[OT] Apple shrinks

[Richard Gaskin]

Richmond wrote:

> I, being a crafty type, have solved this problem; I have a tatty-old,
> second-hand Pentium IV in every
> place I am likely to spend any length of time, and have just revived my
> Macintosh Powerbook 180
> for when I get really desperate and cannot control myself until I get to
> a stationary computer.

You're a trend-setter, Richmond:

One of the ironies of the so-called "post-PC era" is that I find myself 
running into a growing number of people who are rediscovering their 
desktop computers.

Laptop sales overtook desktops in 2003, providing the portability people 
needed more than raw horsepower.  That portability was so important that 
a majority of customers are willing to pay much more for less 
horsepower-per-dollar than their desktop counterparts.

But these days, most computer users also have smartphones, the one 
computer we always have with us.

Tablets are fun, but they can't fit in a pocket (even the new 7" would 
require some pretty large cargo pants pockets <g>), so those lugging a 
tablet around in whatever carrying case they use still have their 
smartphone with them as well.

Over time this prompts some of us to ask, "Why am I carrying a second 
Internet device with me when I already have my phone?"

With things like the Macbook Air weighing almost the same as a tablet, 
since either needs a carrying case why not take the one that has more 
power, more RAM, offers the unmatched precision of a mouse, and runs all 
your work apps?

Some are answering this in an entirely different way:  the smartphone is 
the portable device, and when they need a more powerful computer they 
can get far more bang for the buck with a desktop machine.

I doubt this will be a dominant trend, but I'd be surprised if we didn't 
see at least a modest uptick in desktop sales by mid-2013.

--
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World
  LiveCode training and consulting: http://www.fourthworld.com
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