I see the end of the Desktop Computer

[riptides]

Desktops offers modes of control both in their location (fixed) and their physical presence (size and weight). Add virtualization (the ability to run multiple O/S) on them, and a controlled user environment, corporations will continue to use them as core computing infrastructure for quite some time.

And the support costs for mobile platforms are much higher than fixed assets.

 

[Timber]

I am currently in "Buy" mode to set up a local rural church with their first PCs. I have found the following:

• [FONT=&quot]AMD Athlon Dual Core 4200+ 2.2Ghz
  (2.0GHz, 512k L2 cache per core) [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]1GB DDR2-667 SDRAM
  (2 x 512MB DIMMs - upgradable to 8GB) [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]160GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA II hard drive [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]16x dual layer DVDｱRW with LightScribe [/FONT]6.95 x 16.85 x 14.85 in[FONT=&quot]
  (Create your own DVDs at speeds of up to 16x and CDs at speeds of up to 48x, reads CDs at 48x and DVDs at 16x) [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Integrated ATI Radeon X300 Graphics
  (shares from 32MB up to 256MB of system memory) [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Integrated High Definition audio with internal speaker [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Integrated Broadcom 5755 10/100/1000 ethernet adapter [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Integrated TPM 1.2 security module [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Keyboard [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Mouse [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Microsoft Windows XP Home [/FONT]

for $365 each, delivered and 12 month warranty. Yes, it is not high end. Primary function will be use of MS Office or OpenOffice programs. I will pair these with a $150 17" LCD, and I don't think there is a laptop with even these basic specs that can come close to the price.

I remember paying nearly $2,000.00 for my first 486 machine at CompUSA.

Your not going to run Vista on that with only 1 Gig for very long, That looks like and E machine to me

 

[N80]

Desktops offers modes of control both in their location (fixed) and their physical presence (size and weight).

True

Add virtualization (the ability to run multiple O/S) on them,

Mac laptops can run OS X and Windows natively. I'm pretty sure they will run Linux as well.

and a controlled user environment,

I see drug company reps use their laptops all the time and their user environment seems more tightly controlled than the corporate desktop I use now.

corporations will continue to use them as core computing infrastructure for quite some time.

With this I totally agree but I think cost and physical security drive that more than anything.

And the support costs for mobile platforms are much higher than fixed assets.

This is true too and even translates into the consumer market. My laptop is 3 years old and needs a new $100 battery. But consumers also find themselves involved in battery, heat and 'cable' management issues with laptops which they are not confronted with on laptops.

 

[Gravdigr]

Yes, but does the laptop cost more than the desktop for the same functionality?

Later,
Dan

Actually that laptop wasn't too expensive, right around $1,000. It even had a somewhat decent graphics system and 17" display. I was really bummed when I saw it since I had my current laptop for a year and the newer one was the same price as my older one but better.

 

[Timber]

actual if you build them on line you can tweak them pretty good for short money. The expensive laptops are the 15 in screen ones. If you go with the 17" screen there cheaper and more powerful. There is a higher demand for smaller and lighter potables

 

[MossRoad]

Your not going to run Vista on that with only 1 Gig for very long, That looks like and E machine to me

That's why it says it comes with XP.

 

[Timber]

LOL oh I missed that blond moment, I have them a lot
Lots of good stuff in this thread

 

[MossRoad]

LOL oh I missed that blond moment, I have them a lot
Lots of good stuff in this thread

That's O.K. I frequently stare at a problem for hours and have a co-worker come up and say "Watcha doing?" I explain the situation, they look at it for 5 seconds and say "do this". AAAaarrgGGGG!!!

 

[Timber]

That's O.K. I frequently stare at a problem for hours and have a co-worker come up and say "Watcha doing?" I explain the situation, they look at it for 5 seconds and say "do this". AAAaarrgGGGG!!!

Isn't that so true

 

[dmccarty]

Actually that laptop wasn't too expensive, right around $1,000. It even had a somewhat decent graphics system and 17" display. I was really bummed when I saw it since I had my current laptop for a year and the newer one was the same price as my older one but better.

But did $1,000 buy the same performance in a laptop vs a desktop?

I just got a new laptop at work. I maxed it out to get as close to the new desktop as I could and it came to $1,700 with 4 GB RAM, 200GB drive, a not so good video card, a dual core CPU.

The desktop I bought for home was $900 has 4 GB of RAM, a 750 GB hard disk, a pretty good video card, tv tuner, room for expansion, and a quad core CPU plus loads of USB ports.

The desktop has for more performance for quite a bit less money.

Laptops are great. We have two. We also have two desktops. They each have their usage but desktops provide more bang for the buck which I don't see changing anytime soon. The laptop has the disadvantage of requiring a smaller lighter components that use less power. That means higher cost. A desktop does not have that limitation and means lower cost components for more performance.

Desktop's are not going away.

My first laptop was back in the mid 80s.

Later,
Dan