the art' PC components... eveyone has seen i7's for 3+ years now (even though they are different chipsets(people still think they are the same)) and for video cards... compare the 400 series Nvidia to the 500 and even 600 series... Nothing 'new' has came out in a few years.

To be honest I'm sitting here with my aging S775 system with an SSD boot drive etc. and all I'm looking to buy is 2xshiny HD monitors...
This is the reality, many people have good enough PC's for the majority of tasks. I might buy a cheap tablet, but then again I might not it's not that compelling!

touchscreens for my home computer does not seem logical it is not ergonomic for me as the monitors are too far away. Touch is for phones, tablets and public facing devices (in store etc), basically any device where the naturaly input method is dispaly interaction.
cursor movement via eye movement is what I want to see !

People under the age of 18 have little of no concept of a PC. They consume and use in a totally different way.

The intel based PC a a horse. Mobile devices are the car.

Windows 9 for desktops-and possibly portable devices as well should now be pushed along faster to combine the unseen developments associated with W8 to be associated with Windows 7 simplicity. That means dropping the current screen presentation and simply offering it as an on call alternative. I have never understood the proposition that a touchscreen for a desktop system was ever a reasoned solution. Well, not until we develop gibbon-like arms. I appreciate that one can adopt W7 lookalike software, as I have done, but we should not have to do so-just one of the things that Microsoft did not think through before launch of W8.

I suspect however that Windows Blue, due out this summer, will perpetuate the problems of W8

I have a feeling that motion/gesture controllers will become popular after Computex as they are relatively cheap gadgets, these may help people enjoy using Windows 8's modern UI more, rather than needing to invest in laptop/desktop touchscreens.

I would also suspect that recent hikes in the price of some components, will have contributed to the overall trend, with many people put off from purchasing

You just have to look at the usage of Windows xp to see why. Those people on xp are also likely running older systems, more than likely early core 2 stuff. They just don't need to upgrade unless it breaks completely, looking at webpages and writing a letter while listening to music is what most people do. Windows 7 is the new xp they have even less need. Even if Microsoft fix Windows 8 to suit those who don't like the interface I don't think there will be a big constant leap in demand.

IMO kids are brought up on mobile devices and tablets and therefore think these are superior... The sheer convenience is probably why for people in the "I want it right now" generation...

In other news I just built myself a new beast of a gamin PC so that should slow down the PC decline :P

Well I do know for instance the poll was not conducted taking into account the Surface Pro and that is a tablet that runs full Windows 8. It's true as Phaz0r18 said though, the new generation do everything on their mobiles/tablets. As well as this like some posters mentioned before, the old generation that were heavy into PC's don't need to upgrade.

I also read elsewhere that since consoles have taken the gaming market but yet are running hardware lagging way behind PC's, gamers with their powerful rigs are waiting for console tech to catch up since all of the developers have migrated to develop their games on consoles.

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Originally Posted by Georigueur

I also read elsewhere that since consoles have taken the gaming market but yet are running hardware lagging way behind PC's, gamers with their powerful rigs are waiting for console tech to catch up since all of the developers have migrated to develop their games on consoles.

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Might not be for much longer, the next gen consoles are all switching up to x86 architectures... I bet we'll have consoles that are just gaming PC's in disguise soon enough...

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Originally Posted by Phaz0r18

Might not be for much longer, the next gen consoles are all switching up to x86 architectures... I bet we'll have consoles that are just gaming PC's in disguise soon enough...

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Gamers rejoice lol.

Do you think that this might start the trend in eradicating gaming PC's then?

Maybe.

I don't you could get PC gamers to part with their Keyboards and mice controllers but if you could have a PS3 backlog of titles, with the power of a gaming PC and a keyboard and mouse attachment I think its going to look pretty damn tempting to some...

Myself included.

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Originally Posted by Jonis

Think about it this way... When was the last time you saw 'state of the art' PC components... eveyone has seen i7's for 3+ years now (even though they are different chipsets(people still think they are the same)) and for video cards... compare the 400 series Nvidia to the 500 and even 600 series... Nothing 'new' has came out in a few years.

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Indeed, the PC has stagnated somewhat as developers reap higher benefit from console/cross platform gaming.
Also a PC has been able to do pretty much everything a normal user could expect for many years now so they dont really need to buy new.
Tablets (including phablets and even phones) have taken a large chunk out of the small/low end market share

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Originally Posted by k4p84

touchscreens for my home computer does not seem logical it is not ergonomic for me as the monitors are too far away. Touch is for phones, tablets and public facing devices (in store etc), basically any device where the naturaly input method is dispaly interaction.
cursor movement via eye movement is what I want to see !

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Quite, the minority report style touchscreen inputs are all very cool and innovative, but if you had to do that 8 hours a day you will be lining up to claim PIPs within a week or two!!

Those things might be fine as occasional or targetted POS type use but why do we have the keyboard & mouse still? Because nothing comes close for extended periods of use for productivity and ease of use!

I'd guess that, for most people, the computer experience is about email and web browsing. Perhaps throw in a game or two here and there and add a social media experience of some description (Facebook, Twitter etc.) and you're pretty much done.
All of the above can pretty well be covered by smart phones now and, as has been pointed out, they're almost ubiquitous for the current teenage generation. The people aren't just growing up without computers, they're growing up not needing them.

Personally I can see a combination of smartphone with a large monitor, keyboard and technology along the lines of wireless HDMI for the security (?) and bandwidth making up any new growth in the desktop computer market. You computer is carried with you and can differentiate locations so as to offer productivity solutions in the office, social apps in transit and entertainment when you get home.
Big beige boxes may have gone away a while ago and I think their replacements won't be long for the mainstream world.

I love tablets there the future for hand held communication :P

For some they're the future for others they're the past. It's like 1997 all over again.

Actual it's different now. In 2013 you can hold the future in your hand without negatively affecting you chances of getting laid whereas in 1997 it was more akin to contracting leprosy.

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Originally Posted by ed^chigliak

For some they're the future for others they're the past. It's like 1997 all over again.

Actual it's different now. In 2013 you can hold the future in your hand without negatively affecting you chances of getting laid whereas in 1997 it was more akin to contracting leprosy.

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LOL what?

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Originally Posted by k4p84

touchscreens for my home computer does not seem logical it is not ergonomic for me as the monitors are too far away. Touch is for phones, tablets and public facing devices (in store etc), basically any device where the naturaly input method is dispaly interaction.
cursor movement via eye movement is what I want to see !

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I don't think Microsoft really intended us (and business) to rush out and grab touch screens for desks. Sure some hardware manufacturers have tried but I think thats just a desperation to be "current". There are touch mice and trackpads which make great use of the gestures without you having to wave your arms like a drowning monkey.

Windows 8's direct touch capability was primarily designed for tablets, convertibles etc (Microsoft didn't have a choice but do this, the market led the way) and to at least enable touch screens to function wherever they're crowbarred in. W8 is also made to be usable via multi-touch gestures on touchpads and old fashioned mouse clicks, it's a complete fabrication to suggest that Windows 8 is unusable and offers nothing without a touch screen.