Microsoft slams post-PC idea, claims “PC isn’t even middle aged yet”

By Tom Warren, on 19th Aug 11 11:22 pm with 172 Comments

Microsoft rejects the idea of a “post-PC” era of technology.

The company is labelling the current era as the “PC Plus” realm where PCs are surrounded by new devices designed for a specific niche purpose. The software giant’s chief of communications, Frank Shaw, revealed the company’s feelings in a blog post on Friday. “I’ve seen a resurgence of the term “post” applied to the PC in a number of stories including The Wall Street Journal, PC World and the Washington Post,” said Shaw. He proceeds to explain that it’s human nature for people to like simple and straightforward “something is a foo-’killer’ stories.” Shaw explains things aren’t that clear cut and simple in the technology world. “eReaders, Tablets, Smartphones, Set top boxes, aren’t PC killers,” states Shaw. “But instead are complementary devices. They are each highly optimized to do a great job on a subset of things any PC can also do.”

Shaw argues that PCs do certain tasks in a unique way and “aren’t going away” as they change rapidly to do the same things that companion devices (like eReaders and Tablets etc) do.

“I’ll be the first to admit that these new “non-PC” objects do a great job at enabling people to communicate and consume in innovative and interesting ways. That’s not surprising, because they were expressly designed for that purpose. But even their most ardent admirers will not assert that they are as good as PCs at the first two verbs, create and collaborate. And that’s why one should take any reports of the death of the PC with a rather large grain of salt. Because creating and collaborating are two of the most basic human drives, and are central to the idea of the PC. They move our culture, economy and world forward. You see their fingerprints in every laboratory, startup, classroom, and community.”

Shaw rounds up his thoughts by promising a range of powerful devices that will connect to cloud services and make it easier to create, communicate, collaborate and consume information. “So while it’s fun for the digerati to pronounce things dead, and declare we’re post-PC, we think it’s far more accurate to say that the 30-year-old PC isn’t even middle aged yet, and about to take up snowboarding.”

http://www.searingarrow.com AlienSix

Nicely put, The iPad can do alot of thing but being a post pc, it is not
- http://twitter.com/starksimon Stark
  
  Yes it is, because Jobs said so. /s
- http://www.Nave360.com Sebastian Gorgon
  
  Jobs said go and kill yourself.
- http://twitter.com/starksimon Stark
  
  You are:
  
  a) blind
  b) dumb
  c) both of the above
  
  Re-read my post (it’s not that hard, is it) and you’ll notice a “/s”, which is short for “/sarcasm”, which means “end of sarcasm”.
- Anonymous
  
  It is hard to say if it is
  the “post-PC” era. However, it is naive and foolish to say PC
  is not even middle age yet. PCs used to be the personal “device” of
  choice for consumers, but not anymore. Today, smart phones are the personal device for
  consumers, period. The sooner MS realizes that, the sooner MS can compete effectively.
Aaron

I think he has a great point. eReaders, iPads, and other “post-pc” devices are really just consumption devices. None of them can completley replace a PC. They key to shutting these people up is to make Windows 8 offer the simple type of consumption that has made the iPad popular, yet still retain the capacity to be productive.
- Anonymous
  
  I am really looking forward to a Win8 tablet. My only worry is that the OEMs will produce ugly plastic devices and think they can get away with it.
  
  If Nokia made a Sea Ray tablet, I would foam at the mouth and faint while handing them my wallet.
- Anonymous
  
  Don’t worry, Nokia is as of this year a windows phone partner. When win8 will surface, I see nokia entering tablets, they’ve done MIDS before. They might even enter laptops as here too they had an atom eepc style machine.
- Guest
  
  Which would also imply the world is changing.
  Innovation is driven by small number of peoples who actually create something.
  The rest of the world are just consuming (reading, playing games, downloading stuffs, multimedia) and debating on just about anything.
- Anonymous
  
  The same thing (it can’t be done) was said of PCs replacing mainframes and mini computers. PCs completely replaced them.
  
  You suggest that Windows8 will allow the tablet to replace the PC. You are basically acknowledging that the problem is not the device, but the available software. Yet, Windows 7 is available on tablets…. With access to the full productivity suites and power of the desktop. And it does nothing in the market.
  
  20 years MS has had. Wasn’t that enough time?
- Guest
  
  They don’t have to completely replace PC to have a major negative impact on PC sales. They’re already have that in their current form and will only get more powerful/capable.
Anonymous

the term “post-pc era” is a joke.
- J A
  
  The public is so stupid to even think of any such thing. PCs are here to stay, at least for the forseeable future. All the stupid tablets people make noise about cannot be used to “create” or “produce” anything at all, they are only used to “consume” what is aleready created. Only Windows 8 seems to have any productivity tools you can actually use to create anything at all. Try using tablets for word processing or for web development.
- Jinge
  
  Oh Win 7 doesn’t have? I didn’t know that!
  
  Don’t be blind, MacOS and Linux & cie has some too
  Only Google and some manufacturers want that, because ggl don’t like MS, and because margins are too low for manufacturers on PCs…
- Rraff
  
  Obviously you have never used an iPad. Anyone who says you can not “create” on an iPad is laboring under a severe misconception or more likely willful ignorance.
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Jon-Rob/2052352 Jon Rob
  
  I have an iPad and while it is a great device it still comes second to my my laptop when i need to actually do work or “create” something. The iPad is designed for consumption imo which is perfectly fine.
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Pedro-Roque/100000194503830 Pedro Roque
  
  Or, most likely, they are talking about real work, not the ocasional email or single page doc.
- Rraff
  
  If I were a graphic artist I would most likely attach a Wacom tablet or equivalent to my Macbook Pro to facilitate input. If I wanted to write “War and Peace and War Again” on my iPad I would most likely attach the excellent keyboard dock accesory to my iPad to facilitate input.
- Aku
  
  Macbook pro is a personal computer… a PC …. Attaching a keyboard is turning a tablet into a netbook..
- Rraff
  
  When I attach the Wacom tablet to the Macbook what did it become an easel and oil paints? Adding the keyboard no more turns the iPad into a netbook than the Wacom turns the Macbook into an easel they are both accessories.
  
  Here is how it is my wife and I have an arsenal of tools that I apply to the problem and / location with which I am faced:
  Iphone 4; 2 iPads; Macbook Air; Macbook Pro: iMac; and a long in the tooth Mac Pro. The first 3 serve 95% of my out and about computing needs. With the Macbook pro serving when I expect to need a lot of horsepower. To say you CAN’T create on an iPad is wrong/
- Oshalabi9
  
  Its possible to create anything anywhere. Whether the product out of the box is ready to create is another question, does it need peripherals, usb cables etc. The argument is not whether you own an iphone, ipod, ipad wow Apple appreciates your solidarity. But whether we have entered a post pc era, you owning a Macbook proves no that PC is here to stay, the end and just for the record when a Windows 8 tablet comes out I will purchase a W8 tablet, W8 pc, and W8 phone, see ya.
- Anonymous
  
  We are past the mainframe era too. Do they still exist? Yes. What does that mean? Nothing.
  
  We are past the carburettor era for automobiles. Are there still carbs on the road? Yes. What does that mean? Nothing.
  
  Just because something still exists does not show that the era isn’t over.
  
  Brylcream still exists. Does that mean that the slick hair grease era of the 60s isn’t over? No. Zoot Suits, records, cassettes, ocean liners, steam trains… The list of past era devices in existence today is quite long. Those eras are still quite over.
  
  At the beginning of the end of an era, the new device starts to take place. It is never instant, and it is sometimes not recognizable. And, a lot of people cling to their belief that there is no change. But, guess what. Time moves on whether you like it or not. Many steam locomotive engineers learned that lesson the hard way. The computing world is not different.
- Anthony Conrad
  
  You’re automobile example failes because no car is produced with a carburettor (e.g. the era is dead). PCs will be produced for the forseable future (e.g. the era isn’t dead). Existance or Non-existance does not equate to if the “era” is dead or not, however in this case when the PC stops being developed only then will its “era” be dead.
- Anonymous
  
  “You’re automobile example failes because no car is produced with a carburettor ”
  
  Well, you may be right about carbs in cars. As of 2006 it seems no major car manufacturer makes cars with cars. Before 2006 that was not the case. Note I never mentioned major car manufacturers though. Carbs are still used on most motorcycles, small engines, drag racers, and in America’s favorite motorsport, Nascar. Do nascar cars count as cars being produced? Far from dead, so by your reckoning, we must still be in the Carb Era.
  
  Failes?
  
  So, by your reckoning, the Brylcream era isn’t dead, as it still exists. Nor is the carb era. Nor records, Slinky, Rubik’s Cube, Disco, muscle car. Even the steam locomotive era is still with us as people still build them too.
  
  Every era dies, but does not mean the item of the era disappears. All past their era, but still in existence. You are right. “Existance or Non-existance does not equate to if the “era” is dead or not”. But there you contradict your carb era assertion.
- Guest
  
  So you’re here instead at Apple Insider why again?
- Aku
  
  How is 3d rendering or Autocad working on your ipad? How well Photoshop or Illustrator works? Can you plug a PCI card to comunicate with a medical instrument you just created? c’mon…
- Rraff
  
  Have you ever heard the saying “Horses for courses”? My response was to someone who stated you CAN’T create on the iPad. There are Autocad apps for the iPad though they are mostly readers, there are also render apps for the iPad though I haven’t heard that Pixar/Disney has switched their render farm ovey to iPads yet. I found 14 titles for PS on the ios app store though not the css5 verion. Illustrator must be a PC thing? If you have a usb cable and adapter for your iPad and created your medical instrument properly it would work.
- aku
  
  You can create with paper and a pencil. When you wan’t to create something “big”, you need to use a more powerfull tool. as you said, PC’s are here to stay. I just wanted to point out that whatever you can create on an iPad/Galaxy, you can create it on a PC with more powerfull results.
- Rraff
  
  Okay I agree with that though just to be an ass Iwould say the results are more a function of the tool weilder than the tool. But the more powerful tool is often easier and faster.
- Anonymous
  
  “Antz” and “A Bug’s Life” were create on machines with less power than the iPad… But the iPad cannot do the “big” stuff? What do you do that’s so processor intensive that a 486 can’t handle it?
- Anonymous
  
  Navigate a mouse
- Anonymous
  
  Hahaha. So, your computer is a PDP 8 eh?
- Anonymous
  
  I have 3 Apple products that I use daily: an iPhone, a MacBook Pro and an iPad 2. I love the shit out of my iPad; it’s my favorite Apple product ever.
  
  But you’re delusional if you think it can replace a regular laptop when it comes to productivity. Sure, it can awkwardly allow you to edit Word or Excel documents, perform minor picture alterations and do some casual video editing. Regardless, the form factor and Steve Jobs’s vision of a tablet make it so limiting that it’s not even a contest.
  
  The most productive thing I do with my iPad is take meeting notes using a stylus and the uPad app. For recording meetings and making typed notes I use Notability. I foolishly bought the QuickOffice app and found how inadequate the iPad is for editing Office documents.
  
  The truth of the matter is, the iPad an excellent consumption device. And there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s no need to tack on functionality that it wasn’t designed for and that the form factor does not facilitate.
- Anonymous
  
  What exactly prevents you from using it to replace the laptop?
- Muddywishkah
  
  Perhaps a lack of meaningful storage?
- Anonymous
  
  Good point.. But are you really using your laptop as your primary storage device? When I get a tablet I’ll have to tackle that issue, but I’m sure it will be easier to address in 6 months than it is now.
- Etco
  
  I use my laptop to mix music with Traktor Scratch Pro and I need it to keep about 200gb of ripped vinyls and CDs. There you go.
- Anonymous
  
  That’s a good and common example…
  
  There is dJay for the iPad, but I’m not sure I’d trust it for actual use myself. Then again, many viewed (and many still view) laptops the same way.
  
  200GB is an awful lot of music. That’s over 3000 hours if compressed (if my calc is right) I doubt you need that much as a nighttime DJ. I think you might only need about 30 (20?) hour’s music to choose a good selection for an 8 hour night of mixing. About 2 gigs should suffice. If you need 60 hours, then 4GB will do.
  
  What you need for actual work vs what you have as a complete collection are very different. I used to think I had to have every single album I own with me at all times, just in case. But, I have so many that I haven’t played since 2007, it’s hard to logically justify the need for all that storage. Home server, no problem. When I’m out and about, it’s not really needed.
- Etco
  
  This is only about 1500 full albums which is my complete vinyl/cd collection digitized to a high quality media files. I want to have it all in one place, that’s why I keep it there. Traktor Scratch Pro is a DVS (Digital Vinyl System) which means I need to connect an 8-channel audio interface to my laptop, and then my turntables and mixed to the interface, so I can control the software with a real vinyl on turntable. Try that on iPad… not a chance, ever.
- Anonymous
  
  Ahh, a DVS turntable DJ. I understand fully. You like what you like. The iPad won’t work for you in this case… yet. At least not for the turntable interface. I don’t think it ever will, unless a digital audio port is created.
  
  The 1500 albums. You can do without them all the time, but you could also have them on a wireless drive.
  
  You also really don’t really need the 8 channel setup… Then again… 8 channels. Two per turn table, two for your headset and two for output. Is that right?
  
  But you know what? Everybody works best with the tools they feel most comfortable with. Turntable DJs are unlikely to using jog wheel equipment, in the same way laptop only DJs are unlikely to use turntables. Some still like using CDs. There are even some who still insist on using vinyl.
  
  None of this means the iPad won’t be able do the job in the future, but the adjustment wouldn’t make you any better a DJ.
  
  As I said, I wouldn’t trust dJay on the iPad yet… dJay remote might be interesting to play with though.
  
  ===
  I found a DVS app for the iPad. Oh. Not quite it… But there might be something physical later. If it comes, there’ll be one less barrier for you. Actually, no more.
  
  Tonetable – http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/tonetable/id322367764?mt=8
- Cary Polen
  
  Can we all assume that the iPad is your only “PC”. have you given up your desktop or laptop PC/Mac? If it isn’t, and you haven’t, then answer your own question.
- Anonymous
  
  I haven’t bought one yet. I don’t like buying first gen products, and I consider even the iPad 2 a first gen item. It’s less than 18 months old. I am using my iPhone more and more to replace my laptop, so I may not need it, but the iPad can do the same things.
  
  Plus, my laptop is only 4 years old. It’s not due for replacement yet. Maybe next year. Another thing stopping me from a full switch is the lack of XCode and Zend Studio. Everything else I need is there. And with the iPad 3′s rumored increase in screen resolution, it’s worth waiting.
  
  I do know some who have replaced their laptops with iPads.
  
  I will not get rid of my desktop PC anyway. Sorry. Mac if you must know. I need it as my file server. Once self-contained file servers are available (I know NASes exist – they suck), I’ll be all over them. But then again, the laptop is what the iPad will replace, not my rarely used desktop.
- Guest
  
  Dude, do you have the day off or are you getting paid by the post?
- Anonymous
  
  I don’t need a day off to spend a few minutes in forums. Although this discussion (?) is just a bit long. People get so defensive about their beloved MS that anything said against them leads to this venomous nonsense. Apple fanboys and Android lovers are all the same. In the end it solves nothing. It’s just discussion.
- Cary Polen
  
  Can we all assume that the iPad is your only “PC”. have you given up your desktop or laptop PC/Mac? If it isn’t, and you haven’t, then answer your own question.
- Anonymous
  
  1. Data input: Anything that requires even mild text input is extremely awkward. Yes, I know you can plug in a BT keyboard or use a keyboard dock, but even then, “work activities” like editing Office documents are pretty cumbersome, mainly because the mechanisms for input on these documents are designed for the more precise KB+Mouse combo.
  
  2. Power: The iPad may be adequate for some light iMovie video editing, some basic Photoshop functionality, etc, but (when compared to a full-fledged PC,) it’s severely lacking in the specs department. You just need to use QuickOffice to edit some Excel spreadsheets to know what I’m talking about.
  
  3. The form factor: While it’s perfect for reading, quickly looking something up while watching TV in the couch, checking your Twitter/Facebook/News feed, it’s just not good enough for prolonged work-related computing.
  
  As I mentioned before, I do use it for work, primarily for task-management (the Things app is pretty good, but way overpriced at $20). I bought a Boxwave stylus that I use for doodling/scribbling while in meetings. The Notability app is top-notch for typed/recorded notes, but as stated above any form of lengthy text-editing will be pretty cumbersome.
  
  In my case, I can live with its productivity shortcomings because it’s so amazing at everything else. There is so much excellent software for it that it justifies the purchase even if you don’t get to replace your laptop with it (in my case, no way).
  
  People who say they can do everything an iPad can do on their iPhone are misinformed. The larger screen allows for a much better touch experience and consequently more capable apps. I believe iOS on the iPad is many times better than on the iPhone.
  
  I think if Microsoft does things right (far-fetched, I know), Windows 8 could provide that mythical tablet that is awesome for content consumption when it’s in “tablet mode” and can be a credible laptop replacement when it’s in “desktop mode”. For the next 2 years I’ll enjoy my iPad and see how things evolve on the Windows side.
- Anonymous
  
  Everything you’ve said is generally understood today, but things will change.
  
  Many people who used WordPerfect struggled with using WinWord and mouse to click. Still do. I just spoke to a writer today who struggles with his computer using Office 2007. He used to use WP5.1 and it was a dream.
  
  Actually WP5.1 was much more tuned to productivity than any version of Word has been, but that’s a different discussion.
  
  QuickOffice. Is that a good product? I’ve never used it. I also haven’t tried Numbers on an iPad for Excel spreadsheets. I’ll have to give it a go sometime.
  
  iPad is actually reported to be better at iMove than it is on the Mac…
  http://www.tuaw.com/2011/03/15/imovie-on-ipad-2-beats-most-macs-in-benchmarks/
  Not sure if the lack of power belief holds up.
  
  What can be said about form factor? The tablet is much more flexible in placement than either a laptop or desktop is. How that affects productivity I can’t say. There are those who say that an MS Natural keyboard improves productivity. I found it to be a hassle to use. Personal preference?
  
  I agree that the larger screen allows for a much better experience than the small phone screen. The small screen allows for many tasks to be done, but the larger real estate of the tablet, of course, trumps it. If it didn’t, would we buy 24″ monitors?
  
  We’ll have to wait and see what MS produces with Windows 8.. I expect another dud, as I’ve seen too much of the same old stuff, but who knows?
  
  Wouldn’t it be funny if Apple came out with an iPad/keyboard detachable combo?
- HeatherL
  
  Correct, I created some great porn with my iPad but most here does not believe it can create on a iPan so I will not bother to give a link to it
- Guest
  
  Where are the tons of apps for iPad created? Not on iPads for sure.
- Guest
  
  Or else they value their time, unlike you, eh?
- Albetrt
  
  Most of the PCs out there are not used for creation, either. There will always be PC for certain type of creation, nobody is saying that all the PCs are going to dissapear. When people talk about a Post-PC world, they are just saying that most of information will flow through devices that are not necessarily a traditional PC (Phones, tablets,…). This devices can also create content, most of our production is based <around traditional PC and it will take a while to develop new processes to work with these new devices, but it's going to happen sooner or later.
- Anonymous
  
  “Businesses are so stupid to even think of any such thing. Steam engines are here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. With all the noise stupid diesel people make, diesel cannot be used to “transport efficiently” at all, and they don’t even “reduce labor”. Only steam has the power, workforce, and support infrastructure in place for you to actually transport freight long distances. Try using diesel for moving freight across the country.”
  Sound familiar? You can use this the of statement (the importance of the existing market fallacy) to support any dying market. Records, cassettes, CD sales, VCRs, newspapers, ocean liners. The list goes on with predictions of new market failures.
  
  The same argument was used for business use of PCs vs mainframes. Where did that go?
  
  MS has been working on tablet computing for 20 years. And failed to gain any traction. How do you think that doing the same thing (slapping a pretty interface on a bloated core) is going to change this? 20 years! Yet iPads have taken less than two years to be integrated into all circles of business. And spawned a whole crowd of competitors. All without a single MS application in sight.
  
  Post-PC era? It’s coming. Ray Ozzie even predicted this.
- Etco
  
  LOL, that’s all I have to say. You sir need help. PC isn’t going anywhere and a small crowd of Apple fanboys like yourself isn’t going to change this.
- Anonymous
  
  Insults are your strongest tool in debate, eh? A sign of real intelligence.
  
  The thing is, a small group of fanboys isn’t going to change anything. You’re right about that. The industry leaders are already doing that.
  
  If you can’t accept it, well, there’s a long line of other blind morons for you to join. Those who denied the success of: CDs over records, TV over cinema, Japanese cars over American, PCs over mainframes, FedEx over UPS, iPod over everything, and…. iPhone over Windows Mobile. You were in that camp to, weren’t you? A little Balmer love eh? How many WinCE devices do you own?
- Etco
  
  Calling you a fanboy isn’t an insult, it’s a fact. This has nothing to with with intelligence.
  
  As you can see, one of the industry leaders just slammed the whole idea of “post-PC era” which is a joke from a famous comedian Steve Jobs.
  
  I can’t accept a silly idea like that and that’s what makes me stay out of the group of narrow-minded morons to which you have joined. I do actually deny, that CDs are better than vinyl records and that TV is better than cinema. Just to remind you iPhone and Windows Mobile aren’t the only players in the industry, you need an update: Android… Windows Phone 7…
  
  I have no love for Ballmer and I don’t know where you got this idea from. I’m actually a Linux/BSD user and I don’t own any WinCE devices, so you’re wrong again.
- Anonymous
  
  There’s a difference between rhetoric and fact.
  
  Some facts.
  
  The market chose CDs over records. In less than a year. While I must admit records sound better – warm, and to my ear superior), they are not good enough to sway even a small minority of music lovers. Does that make me a CD fanboy?
  
  The market chose TV over cinema. Noisy, smelly, sticky movie theaters vs home theater? Again, cinema is superior, except for those problems. I’m not a TV fanboy either. But I have greater access to it than to cinemas.
  
  When the iPhone was introduced, Android was not a smartphone player. Windows Mobile was it.
  
  iPhone has sold more than all Windows Mobile devices combined. - iPhone sold so well, that MS changed their strategy instantly, dropping WM6 and introducing WM7. Fanboy? No. Fact.
  
  Balmer said the iPhone would never sell. What happened?
  
  Microsoft said that MSN would be big. That Windows Live classifieds would knock out Craigslist. That Zune would knock out iPod. That Windows slates would revolutionize the industry.
  
  Which of these came true?
  
  Call me a fanboy if you like, but I have yet to see any evidence to refute the sales history or market projections of either Windows Tablet or iPad.
  
  Can you tell me what help I need exactly?
- Guest
  
  “Can you tell me what help I need exactly?”
  
  Psychiatric would be a good start.
- Anonymous
  
  Good answer… Good answer… Got any other zingers there in your bag of witty reparté?
- Etco
  
  Calling you a fanboy isn’t an insult, it’s a fact. This has nothing to with with intelligence.
  
  As you can see, one of the industry leaders just slammed the whole idea of “post-PC era” which is a joke from a famous comedian Steve Jobs.
  
  I can’t accept a silly idea like that and that’s what makes me stay out of the group of narrow-minded morons to which you have joined. I do actually deny, that CDs are better than vinyl records and that TV is better than cinema. Just to remind you iPhone and Windows Mobile aren’t the only players in the industry, you need an update: Android… Windows Phone 7…
  
  I have no love for Ballmer and I don’t know where you got this idea from. I’m actually a Linux/BSD user and I don’t own any WinCE devices, so you’re wrong again.
- Guest
  
  But you’re calling him a blind moron is? FO troll.
- Anonymous
  
  OK. I admit that was uncalled for, but I did not call him a blind moron. I said he can join the line.
  
  Many people like to denounce a belief based on past events. You cannot predict the future by using the past, unless there is no change in the course of events. Here, there is a change. It means the future cannot be predicted based on the past. In the examples given, everyone today would call those people, who said those events would not happen, ‘morons’. The benefit of hindsight.
  
  What exactly is a troll? A toy form the 90s?
- Guest
  
  “What exactly is a troll?”
  
  A pathetic moron who is so lonely and starved for attention that they seek out strangers to argue with so they can have any interaction at all. You, for example.
- Anonymous
  
  You seem to have a pretty good grasp on the concept of trolls. Maybe it’s because you have personal experience… of being one. You could have ignored this conversation, but it was SO important that you had to respond, wasn’t it? Poor baby..
- Anonymous
  
  Failed from what perspective? if you say the CONSUMER market…then I would agree with you, but like many things it was ahead of its time. There are tablets in use today that aren’t from Apple and they perform specific functions. Just because they aren’t the popular with the average consumer doesn’t mean they aren’t out there being used. I still hold the idea that the iPad is an overgrown iPod. Not saying that’s bad…just saying. Maybe some of these Windows 8 devices will be the same…and that’s not bad either. In today’s world there are choices for how to consume and communicate…and there will always be the next big thing. The problem I see for Apple is continueing to gain by not having a better business focus or find a way to build a annuity based income model aside from iTunes. This is what has lead the the rise of Microsoft and will keep it at or near the very top of the IT sector for years to come. Apple needs to contantly refresh its devices to keep people buying new ones or Apple will start to falter in it’s sales. At some point the poterntial market for them will start to saturate…and without a big buy-in from the business sector this will happen soon than later.
- Anonymous
  
  Failed in gaining major adoption.
  
  The business adoption of iPads far outweighs the sales of all other tablets of the last 20 years. And it’s only been available for 16 months, in few nations. Once it’s available worldwide, adoption will surely increase dramatically.I will not discuss the consumer sales of iPads, as it’s irrelevant. Millions sold, but business adoption is where the longevity lies.
  The rise of MS was pinned to the fact that IBM licensed DOS, and that MS had the rights to license it to anyone else. Nothing more. With the available base of MS-DOS machines, they had the perfect vehicle for the launch of Windows. Apple did not have the same advantage, as Macs were not seen as plain-jane business machines, but more for graphic design, where they dominated. Niche market.
  
  Who knows if MS will pull off a miracle with Windows 8. Their track record with tablets is atrocious. As I said, 20 years, yet still no traction. Now they have a “new direction” but it’s still pinned on legacy code. Lightweight devices with smaller batteries don’t benefit from the inclusion of such bloat. Windows Phone 7 is a testament to the fact that even MS realizes that.
- Guest
  
  “Now they have a “new direction” but it’s still pinned on legacy code.”
  
  Unlike say iOS which is based on the even older MACH? LOFL. You really are a lighweight. You should go back to that alias.
- Anonymous
  
  While Mach is legacy, and probably about 30 years old, it’s small. Extremely small. It’s hardly the basis of most of the MacOS or iOS interfaces. As a matter of fact, it can run completely independently of MacOS or iOS.
  
  The Windows “kernel”, on the other hand, cannot be run separately.
  
  And, since you haven’t been paying attention, Apple has been actively removing legacy code from Mac OSX. PowerPC support and Rosetta to name a couple bits. And iOS has no legacy code to strip.
  
  Android is built on Linux.
  Mac OS and iOS is built on BSD.
  Windows is built on tons of inextricable bloat.
  
  Is MS laughing at how the market is ignoring them? Will Windows 8 be some great tablet master? Only time will tell. But if history is any guide, they will fail again.
- Guest
  
  “And iOS has no legacy code to strip.”
  
  Are you on crack? Of course iOS has legacy code. It’s OS X after all, or did you drink too much Kool-aid and buy Apple’s recent attempt to distance it from that legacy after initially promoting it?
  
  “The Windows “kernel”, on the other hand, cannot be run separately.”
  
  Yes, it can be. Look up Minwin. And it’s also very small (about 25MB).
- Anonymous
  
  OK. Let me know what legacy code there is in iOS that can be removed?
  
  I hope you know that the term ‘legacy code’ refers code that remains to support older systems, but generally if removed will be missed by few. Floppy disk, RLL and MFM drive code for instance. It does not simply mean code that’s been in existence for a long time.
  
  And while I understand that you don’t like Apple, your expression of disdain for them adds nothing to the conversation.
  
  The MinWin you talk about is not a separate product released by MS. How can we test it?
- Anonymous
  
  Agree. I have numerous iOS devices (iPahones, iPads, iPods) but when I need to do serious creation work (Adobe CS5 Suite), these functions cannot be done on iOS. Period.
  
  As much as I love my iPad, it cannot compete with my Windows 7 fully stoked laptop for getting work done!
  
  Enough said.
- Anonymous
  
  That has to do with Adobe’s lack of software. You’re comparing the availability of the software you like to use, not the ability of the device itself.
  
  It’s like saying Macs can’t be used for CAD work because AutoCAD isn’t available (it is now, finally). It has nothing to do with the device. It has to do with Adobe. If they don’t make the software, someone else will.
- Etco
  
  This has to do with Adobe’s common sense of not releasing software for device not capable of providing a comfortable user interface for a high-profile creation software like CS5. Photo editing with a finger? Come on, you can’t be serious.
- Anonymous
  
  Common sense? Taking too long to provide updates to large customer bases is not common sense. It’s stupid.
  
  Now, the Linux issue is another one. No desktop penetration, so not having CS there makes sense. They used to make Unix versions of their software, but the market was too small to continue. iPad version? Not really viable yet. Who knows if the market will be big enough in a year. Maybe. Maybe not.
  
  ===
  
  And then there’s the Flash issue. Despite having years to work on it since taking over Macromedia, they still have done nothing to address the performance issues, which means that Flash requires more CPU power to play SD videos than VLC or Quicktime or Windows Media Player to play HD movies.
  
  Rather than fix the problem, they seem to think it’s better to play a blame game. Apple (Steve Jobs) decided against Flash. Adobe thought it was a bad move and did nothing. It’s not affected sales at all, and is helping to push the move away from Flash. It has its uses, true, but it’s not necessary. That seems like a pretty dumb move on Adobe’s part.
  
  All the talk of Flash on competing devices has done nothing for sales. And reports of Flash on Android say that it’s terrible and kills battery life.
  
  Adobe’s history is not one of good decisions. It’s more one of dominance. And that may fade some day.
- Etco
  
  I will not be judging Flash, we all know what it is and how it performs. I will not be judging Adobe’s update process as this is not the point. The problem is the availability, and in case of iDevices it’s Steve’s fault it’s not there. I’m not saying replacing Flash is a bad thing, but I believe that banning Flash which is so widely-used and trying to replace it with HTML5 which barely has some content out there is a bad move. Steve should not be deciding what his customers can view on their devices, the option to choose if they want Flash on their devices should be left to them. This reminds me the China and their content firewall… bad thing. I have an Android device with a 5″ screen and it lasts 15hours on battery as the minimum, when I play a lot with it, and yes I have Flash installed. This is good enough for me. HTML5 isn’t ready yet to takeover. That’s a fact.
- Anonymous
  
  You’re not alone in having a good experience despite having Flash installed. But it doesn’t seem to be the norm.
  
  Jobs does make some shocking decisions, but they seem to work. Dropping floppies, switching to USB and dropping all older ports, moving to wireless keyboard and mice. Pissed off a lot of Apple fans at first… And the PC world laughed. But now, the floppy is all but dead, and USB can be used for everything legacy ports were for. Smaller PCs, less user hassle. Wireless keyboards and mice are fantastic – less desk clutter. They were good moves despite the shock and panic that followed.
  
  The decision to not include Flash wasn’t a bad decision either. SJ did write regarding his decision about Flash, and it makes sense. Flash is not great for touch, and Flash apps would bypass the Apple control… China wall. But it has security issues too.
  
  http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/
  
  Adobe has the ability to address those issues. Even Microsoft seems to be moving away from Flash/Silverlight with Windows Phone 7, which also does not support Flash.
- Anonymous
  
  Agree. I have numerous iOS devices (iPahones, iPads, iPods) but when I need to do serious creation work (Adobe CS5 Suite), these functions cannot be done on iOS. Period.
  
  As much as I love my iPad, it cannot compete with my Windows 7 fully stoked laptop for getting work done!
  
  Enough said.
- Alien666
  
  “PC isn’t even middle aged yet” just goes to prove how “dated” MS management is…
- MSfan
  
  I wish we were talking about the “post-Ballmer era”.
- Anonymous
  
  The “tower” home PC is a dinosaur now! Face it! More & more people are using laptops as their home & personal computer. Plus, the iMac is replacing desktops. NO one can compete with it’s design. The next MacBook Pro will be without an optical-drive, making it lighter & faster with an SSD (flash-storage) replacement. Apple dumping the internal CD/DVD/SuperDrive. Now their laptops will be similar to the MacBook Air & iPad’s (quick start-up & battery). Eventually, the iPad will have a quad-core processor (A6), giving it higher capabilities & power. So it could possibly run versions of “Final-Cut”, “Logic” and/or “Aperture” in the very near future. Less than 10-years from now you’ll probably look back & laugh at your comment.
- Guest
  
  it’s working isn’t it? Marketing is about perception, not reality. Although in this case there is some reality to support it.
- Guest
  
  it’s working isn’t it? Marketing is about perception, not reality. Although in this case there is some reality to support it.
Microsoft?

Of course Microsoft is gonna slash it…. If they don’t, they will lose business…
BI1000

umm im reading this from my pc
Anonymous

well when you do productive stuff like in my case Design, mainly 3d, you see the need, alot of ram, cpu and harddrive, a nice GPU and well then 2 or more Displays; well… stuff you wont find in these “pc killers” . of course i play videogames in my computer when im not designing.
so these PC killers wont be that for alot of people like me. and i would buy firsta laptop (since i dont have one) instead of a phone or a tablet, well a tablet with windows 8 sounds cool, but again, memory, cpu, graphics are pretty important to me.

and seeing these asian cafes and mmos, starcraft. and then isn’t 3D/Visual Effects, everything you see in most hollywood movies in these days? and you will see people wont choose a tablet to make this work. also you wont write a 50 page essay in a tablet. so it depends on the person, your needs and that stuff, but these people that say tablets or phone are PC killers are just not smart people, who think their world is the only one, and then people have the same needs as them. so for some people is enough a tablet, for others like me its not even enough 1 desktop. so it depends.
- Anonymous
  
  Which has more power. An iPad (1GHz) or a Pentium PC (300MHz)? An iPad or a Pentium 2 (450MHz)?
  
  I seem to remember 3D being done on those machines way back when… Hell, I’ve played 3D games on them.
  
  What do you do that requires so much power that those machines wouldn’t handle it? …as they seemed to just fine when they were the power boxes. Stop confusing software availability with device power or capability. When the software is available, then you can compare productivity in this narrow scope.
  
  The productivity improvements allowed by the use of tablets over PC are demonstrable in many industries today. Unless, of course, these businesses don’t understand productivity.
Anonymous

Post PC is a term ignorant people use to pretend that 400 Million sold is a fluke. If you cant win the market, pretend its not real.
- http://twitter.com/FDidriksen FDidriksen
  
  Sales are dropping. Consumers are slowly moving in another direction.
- Andy
  
  Temp reassessment with the introduction of a few extra devices. Will stabilize soon, you’ll see.
  I have yet to meet someone who bought an iPad INSTEAD of a PC
- Anonymous
  
  I got my mom a Galaxytab AND iPad2… what does she want for her birthday in October? a new laptop. Tablets with iOS and Android will always be a secondary device because they run a dumbed down OS
- Anonymous
  
  How long has the iPad existed? 2 years. How long was the PC around before people started replacing Apple IIs with them? How about mainframes?
  
  How long was it that people took to replace letter writing with telephones? Email?
  
  Statement like yours are ignorant. A new market/device does not become an overnight replacement for older devices. People, being rather slow to accept changes, have to be taught the benefits of new tech. Kids need no such training. Look at how many parents used to call computers toys. And now?
  
  Stop ignoring the historical evidence surrounding all market shifts. They are slow to most, but instant to some. Either way, the effect is felt by all, and those who embrace early benefit, while those who wait suffer. This is no different. A shift is taking place, and will eventually reach everyone. This one will take much less time than PCs in the home, Internet, broadband and the rest.
  
  Broadband… there are people out there who don’t see the need. When their only choice for entertainment is through broadband, what will they say then? It’s a conspiracy?
- Guest
  
  Unlikely.
- Anonymous
  
  How long did it take for steam locomotives to die? When the first 100 diesel trains started service, how many steam engines were there in use? And now?
  
  When CDs were introduced, how many records were being sold each year vs. CDs? Cassettes vs CDs? What happened? Same arguments, and in less than a year, CD sales were higher than record sales, despite the high cost of CD players.
  
  Do you actually understand how new markets emerge and become dominant? It’s always a comparatively huge number of old tech vs a handful of new tech. Then the sales figures shift, and at a certain point the new tech overtakes the old. There is not a single market where this doesn’t work.
  
  The only ignorant people are those who IGNORE these realities. You maybe?
Anonymous

Any real technologists would agree with him 100%.
http://twitter.com/FDidriksen FDidriksen

Wow, so the PC will be the number one platform for many years to come? So the iPad/iPhone and Android platforms wont evolve during the coming 5 or 10 years? It will never get more CPU power and better graphics, enabling people to use it for productivity??

Ok, so maybe I cant do PhotoShop or AutoDesk on a iPad right now. But do you honestly believe, the iPad in 10 years wont be able to??

Sitting around thinking the PC platform will keep Microsoft in business is just suicide.

HP just made the right move. Microsoft needs to make up their mind. If MS wants to stay in the consumer/client business then move your a.. and build those “consumption devices” otherwise get out and focus on cloud services.
- Guest
  
  Sure but then its not just an ipad anymore and its a real PC.
- http://twitter.com/FDidriksen FDidriksen
  
  Ok, maybe im old school. For me a “PC” is something which was born in a IBM lab. Something with a no name cabinet, motherboard, CPU, GPU, RAM.. all parts assembled and label with a company name. I dont think of a Mac book as a PC.
  
  So if a PC is a device with the CPU power and ressources to run programs from locale storage, then yes, the iPad will evolve into a PC.
  
  But I think cloud services and SaaS will be big. So the PhotoShop and other heavy load programs will be hosted in private or public clouds, and used via “devices”.
- http://twitter.com/paint99 Larry
  
  iMac, Macbooks, Macbook pros, Macmini, and Macbook Air all peform the same tasks with a motherboard, CPU, GPU, RAM, etc.
  
  Soon, local storge will be gone as the clould really picks up. And PCs won’t go anywhere, as long as there will be engineers, physicist, and mathematicians. I believe that it would be hard to use AutoCAD, let alone any programming software, on any other device. Could you imagine Apple programming the next version of iOS ON an iPad? No. They write it on Macs.
- Anonymous
  
  These types of devices will definitely become more productive in the future. I don’t think they will ever replace PCs. They will either slowly merge with PCs to form a device that is the best of both worlds, or they will continue to augment them. I think the latter is more likely.
  
  Its a good thing Microsoft -is- building those consumption devices like WP7 and the upcoming Windows 8 tablets.
- http://twitter.com/FDidriksen FDidriksen
  
  I agree on Windows Phone 7. I am a happy user of WP7. But I strongy believe that Microsoft has to take control of the hardware platform. Buy up Nokia. Build Microsoft phones, Microsoft tablets. Loose the OEM partners and take control of the ecosystem, like Apple, and perhaps also Google (after Motorola)
  
  And Windows 8 will be a great OS for the heavy load users. But for the larger part of corporate users the “desktop” will be virtualised. And then… why do we need to go through a virtualised desktop to access software services? And the larger part of consumers wont need a fullblown Windows. They just need a “light” version.
- Anonymous
  
  Why would Microsoft abandon a PC strategy that puts them on 96% of PCs worldwide for one that gets Apple 3%? Thats foolish and moronic. They just need to have hardware standards in place for OEMs who want to build devices using their platform, which is exactly what they are doing with Windows 8 and beyond. The days of poorly built windows machines are done, they have a minimum standard to meet or dont get Windows 8 at all.
- Tomaslazaros
  
  The standards should specify not just minimum, but also maximums.
  
  For example, maximum number of craplets permitted to be installed: zero.
  
  Maximum number of trial offers on the desktop: zero.
  
  Maximum number of browser toolbars and plugins installed: zero.
  
  Maximum number of Windows applets replaced by crappy OEM applets with less functionality and obnoxious skinning: zero.
  
  Ths is the sort of stuff that Microsoft was prohibited from doing by the antitrust consent decree. Now that antitrust supervision has ended, Microsoft needs to take its newfound freedom out for a spin.
  
  99% of PC users never use Windows as it was designed by Microsoft. They use Windows as it was crippled by the OEMs.
- http://twitter.com/FDidriksen FDidriksen
  
  I agree on Windows Phone 7. I am a happy user of WP7. But I strongy believe that Microsoft has to take control of the hardware platform. Buy up Nokia. Build Microsoft phones, Microsoft tablets. Loose the OEM partners and take control of the ecosystem, like Apple, and perhaps also Google (after Motorola)
  
  And Windows 8 will be a great OS for the heavy load users. But for the larger part of corporate users the “desktop” will be virtualised. And then… why do we need to go through a virtualised desktop to access software services? And the larger part of consumers wont need a fullblown Windows. They just need a “light” version.
- Timiteh
  
  And you think that PC will stand still while those wannabee computers keep evolving ?
- Anonymous
  
  i honestly and 100% believe that the iPad in 10 years will NOT be able to run the same build of Photoshop (lets say CS10) that real PCs 10 years from now will. I understand that tablets and phones will evolve but so will PCs and software will grow with PCs not mobile toys.
- http://twitter.com/laserfloyd Lewis McCrary
  
  iPad, Smart Phones and Tablets are all great media readers. They are poor media creators. Not saying they can’t or won’t but when it comes to creating media a desktop machine smokes them. Coding a website, laying down audio tracks or piecing together video clips are all things I like to do on a desktop (be it PC or Mac). I like the precision of a mouse and the accuracy of hot keys. I like the power that can be packed into a desktop. Phones and tablets will get more powerful but their desktop brethren will grow even more powerful. The PC is safe in my book.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJMO5t4bat0 David A Fenton
  
  It’s safe, but a good proportion of the people who buy them use them as consumption devices. If sales slow down because of this it could raise prices for the rest of us who use them to create content/program etc.
- Anonymous
  
  Yeah but didn’t you read the earlier comment of the guy who wrote 500 songs on his iPad?
http://twitter.com/laserfloyd Lewis McCrary

Post-PC is just a buzz term that tech blogs and media love to throw around. It’s like if Steve Jobs came out on stage and said anything else were dead or dying; the tech media would fall all over themselves to be the first to iterate it into the ground. I say the traditional PC era is evolving into something else. The PC is far from DEAD by any stretch. I can’t wait to see what Windows8 holds.
BigChiefSmokem

Well then, goodbye consumers!

Leave the PC to us enthusiasts, professionals, developers, animators, editors, designers, academics and visionaries.

You won’t be missed but we still love ya’ll
- Anonymous
  
  Dont forget Gamers!
- Anonymous
  
  You sound just like the mainframe guys in the 80s. ‘Personal computers are fine for the home’ they said, ‘they’re not for real processing’ they said. HA
  My how 10 years changed all that.
- Anonymous
  
  Guess what – in real research laboratories they still use supercomputers.
- Anonymous
  
  Supercomputers? Or clusters of PCs running a Unix variant? Modern “supercomputers” (Crays for example) are nothing more than common CPUs running mostly Linux in clusters. Essentially PC hardware. Cheap, easy to expand, and… cheap.
- guest
  
  ” Modern “supercomputers” (Crays for example) are nothing more than common CPUs running mostly Linux in clusters. Essentially PC hardware. Cheap, easy to expand, and… cheap.”
  
  LOL, this is so ignorant. You heard they can use Intel or AMD CPUs (Xeons and Opterons btw, not their “common” consumer versions) and you conclude “cheap” PC hardware? Do you use a blade server system as your “PC”? Any idea how much it costs to put all the sub-systems together that comprise a supercomputer?
- Anonymous
  
  Cheap, as in inexpensive, not low quality. Can you name a single AMD CPU (including Xeons and Opterons) that a common consumer cannot purchase?
  
  These blade systems you talk about… How do they differ from PC? No legacy ports, no unnecessary hardware, and compact in design. They use the same CPUs and memory. Their data connections are available off the shelf too. So, a PC in a different physical configuration, but a PC nonetheless.
  
  Overall blade systems are cheaper than using big box PCs, as space, cooling and electricity are major considerations. Which is cheaper to build and run? 100 racks of blade servers, or an equivalent 600-700 racks of cheap 2U servers? While you look at the expense of individual blade pieces, the overall picture is much lower cost.
  
  Hence…
  
  “Modern “supercomputers” (Crays for example) are nothing more than common CPUs running mostly Linux in clusters. Essentially PC hardware. Cheap, easy to expand, and… cheap.” Inexpensive, in case you need clarification.
Major Plonquer

Forgot to mention that in order to use an iPad you need to also own a computer so you can communicate with iTunes.
- Anonymous
  
  Not in iOS 5
Anonymous

All Microsoft hater are all in for the post PC era crap, but they don’t even want to talk about the limitation on the adversary
- Anonymous
  
  What limitation?
- Etco
  
  Well, no room for expansion would be a start, then the choice of operating system would be another one. And another one: limited peripheral devices availability. With PC you get the freedom of choice, you decide on the hardware spec, you decide which OS will drive it. I’ll choose PC over anything else.
- Anonymous
  
  True…
  
  The lack of room for expansion is a common complaint, but that complaint was levied against laptops too when the laptop vs desktop debate was hot. Expansion isn’t really an issue there anymore, even though the limitation still exists.
  
  Limited peripheral availability… Well, the tablets include almost everything you need. What peripherals would you need to add? Need, not just want because you’re used to it.
  
  In my case, I want added storage, but not really. What I want is access to added storage, and that can be handled wirelessly by my desktop or a wireless hard drive setup.
  
  Choice is an interesting complaint.
  
  Most people go with Windows simply because they don’t think there is a choice. In the UK, there are no computer courses for Mac, Linux or any system other than Windows. I assume the same happens in other countries too. When they teach how to use a computer, it’s actually how to use Windows. With that kind of programming, what OS choice is there? Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Home Basic, Windows 7 Starter, Windows Vista?
  
  Choice is not fully available when purchasing. If I buy a Mac, I am forced to take OSX. Not complaining, but it is a fact. I can’t buy it without it (or can I?). If I buy a PC, it’s Windows. If I buy a laptop, it’s either Mac ($29 hit) or Windows ($179+ hit). I don’t have the choice of Linux, BeOS, Amiga, or anything else. I cannot buy a laptop without either of those OSes, and that’s been the case since about 1995, except for a few short-lived Linux PS makers here and there.
  
  The tablet issue regarding choice is simple. If you want an OS, buy a device that has it. Same as with your phone. You have a choice.
  
  But what’s more important? That you get the phone that has the OS of your choice, or that it makes calls, plays music, takes pictures, sends and receives email, has a calendar, Facebook, games, is easy to use, etc. Most don’t care about the OS or expansion as long as it works, and that’s the way it should be. Tablets will be/are the same.
- Anonymous
  
  True…
  
  The lack of room for expansion is a common complaint, but that complaint was levied against laptops too when the laptop vs desktop debate was hot. Expansion isn’t really an issue there anymore, even though the limitation still exists.
  
  Limited peripheral availability… Well, the tablets include almost everything you need. What peripherals would you need to add? Need, not just want because you’re used to it.
  
  In my case, I want added storage, but not really. What I want is access to added storage, and that can be handled wirelessly by my desktop or a wireless hard drive setup.
  
  Choice is an interesting complaint.
  
  Most people go with Windows simply because they don’t think there is a choice. In the UK, there are no computer courses for Mac, Linux or any system other than Windows. I assume the same happens in other countries too. When they teach how to use a computer, it’s actually how to use Windows. With that kind of programming, what OS choice is there? Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Home Basic, Windows 7 Starter, Windows Vista?
  
  Choice is not fully available when purchasing. If I buy a Mac, I am forced to take OSX. Not complaining, but it is a fact. I can’t buy it without it (or can I?). If I buy a PC, it’s Windows. If I buy a laptop, it’s either Mac ($29 hit) or Windows ($179+ hit). I don’t have the choice of Linux, BeOS, Amiga, or anything else. I cannot buy a laptop without either of those OSes, and that’s been the case since about 1995, except for a few short-lived Linux PS makers here and there.
  
  The tablet issue regarding choice is simple. If you want an OS, buy a device that has it. Same as with your phone. You have a choice.
  
  But what’s more important? That you get the phone that has the OS of your choice, or that it makes calls, plays music, takes pictures, sends and receives email, has a calendar, Facebook, games, is easy to use, etc. Most don’t care about the OS or expansion as long as it works, and that’s the way it should be. Tablets will be/are the same.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KTAHVKS2RNDWTQPHQEJALLRNEQ Adam Paris

The PC will never disappear. It will probably merge with other devices into a new multi-functional system. Windows 8 will be the first step to that system.
TGU

I propose that any articles in the future that promote the idea that we’re in a post-PC/the PC is dead should be written without the use of a PC at any step of the way.
Oshalabi9

I think to true nature of a PC has only begun. Even though it’s nice to have everything in the cloud not everything should be in a cloud. Wouldn’t it be great to have a hybrid cloud where somethings are made public and some private. Even Skydrive has rules that will exclude certain pictures they deem inappropriate. And the PC could be used for its power, storage, connectivity, media as a central hub or own private gateway for every consumer in every household, which will tie in nicely with the mobile world. This is the post PC era, but a new one begins a PC era II.
Kevin

The future is convertible ultrabooks. Laptops thin enough to swivel into a respectable tablet. Once again the pc will evolve, but it will still be a pc. Tablet fanatics who think today’s hardware is the ultimate are shOrt sighted.
http://www.robertsundstrom.eu/ Robert Sundström

For me any computer you have in your life is a PC, whether it is a stationary, a laptop, a tablet or a mobile phone.

The term/abbreviation PC stands for “Personal Computer”. Remember? Is this not a reason to say and admit that PC is still alive? There is some other old definition regarding IBM computers as PC:s, as they were the first, but that is not relevant anymore.

By the way, Macs are therefore also PC:s in case someone missed that.
Anonymous

I see it as a Post-Apple era, thats for sure…M$ has been a dominating force in technology for long while Apple has been dominating their prey eyes over peoples wallet for long now….
- Anonymous
  
  What do you think kids will be using in ten years? Windows? No Windows phones or Windows tablets being used by them now… And who’s going to want to support old tech? Not these kids.
  
  And as for the Apple prey nonsense…. MS is different? How? $179 for a crappy, slow, bug riddled OS? Linux has none of the problems, powers much more powerful computing systems… And costs nothing! And if I want to buy a laptop without it, I can’t? I have to pay MS for software I don’t want? Talk about a predator.
- Anonymous
  
  I believe you haven’t used Windows 7, as I have been using Windows 7 evern since it has been released, I never have come across any bugs, lags etc…I have seen these problem-posts noline, but I believe only a handful have incurred these errors…some of them incurred due to their brains being in the garbage when using Windows….
  
  Apparently M$ does support old tech, because it knows all those who cant get a new one, so its M$ idea to have new tech run on old h/w…now thats innovation…
  
  Its the manufacturers choice to load the OS they see taking up the market space, post-purchase its your choice what you want as an OS on it…so you cant blame the manufacturers, they want their business to grow…
- Anonymous
  
  I heard similar stories when Windows 2000 came out too..
  And for XP. And even for Vista.
  
  And now you claim Windows 7 is better. But, people are making the same complaints there too. And defenders are making the same excuses. Comparing an OS to a car’s wear and tear. What a crock!
  
  Macs don’t have the slow down problem. Nor does Linux. Nor any Unix system. No matter how much you use it or how many apps you install, the system responds with the same speed it did when it was first installed. No Windows system has ever done that.
  
  And Windows 7 is no different. – It still has the registry.
- Anonymous
  
  Macs don’t have the slow down problem. – Tru BS, I perosnally have used Mac, slow down, forget it, its ducking laggy, even worse than vista..,
  
  Nor does Linux. Nor any Unix system. No matter how much you use – But the main question here is who usees it…?
  
  Man be serious and reasonable !!
- Anonymous
  
  Macs don’t have a slow down because I’ve got tons of apps installed and have to reinstall the OS every 6-12 months problem. Windows 7 still does.
  
  I will admit that lagginess is an issue, but only with Safari and iTunes. Safari is a memory hogggggg! With 2 gigs, my Mac is fine, but opening Safari is BBOD territory. And it uses too much memory for what it does. It’s a bitch. But, once I close it, all returns to normal, as fast as after an initial install. iTunes is only laggy on startup, and probably due to my library size. I rarely close it, so it’s not an issue.
  
  The issue is memory. Once full, the VM switching slows things down indeed. Then again, maybe I shouldn’t have so many programs open all the time.
  
  It’s a manageable issue, that has a consistent manifestation, unlike Windows. Not Linux perfect (I really haven’t been able to test it the same way).. But a hell of a lot better than Windows. 21 years of Windows and 4 of Mac… Mac wins.
  
  iOS handles multiple apps open even better in my mind. It notifies me when I need to be. The rest is removed from memory. my iPhone handles 100 simultaneously open apps (100 is a max it seems), all with notifications when they need attention. Much better, faster, and uses much less CPU.
- Physicssquirrel
  
  I’m sorry if Microsoft abused you as a child. There’s therapy for that.
  
  Your trashing Windows 7 as a useless and bloated OS, while praising your Mac seems disingenuous. When a Mac suffers from the same issues that any OS without unlimited RAM/CPU/GPU would suffer from, then it’s excusable and predictable, but if the same issues occur on the archetypal imaginary Windows OS that you have nightmares about, which you assume must line up with the actual experience on a real computer running Windows despite refusing to use one, then it’s justifiable to call it a garbage operating system.
  
  Apple does make quality products, but to say that Windows is mired in problems and Apple is simply above those problems is a foolish claim.
- Anonymous
  
  Interesting. I guess JD Power Mac and Windows customer satisfaction surveys are all invalid then… Maybe you can go and tell them that the people surveyed were all brainwashed by Apple.
  
  I talked about a specific problem I have with Macs, and how it’s resolved/managed. As you say, it’s a problem any OS will have. I never said Apple is above having problems, but this is the only one I have. Mac problems are rarely inconsistent unlike with Windows.
  
  Many problems with Windows are not manageable, and reinstalling the OS is often the only way to restore the system performance. Don’t like it? Complain to Microsoft. Look at how many tech experts say the same. This has been a problem since 1991 that I know of.
  
  When was the last time anyone said to reinstall Linux to get things working properly? Or Mac?
  
  You don’t have to like any of this at all, and it really doesn’t matter. Calling me names certainly won’t affect anything. Unless you have some magic method that solves all of the Windows problems, they will continue, as MS seems to be incapable of resolving them.
- Anonymous
  
  Macs don’t have a slow down because I’ve got…Windows 7 still does… – See here is what you dont understand, having used mac I feel the lag and you dont, and you having used windows feel the difference, so basically put, Windows market share speaks for itself, people what they can expect from windows…hands down !!
  
  I will admit that lagginess is an issue… – You are already admitting what I have been shouting about only that you see it in safari and I see it overall in mac…
  
  The issue is memory. Once full, the VM… – See I have running multiple programs on Windows, no lag or any slow down…performance as good as its hype, and here the funny part, with the same 2gigs of memory..
  
  21 years of Windows and 4 of Mac… Mac wins – figures are talking vice-versa..sold 400million Windows 7 copies comapred to a meagre mac sales…tru mac wins in losing more ground to windows…
  
  iOS handles multiple apps open even better… – Are you trying to cover up the macs share with ios down the line…because they aren’t in the same category to compare…
- nVidiaFTW
  
  dude, sorry! my mac mini sometimes hangs and can become unresponsive sometimes! no offense to you sir but ever since I tried the mac I knew apple fanbois are just spitting BS! after all the macs are man made!
- Anonymous
  
  I never said Macs don’t have issues. As another commenter noted, any OS will slow down when stressed for memory and CPU power. The Windows slow down where performance degrades over time is only a Windows problem, not Mac, not Linux, not Solaris, not Novell, not HP/UX, BeOS, Amiga…. The list goes on. It is only Windows.
  
  Did your Mac Mini have hardware problems? I assume you took it to Apple to ask.
  How much RAM do you have, and do you leave Safari open on it for long periods of surfing?
  
  Safari’s memory leak issue is a known, and damned frustrating problem. But it is manageable. I use MenuMeters to indicate when RAM is full. When performance seems to wane, I close Safari and more than half the RAM is cleared. No matter what I run, I can alway count on Safari to do that.
- nVidiaFTW
  
  my mac mini specs is kinda decent! C2D and 2GB ram, nvidia 320m! although it’s a software issue! don’t know how! but reinstalled the OS and it’s good! about the safari issue! idk but I use google chrome as my main browser!
- Anonymous
  
  Was it and upgrade from Leopard to Snow Leopard? I think that’s a known ‘clean install may help’ situation. Has to do with old pref files, believe it or not. Once they’re gone the system should be fast again.
  
  The spec is fine. Mine is a C2D from 2006, and I have no reason to replace it. I’m staying away from Lion for a bit though, as I expect it to slow things down. I could be wrong though. Maybe if I upgraded to 3GB.
  
  I just wish Apple would fix Safari. I didn’t like Chrome, and Firefox has the same issue.
- Guest
  
  So you’ve been trolling for a like a decade? Why am I not surprised?
- Anonymous
  
  And what can one say about those who troll as “Guest”? Anonymous coward…
- Etco
  
  Try to buy a Mac without Mac OS X. Good luck.
- Anonymous
  
  The point is I can’t buy a PC desktop or laptop for Linux without Windows on it. The $179 hit for Windows is much more significant than the $29 hit for Mac OSX. And the MacBook Air is cheaper than any comparable UltraBook, so the $29 is excusable.
- Guest
  
  We get a lot of idiot trolls here, but so far you’re definitely the dumbest yet. Congrats. Your parents must be proud.
- Anonymous
  
  Thanks for mentioning them. They hated me and sent me to boarding school! I haven’t seen them since.
  
  And if you believe that, I got a bridge I’d like to sell you…
  
  I guess you love MS so much that you can’t see how they could possibly be in decline. Especially not to…. Apple. Yet, what does the market show, hmmm?
  
  I’m a troll for repeating the facts… Again, what you believe and reality are two wholly separate things.
http://technbiz.blogspot.com paramendra

I agree. It is PC plus. A laptop is PC. The Macbook Air is PC. The Chromebook is PC.
Anonymous

The idea that you can’t create on iOS is ridiculous and has been proven wrong again and again.

I have written over 500 songs on iOS, both on iPad and 2 different iPhones, and I am not alone at all, many songwriters are doing this. iPad is much better suited to creating music than a PC, because the entire device simply morphs into a multitrack recorder and mixer, and it is easy to always have it with you, ready when inspiration strikes, and it takes only seconds to get a new recording session started. The touchscreen enables you to drag the faders up and down, drag EQ or Reverb devices into signal chains, record or play or stop by pressing the appropriate transport controls. It’s actually more effective than a “real” portable multitrack recorder and mixer, which would typically last only a few hours on battery and typically hold many less hours of audio, while iPad does 10 hours and can easily record that whole time and has space to store that audio. There are also many great audio interfaces for iOS devices, both simple connectors for the built-in audio and USB audio devices. iOS can also join Mac OS X wireless MIDI networks, so you can control a Mac-based music studio from controls on the iPad with apps that are specially made for that, or play MIDI instruments using many novel control surfaces that are implemented on the iPad touchscreen. For example, there is one where you sort of play air hockey, but the puck is constantly sending out MIDI information about where it is and how fast it is going, which triggers your sound source and creates music.

Writers hook up their favorite Bluetooth keyboard and run one of many writing tools that are like a quiet place to write, and they auto Save and auto sync to the cloud. This is very popular with pro writers, because again, iPad is easy to have with you all the time, easy to instantly start working.

Art is another area where iPad has a better interface than a PC. To paint on a PC, you have to hook up a graphics tablet, but on iPad, it is ready to go immediately for painting and photographic adjustments.

A lot of people start their creative process with sketches, and those are being done on iPad now. A lot of things were invented on the back of a napkin, and now they are being invented in notebook apps on iPad. Before, they were creating on paper, then producing on a PC. Now, they create on iPad and produce on PC. The idea that you would only be able to create with a PC is asinine.

And even if we look at the kind of creativity that Microsoft thinks about, which is making presentations and spreadsheets, Keynote and Pages and Numbers are very good on iPad … dragging your slides into different orders, using the virtual laser pointer by pressing on the slide with your finger.

So … total BS.
- Anonymous
  
  You would actually create presentations and type up documents on an Ipad? For small changes it’s fine, but I would never want to do any major work on a touchscreen keyboard. If you attached a keyboard to an Ipad, you just converted it to a netbook and your back in the PC era.
- aku
  
  Yeah! i love the MIDI port of the ipad… oh wait!
- Jufar
  
  If you want to paint on a portable device you will go to an Asus EEE Slate 121 before the iPad.
  
  It was in the Computex demo running Windows 8.
  
  So you will have a touch interface, but you can also run Photoshop, or Autocad, or anything you want.
  
  But also you will have a touch interface for casual stuff.
  
  I didn´t see any advantege of an iPad over a tablet with Windows 8.
  
  Same for writers…..I will prefer to put a keyboard on my Windows Tablet and open Word.
  
  All the benefits of a toy like the iPad are the form factor and the touch interface (better for some actions).
  
  Of course, there are a lot of things where is too limited.
  
  A tablet with Windows 8 will have all the benefits of a tablet like the iPad (form factor, touch interface, battery life), but also will have all the advantages that implies running a full OS a non a limited Phone OS.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Mike-Bell/100001788867831 Mike Bell

MS’s delusional. They’re losing partners left and right and even the biggest, HP, is getting out of the PC biz.

They remind me of Black Knight from Monthy Python… “It’s just a flesh wound!”

“Now move aside worthy adversary.” “Tis but a scratch.” “A scratch, your arms off.” “No it isn’t.” “Then whats that then?” “I have had worse.” “You liar!”
- Guest
  
  “They’re losing partners left and right”
  
  Source? IBM got out of the PC business years ago. They were replaced by someone much more effective: Lenovo. The same will happen to HP.
Carson J Gallo

Hasn’t everybody forgotten n All Thing D Steve Jobs even agree that they’re not going away, they’ll still be around, just not many. Kind of like Trucks and Cars.
Shiro

So what? I just bought a new Dell desktop this year. I’m looking forward to Windows 8.
Aku

“PC is dead!”
“here is our new PC: the MacBook Air”Jobs is just a marketing tool, and maybe the best marketing tool
Anonymous

Until a non PC OS outsells ANY version of Windows, this will continue to be true. Non PC devices to this point are used as COMPANIONS to PCs, NOT replacements. Considering Windows 8 provides both the traditions computing methods as well as a high level mobile experince…IMO, the PC will continue to dominate.
Anonymous

I see Microsoft being very successful with this strategy! Hehe. I’m putting this in the “Microsoft’s failures” folder & “bad articles” folder. Plus, I iCal’d it! I just finished reading all of the ‘pro’ HP/WebOS/Slate articles that claimed HP was going to “kill” Apple’s unannounced “iSlate” & take a chunk out of Apple’s profits with their own tablet. Hilarious! RIM & Microsoft are being set-up (by themselves) for similar future embarrassments. Can’t wait!
- Guest
  
  hehe? Are you three years old?
Anonymous

Why did it take so long for this response to the 6 month old ‘Post-PC era’ buzz? Where they sleeping while the whole world was talking about it? Ray Ozzie said it too, and that was a year ago. Is Microsoft asleep?
Anonymous

What Apple is killing is the personal computer as a hub. As the central.
Not the personal computer as form factor. It is just moprhing to be one type of client out of many.

iCloud is the new hub, the reference. The iPad, iPhone, MacBook Airs are clients optimized for different use-cases. Some more mobile than others.

Microsofts model is to keep the personal computer as a hub by making multi-function machinery.
- Anonymous
  
  iCloud the new hub? No thanks…
Anonymous

iPads will become beasts of processing in 10 years, but PCs will always be super-beasts. But let’s face it, 90% of customers are pure-media consumers and have no need for content creation abilities of a PC.
Anonymous

Well I guess if you don’t need a screaming CPU, lots of memory, huge external storage, big widescreen monitor, real full-size keyboard with backlighting, good speakers, mouse then sure buy an iPad.
Anonymous

Just because you CAN content-create on a tablet, doesn’t mean that’s the most efficient way to do it. Now I’m sure finger-painting on an iPad is real fun for kids, but nobody is going to do Final Cut Pro on that.
http://twitter.com/kevyhn kevyhn

A tablet as well as smartphones are personal computers
1EA

PC=Personal Computer. There seems to be an implication that PC=Windows Device. A slate is a PC, a laptop is a PC, a desktop is a PC. One could even argue that a smartphone is a PC. Many manufacturers make PC of different form factors running various operating systems.
1EA

PC=Personal Computer. There seems to be an implication that PC=Windows Device. A slate is a PC, a laptop is a PC, a desktop is a PC. One could even argue that a smartphone is a PC. Many manufacturers make PC of different form factors running various operating systems.
Guest

When the head of MS PR is having to deny that we’re in a post PC world, I’d say that Apple has already won the marketing message battle.

MS tried to do the same thing with the cloud. Denial denial denial. Then PC+ cloud. Then finally “we’re all in”.

The PC isn’t dead, but it’s no longer the center of industry momentum. MS can either keep trying to pretend that it is and die a slow death, or get busy winning in tablets and mobile so that it can lead it.
Anonymous

Maybe…but look at what you’re comparing an iPad to! Those CPUs were part of a total SYSTEM that included highend GPUs in the form of expensive graphics cards…that one COULD install if they so chose. Try that on ANY current Apple product…the ability to have choice on configuarations. And the 3D that was played then would appear to be a joke to the average consumer market today. Nice try.

As for the productivity or the average business user…you have no idea. Yes..there are cases where something such as an iPad might suffice for some but only some and only running specific apps or functions. Business use or should I say Enterprise use is very different from consumer use. These lines are getting blurred and that’s to be expected as many in the business world just need to consume content, data, information…but like I stated…these are a few of the niche areas of business productivity.
Anonymous

PC isn’t even middle aged yet.
Grafic

After looking at the whole “post-PC” debate, it seems to me to boil down to two issues 1) Input Devices and 2) Processing Power. Input devices are not a problem with a Windows 8 tablet, power however is. Until I can have a Windows 8 tablet with the power I need, I don’t see a tablet replacing my desktop. I do however see a Windows 8 tablet replacing my laptop. This I think that is an interesting question. How many people will replace their laptops with a Windows 8 tablet? Is this the effect tablets will have? More people having a desktop and/or tablet, rather than a desktop and/or laptop/netbook?

WinRumors

Microsoft news and rumors

Microsoft slams post-PC idea, claims “PC isn’t even middle aged yet”