Do you think the Personal Computer is dying?

Hi  

No...end of thread...lol

All the best Brett  

Not at all, I believe its just as popular if not more popular than ever with the rise of the tablet PC and gaming. How do you think games get made? With chalk and pencils? There will always be a use for PC's especially with the rise of technology and the many uses for them these days look at Rasberry Pi's for example, those are PC's are they not?

With that definition, no. But that's not what people mean when they casually refer to 'the PC;' they are referring to desktop computers.

Desktop computers are going the way of digital cameras. Point and shoots are dying because they were satisfying demand from the casual market, now filled by smartphones. DSLR's however are doing fantastic, because enthusiasts will always want a quality, top of the line machine. Larger cameras are still, and will be for the forseeable future, necessary for professionals.

With desktop PCs, I imagine it will be the same. You won't go to Best Buy (if it survives another few years) and see aisles of desktops. They will disappear with the rise of portable computing power. But specialty computer stores online (like newegg) and offline will still be around satisfy the enthusiast / professional market.

+1...

I know for certain I won't give up my rig for some kind of portable device. I love to tinker with things and put things together by myself, not purchasing something off the shelf.

However, for someone like my mother, I definitely know that something like a tablet would be MORE than sufficient.

There will always be a market for PCs, however, the desktop PCs is loosing market share due to mobile computing. This includes both laptops and tablets (iPads, Androids, upcoming Win 8). Of course raw CPU power in mobile devices is not a much as in a desktop system.

Which device best fits the general consumer needs depends on... the specific consumer's needs. So if you want a powerful gaming machine, then it's a desktop. If you want a single device that can play PC games and is portable, then you want a gaming laptop which costs more than a gaming PC. Need something more mobile, but you don't care about playing PC games, then a tablet is likely for you. Want something really small so that you can jump on the internet, read books, and watch videos and listen to music... then maybe a simple smartphone is good enough for you.

There will always be the need for that desktop + chair + desk + standard mouse + keyboard setup. Laptops,mobile devices, tablets etc may be portable but they do not necessarily provide the comfort that a 23"+ screen and a full sized keyboard can provide.

Desktops will become less prominent (as in most likely 1 in a house) while there will be multiple mobile devices such as smart phones, tablets, and laptops etc. In my house, there's 2 desktops, 2 laptops, 5 mobiles devices.

The market and the PC will evolve. New computers will be more powerful, smaller, and efficient. Each device has their niche and will dominate in that specific area but no one device will be that "all in one solution" that people try to create.