

IDC blames smartphones and tablets for sharp PC decline






Source: IDC

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End of moore's law
By zephyrprime on 4/11/2013 10:39:24 AM , Rating: 2
It's because pc's have stopped getting faster. It used to be for ~20 years that every 18 months brought a 100% increase in performance. Now 18 months brings maybe 10%? That small increase in performance is not worth upgrading for.

RE: End of moore's law
By GotThumbs on 4/11/2013 10:40:57 AM , Rating: 2
Also true.

An easy upgrade for any old desktop or laptop would be to install an SSD drive to replace the old spinning disk.

An SSD breaths new life into any old system IMO.

RE: End of moore's law
By Motoman on 4/11/2013 10:45:24 AM , Rating: 2
What do you need your computer to go faster for?

We hit a plateau of need for additional hardware power some time ago. There's just nothing that a normal person needs to do that can't be done with massive amounts of processing power leftover already...been this way for years.

Gaming will continue to drive innovation for that specific use of computers...there's always going to be a desire for yet-more-realistic graphics.

But for the average user? A 10-year old computer, eventual hardware failure notwithstanding, probably could do everything that user ever needs to do for the rest of their lives.

RE: End of moore's law
By Fidget on 4/11/2013 11:10:15 AM , Rating: 2
This can not be overstated. I've been telling people this for years. Computer hardware reached a point of dimishing returns about 10 years ago. A decent computer that was bought within the last 10 years simply still has hardware good enough for most average users. Literally unless you are running some intense video editing software or a hardcore gamer what do you need the extra power for? How fast do you need to be able to open facebook or pull up a word document? But people are dumb and go out in droves like mindless zombies to buy the latest shinny object they are selling when most everything they do could be handled by a 10 year old PC running XP.

RE: End of moore's law
By 91TTZ on 4/11/2013 3:41:24 PM , Rating: 2
I agree with this line of reasoning. A PC has become an appliance like a washing machine. It serves a purpose and it's useful until it breaks. It's not going to be obsolete in 3 years like was the case back in the 90's.

