I see the end of the Desktop Computer

[Timber]

I have been saying this for some time now. I use a portable desk computer all the time. I am a Operations Manager for a Warehouse and Trucking facility. I put in a lot of hours but these days I can do a lot from home. In my office at work I use a 22 inch monitor that I plug into my Laptop and I use a Wireless keyboard at my desk on the keyboard pullout. I can either use duel monitors or most of the time I just use the 22 inch and save the ware and tear on the laptop monitor. This is the greatest convince because I just unplug the monitor, pick up my laptop & head out the door with my entire work. Most all peripherals are becoming Ethernet based, I never fax anymore & everything is scanned to email. Printers are either on a terminal server or a wireless router. I can sit in my home and print on any printer in my office or at any of our other facility's, It seems to me that there is not any advantage to a desktop, only limitations. There will always be specific tasks where a computer will never leave its location where it does a job 24 hours a day so there will always be a call for them. I think in a world where technology changes so quickly and the cost of a laptop over a desktop is so much cheaper that the desk top will just go the way of special order.

 

[Lasgambler]

I think in a world where technology changes so quickly and the cost of a laptop over a desktop is so much cheaper that the desk top will just go the way of special order.[/SIZE][/I][/QUOTE]


I think you are right about that. I live in an area with no land line phone lines, so DSL has not been an option for me. I delt with Hughesnet for about 4 years on a desktop PC. I now have, for about a year and a half, a laptop with an Aircard and I love it. A little slow at times, but still to be able to take my laptop where ever I go has really spoiled me.

My wife still uses a desktop PC with an Aircard on it also. We had alot of trouble with Hughes and there service.

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

I used to work in an office with relatively restricted access to building, secretary in outside office and (in theory) several people around all the time. Had the Laptop - hooked to desk monitor - wireless mouse / keyboard.

Went to lunch one day - came back in 45 minutes - no laptop - never seen again.

Just something to think about.

 

[MikePA]

The desktop will always be cheaper than the equivalent laptop and for large companies, with 1,000s of PCs, buying laptops instead of desktops aint going to happen.

 

[texasjohn]

Yes, physical security is a problem...nevertheless,I'm moving to laptops...but some of my old desktop machines just won't die!

 

[Timber]

Yea there is nothing you can do about theft except take the obvious precaution. If people are going to rip you off there is not really a lot you can do about it. I have my own office that can be easily locked if I felt the need. The trend we have hear these days company wide is toward the laptop PC. Critical personal tend to be available to the work 24/7. The amount of people that work from home is increasing rapidly. The price of fuel is driving this as well as technology. A portable PC cost less than a basic CPU alone. Most of your programs are on a terminal server so you don't even have to install them onto your hard drive. The desk top PC is history. the ratio of portable PCs to desktop CPUs company wide has changed drastically company wide. We even have people that hove opted out of a PC all together and work totally from a Blackberry. The world is changing quickly.[/SIZE][/I]

 

[Gravdigr]

I just have to chime in being a pc builder in my spare time...

First 1 pet peeve I have is people calling a desktop computer a 'cpu'. CPU = central processing unit, every computer has one, from the calculator watch you had in high school to deep blue (the supercomputer that won the chess match with a 'human move'). In PCs the cpu is the chip, usually made by intel or amd, that is the brain of the computer. This is the terminology I will be using so there is no confusion.

There, with that out of the way. There is 1 section of the population that spends more per computer than anyone else, that is the computer gamer. Computer gaming puts more demands on hardware that most any business application and is equal in needs to video processing or complex CAD systems. Computer gamers are always upgrading their machines, often once a year or more. This upgradability is just not available in a laptop. I had the same desktop computer for 8 years, in that time I upgraded/replaced every component inside several times. To do this with a laptop would be amazingly expensive. As it is getting a laptop gapable of running the graphics for the latest games will cost $3,500+. And before you snort at people playing games on their pc keep in mind the gaming industry pulls in more money per year than the music or movie industry.

I will admit for my business I have 2 laptops for running microsoft office and whatnot. But when I sit down to a game of crysis or everquest 2 I'm sitting at my desktop...comparing my desktop to my laptop is like comparing a ferrari to a pinto.

 

[LMTC]

Until you can get the same components and performance for the same money, I don't see it happening. I imagine we'll see a higher % of laptops for all of the reasons stated in this thread, but the desktop is a long way away from going bye bye. I couldn't care less about portability for my applications. The rural churches I work with, some of whom are just getting their first PCs, do not need portability either. In the rare event when I need to carry files to some off-premise site, I use a DVD, thumb drive, or external HD, all of which are easier for me to handle than a laptop.

That said, I do own a nice laptop for those rare occasions when I travel and expect to have to work on the road, but I can get faster and better overall performance for less money in a desktop.

 

[Timber]

LOL I would never trash a gamer though I am not part of the segment of the population they are big part of the advancements in computer technology. Gaming computers are the hot rods and dragsters of the computer world not your mainstream application. Gameing computers are almost always a custom build and not exactly what I am talking about for the most part.

 

[ragkar]

I have no need for portability, so why should I settle for less than a desktop. I work/play with mine from one location, from a desk with a comfortable chair, air conditioning, music in the background and most important - permanently connected accessories.