Opinion – Is the desktop computer dead?
The new features in Mac OS X Lion and, in particular, Windows 8 have a distinctly common theme – they're designed to make the desktop touch-based and more mobile. A finger-friendly, tile-based UI is the default front for Microsoft's brave new version of Windows, while Apple has added multi-touch and an app 'Launchpad' among other treats to its desktop OS.
So, does this mean the desktop computer is dead? With laptops packing the grunt we need for most tasks, and cloud services like iCloud promising to be the new hubs of our computing lives, is there really any need for a hulking desktop PC? Or do you think there'll always be a place for a big-screen computer with separate, finger-beating peripherals?
Let us know what you think below and you could star in the August issue of Stuff magazine, on shelves on 6th July.
Comments
Anthony Galbraith
1 year ago
I like the cloud, but I prefer personal cloud systems, like Pogoplugs and NAS drives. It could be that the desktop of the future is something you run applications on remotely, but you keep local control over the thing itself.
ZedFactor
1 year ago
Not for work, no; I can't see your average office abandoning desktop computers any time soon. People like to have their own desk with their own stuff; it's about territory. And you can't sit at that desk hunched over a tablet. Plus there are lots of jobs that will always require a proper desktop computer - you can't edit photos to a professional standard on a tablet, for example, you need more screen real estate.
If we all get fibre optic broadband maybe more people will be able to do their jobs from home, making a desktop computer of some kind necessary there, too. After all, simple ergonomics mean that when it comes to working for eight hours, a decent chair and a vertical screen are better for your body than a tablet or laptop.
Bruno Mindhorn
1 year ago
I'd feel uncomfortable entrusting all my music and videos to the cloud. I need some sort of physical archive to store it all. For that the desktop will always be king.
Clifton Slim
1 year ago
There'll always be people who want to keep everything safe in their digital attic, but those of us who embrace the cloud will look a lot smarter when our houses burn down.
BigSexyNeil
1 year ago
Until unlimited really means unlimited then cloud computing has no chance of success in mobile devices, so you'd still have to find a wi-fi signal or carry a usb stick everywhere.
Anybody that has ever lost signal on their iPhone knows the helpless feeling when you have no access to anything you can actually use.
Munster1313
1 year ago
Over the last few years my ground breaking Minidisc and my Nokia smartphone have been replaced with my IPhone. My laptop has been replaced with my iPad and eventually my gaming PC will be replaced with my iPad3 or 4. In the meantime I am waiting for Apple to turn my Mac Mini into a fully fledged gaming machine. If the latter never happens I will be happy playing 0.59p games on my iPad or iPhone. How many times since the original Doom was released have I heard that games consuls will finish of the PC for good?
One day Apple will finish of the PC for good.
keinjvt
1 year ago
As stated earlier Desktop computers will be needed in the work place for years to come. it takes so long for some companies to upgrade there tech that the upgrade becomes dated by the time the upgrade program has started.
I think it could lead to a split market i.e. Microsoft and Apple making desktop software for businesses that can be used with bigger screens using a mouse and then home computing will make the big leaps in terms of intuitive touch UI's, and hardwear specs.