The PC is dead, claims IBM executive

Many are used for purposes other than internet surfing, stock watching, banking, and illegally streaming pirated videos. For instance how do you think this website runs? On Android Ice Cream Sandwich cellphones? The network architecture of the internet servers is almost 100% PC based. Also look at a popular site like Youtube which restricts mobile viewing from tablets/cellphones for some of its videos. You MUST have use a desktop/landline connection to view them.

Laughably, Mark Dean forgot to read this old article from the year 2000, which emphatically still applies today.
"Serial PC Killers,..."

"http://www.pcworld.com/article/14612/serial_pc_killers_strike_again.html"

I guess Mark also forgot to mention the fact that Microsoft's SSDOS,Windows,...,
had killed IBM's PCDOS a long time ago.
Or how about that IBM microchannel bus ? mmm.
IBM closed the doors on its own PC when they knew OS/2 wouldn't make it into the homes of consumer PC/Desktops.

And please, btw: a Laptop is just a "foldable" PC people.
So, in essence, the PC is VERY alive and well still.

The only "genius's'" who think the PC is dead are the ones who still can't figure out how to use one.
-LoL.

We've constantly heard about the fact that tablets aren't picking up. We've heard that netbooks are used primarily for shuttling work efforts back and forth and not for real work. Laptops are OK but they don't have the umph nor the expandability necessary to keep them going. The more you put in them to make them keep up with the PC the more they weigh and the bigger burden they become. Laptops, netbooks, smart phones, and tablets are also much more fragile than a desktop.

All the IBM'er is seeing is that the price point that the manufacturers can get are greater for smart phones and tablets. A smart phone (over the life of it) can cost almost $3,000 (phone costs and monthly fees) and there's little recourse to those contracts except more costs. The devices have lots of features, yet lack screen real-estate to really take advantage of any features added to them. I can use my smart phone as a GPS. The screen is so small that it really doesn't benefit me much. A real GPS is necessary to take advantage its raison d'etre. Most tablet and smart phone GPS capabilities are assisted. If you have 3g dataplan on your phone that works. On a tablet you would need to buy the high end unit capable of using a cellular data connection, OR, tether to your phone (which most service providers fight viscously against). A smart phone can be used to browse the web, chat, send text messages, play music, etc. Those are incidental tasks (not primary) even though they may be all some people do.

Power comes in the desktop. Expandability comes in the desktop. Ease of use comes in the desktop (bigger screen, easier to manipulate, more power so that you don't wait so long for things to occur, more advanced programs to take advantage of it all).

I have two tablets and an Android smart phone. I accidentally dropped the smart phone today. Luckily no damage. I have a Xoom and a B&N Nook Color. Every one of those is cluttered with icons, they are slower, hard to type on, have problems with Bluetooth connectivity, have smaller screens, less memory, comparatively small storage. When sitting for short periods of time to look something up, or to respond to an email, listen to music, it's fine. For a short time.

Android is the OS of the future for tablets and phones. Apple's rise is not permanent and is bound to drop, and when it does it will drop. Android has the potential to change everything. Tablets take advantage of it, yet the Android market is not taking off. Frankly, number-wise, neither is the iPad. Yeah, you hear numbers about how many sold and how it impacts Apple's profit. In reality those numbers are only impressive because that's a single company. When Android finally picks up, and it will (as the problem of acceptance was a lack of realistic offerings on price for Android tablets), we'll see Apple's numbers dwarfed (demonstrated by the number of Android smart phones being activated at a rate of 550,000 a day--Apple doesn't even come close).

So, he's claiming a short use under powered series of devices are supplanting the PC which is more powerful and more flexible in all areas. Hmmm, not sure what to think, other than that this guy is totally wrong and having been out of the market for so long he's hardly one to wax prophetic about the PC's future.

I am sure I'll stick with the PC for a long time to come. Those tablets and such are differnt from PCs so I can say comparing them is like comparing apples and oranges.

I use a 3-screen desktop, a laptop, a tablet, and a smartphone. Formats don't go away, they get added to. It's all about screens and degrees of portability/where you use them. Designers/analysts/gamers need a maximum of screen area they can afford, most of us can do office work/editing/communicating/socializing effectively o laptops, tablets for recreation (and lightweight office work)/shopping/reading, and smartphones on the go. All of these formats will exist going forward due to fundamental needs, but the mix many quantitatively change over time, and vary by individual. I personally spend more of my time on my laptop than the other formats, but use them all as convenient.
Notice I didn't say PC here?

I quite imagine its the fact that the iPad fits better into the golf bag.

Unless Apple are to do the unimaginable and give IBM a brand license.

executives are known for outrageous statements regardless of how unfounded they are. they are just attention seekers and mental comments like that get the reaction they want

goodbye mark dean, you wont be missed
you can keep on spouting piffle to those that are duped but the rest of the world will carry on doing what they always did

I think you can blame the dead hand of Microsoft for why the PC is now viewed like this:

http://dilbert.com/2011-08-03/

Oh dear dear me!

I'm a web designer/developer. It is just not feasible for me even to consider using a tablet/phone or even a laptop for what I do, it would take me 50x longer to write code on a tablet or phone - constantly switching between alpha, numeric and symbol key pads. Even if I had an external full featured keyboard I still wouldn't be able to do my job efficiently. How would I create graphics or media on my tablet or phone to the same standard I could acheive with Photoshop on my PC?

No the PC is not dead, my multi monitor setup with a custom built I7 configuration cannot and will not be substituted until like performance can be acheived on a mobile device and even when that happens, I will still require some form of dock that will support multiple monitors and input devices.

Be quiet silly IBM face.

What has a mouse so I can play FPS games properly? - PC.

What can emulate consoles and run the games in better quality than the original hardware? - PC.

What has a selection of thousands of peripherals that let me do whatever I like? - PC.

What has upgradeable hardware so performance in gaming and anything else is always top-notch? - PC.

What has parts I can buy at any store and let ME determine the quality of my machine? - PC.

What lets me write and run whatever programs I damn well please without hardware hacking, paying royalties to some corporation, or reverse engineering? - PC.

What has the advantage of a separate keyboard so I don't have to strain my arms to stick finger marks all over my screen? - PC.

IBM are clearly just incompetent goons.

They sold their HDD division to Hitachi because they made a complete mess of that, and they must also have some delusion that nobody wants a computer any more...

No matter what, there will be a need for these key components, especially in the business sector, for a long time to come:

- Big display
- Sizeable input/controlling method

It may be that laptops or tablets take over the market from traditional desktops, but the basic needs will still be the same. People need big displays and working input methods accompanying the devices.

Anybody tried blind typing with a touch display? Impossible, I know. Of course by time, highly developed software based solutions can compensate the lack of "touch" in touch displays, but it'll take its time.

The first major thing I indeed think will happen is that the keyboard and mouse will be integrated into a single user operated I/O component.

and add peripherals to it.
Now we have the pleasure of being sold a pc with every peripheral.
That's not the customers pleasure by the way.
Could we make a pc with a touch screen, an add on keyboard, an add on phone/gps etc etc?
Yes but that would save us too much money.

I agree that the consumer market for pc's is on the verge of obsolescence, but it's only been a 10 years run on the consumer side of things anyway.
These days a game console and tablet is all an average consumer needs.

But for everyone else the pc is still king, along with its extended family of laptops, workstation and servers.

And anyway, a tablet is nothing without the rest of the ecosystem that feeds it...

I think it's a good thing, consumer items are usually junk, and the quality products for the tech-market suffered as a result. IE my netbook today has lower rez and less HD space than my 7 year old laptop...

I believe he's just talking about the form factor. I haven't had a desktop PC since 2005. Desktop replacement laptops have provided all the wiz bang I've needed for large 3D solid modeling engineering projects, video encoding, gaming, HD media, you name it.

While workstation PCs won't go away anytime soon, consumer PCs are definitely dinosaurs long overdue for the tar pits. It just makes sense with the incredible advancements in chip manufacturing technology during the last decade. I look forward to purchasing a 'laptop replacement' smartphone, or similar tiny device, that will have at least current high end laptop capabilities. And it won't be long. Tablets and smartphones already have dual core 1.4-1.5 GHz processors and have only been held back by limited graphics horsepower. Luckily, that technology is finally advancing after 5 or 6 years in the doldrums.

There's really only been two choices, and consumers have already made their decision. Consumers could have championed retaining the desktop PC form factor embracing faster speeds and exponential computing capabilities or they could adopt smaller, faster, more powerful HD media portable devices that sip tiny amounts of battery nectar.

It's ironic that Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo have all contributed to the obsolescence of the PC by being so successful with their respective gaming consoles. Now M$ is scrambling to finally embrace this trend designing Windoze 8 for these devices.

I guess we should all shed a tear for the demise of the desktop PC, but instead, I'm excited about each new development in technology. Can't wait until I can buy a multi-core Dick Tracy style wristwatch with 3D holographic HD media capabilities and Kinect (Minority Report) interface.

The first is, there is something called Bell’s Law which delineates the transitions between mainframes, midi, mini and microcomputers with the growth of gate count per IC. The question is what comes next. No not system on a chip, rather subsystem on a chip. Since the Atlas to the PC, these subsystems have been the 1) operator/user/graphics, 2) the mass storage, 3) the central processing and 4) the communications subsystem. For each subsystem you have a bespoke (e.g. graphics) and an X86 processor and as much storage as possible. That gives you as much as 40,000 times the performance of a conventional architecture, but more realistically maybe 1000 times more.
The second point is, the dominant problem is the RC delay of on- chip interconnects which according to the 2009 ITRS are 250 ps/millimeter, the speed of light being 3.34 ps/millimeter. Whilst there is no clear consensus, I say the only choice is an architectural change along the lines of a registered pipeline and distributed execution elements which further increases the performance, yet preserve the 4 subsystems. What can you do with all this power? For one thing you can slow the clock rate down and dramatically reduce power dissipation and mitigate the RC delay problem.
Down to earth the PC has been a real tool for people to do their work and since maybe 1986 for system builder. You can add both hardware and software to it to fit your needs and there is a huge industry supplying such things. As the common phrase was, “we don’t buy the PC for the elegance of its instruction set, but for all the things we can get for it.” So it’s not only been a workhorse since 1986, but it has a natural and classic architecture to migrate into the future.

Respectfully though, in a matter of months many of us are going to be using tablets. It isn't that the PC is dead, its just that the tablet has gotten enough power to become useful. The PC was around for several years before it ever became popular, because it took that long to become powerful enough to do something useful.
You could think of the tablet as the ultimate form factor because its just a tiny bit bigger than the display screen, which is all that matters anyway. I don't "look" at my tower when I'm computing, I've got it tucked underneath my desk for a foot rest & space heater (winter). I only look at the monitor, which is all a tablet actually is.
So I think this Dean guy has a bit of a point to make. A tablet will never be as powerful as a full blown tower, and many of us are going to still require the tower. As computers get more & more powerful though, less & less of us will need that big of a box to do what we do with our PCs.
(Yeah a tablet is a PC in the sense that is a computer and also that it is personal).

The "PC" was NOT invented in 1981. Clearly, he's talking about the form factor and not IBM's brand. The Apple computer came out in 1977. IBM didn't believe that would go anywhere, that people wanted mainframes. When it became irrefutable that the Personal Computer (PC) was picking up some major steam, IBM decided they'd better get on the bandwagon and created a piece of crap, bulky knockoff they called the "IBM PC". IBM threw in the towel in 2005 because nobody wanted their junk anymore.

So, the PC as we know it's modern form factor (box, monitor, keyboard) began in 1977 and is still alive and kicking.

That exec got it's birth wrong and the PC responds to his declaration of its death with, "rumors of my death are greatly exajerated (?sp?)"

I'm a tech gadget junky, but I have absolutely no use for a tablet. They run OS's that are incompatible with everything I work on during the work day and what I play on at night (both PCs). They're clunky and an awkward size. Too big for a pocket, too small for serious work. While mobile, I get by with my smartphone.

<http: /

Now everyone know why this "CTO" is stuck in the Middle East / Africa, and why IBM is history. see that line hugging the bottom of the graphs, that is IBM:<http: /

There will be room and a need for desk based equipment for a fair while yet. beside which if you hermetically seal a computer by going the way of the tablet we reach a situation where MTBF can be and will be used malignly to ensure that hardware has a short lifespan so as to maximise profits in the full knowledge that basic repairs can no longer be made.(MTBF can mean maximum time between failures, minimum time between failures, maximum time before failure or minimum time before failure (the MTBF formula can be used to accurately predict( and hence incorporate into the design) the expected lifetime of a given device or a component or set of components therein). ,

because now I type, my emails, homework, articles on my iphone.. I retrained my stubby fingers and my eyes pretty good. NOT

Yes its true Tablets are taking over many aspects of computing, and games consoles are slowly stealing the lime light, but PC's are far from done. PC's are seen as the backbone of home media and internet access. Tablets are a long way off complex video editing, and lack the power for serious gaming. They also lack simple print methods with most makes of printers. PCs also have more storage space than portable devices.

There is a place for tablets and such but they will not replace the desktop PC or even most laptop PCs. People like toys but for actual work most require at least a laptop if not a desktop PC.

I'm sorry, y'all are so critical - but there once was a distinction between a PC, microcomputer, work stations, mainframe, and home computer.
IBM for the most part equalized both pc and home computing to be one and the same.
What IBM is saying is that computing has evolved to much more than a box and that is what they made was boxes. Ugly boxes. The public is no longer tied to "Home Computers" and there was a difference.
Lighten up folks - everyone knows what IBM is saying. Why is everyone so Hardcore. Fine, my tablet is a PC - but if I say to someone: would you like to see my PC or Tablet? I'm sure folks are gonna want to see the tablet and will only know it as a tablet.
I can go on - put people have to prove they are right and don't seem to be very flexible on these stupid blogs. I wish they didn't have to have these sound off comment boards - the article is so much more interesting than the arguments.

They never got it, the IBM PS/2 that sank before the might of the Amstrad 1640, the OS2 operating system that would replace Windows sank without trace. The now Lenova...the only good thing they ever made. What history tells us is that IBM haven't a clue...never had. Now they applaud the iPad...made by their old competition and as for 'cloud'? Hello... the word is now that isn't going to happen

Yeah, and the car is obsolete, because now we have the bicycle. It's smaller, doesn't have all those bulky doors or power steering and even requires less tires to build. Hooray.

Its pleasing to see a unified reaction from everyone against such nonsense.

I love it when smart people say stupid things. Anyone want to buy some prime real estate in Silicon Valley, I got acres of it super cheap (I mean, heck, if the PC is dead we're not going to need that anymore either).

A tablet IS a PC, moron. So is a portable, or a smart phone.

Seriously PC's are only dead to you IBM. Enjoy living in your fantasy world.

But my Dells, HPs, Acers, etc. are
humming along just fine thank you.

The form of workstations might change, but "power users" and people who do "real computing work" will continue to use them far into the future.

I agree from a business point of view - the pc is dead. At one time, my laptop followed me everywhere like a dog - now it remains in a drawer at work.
As for me and for my business - the tablets are for me unless I need to use a program like coreldraw. But one day, the tablets will be powerful enough to operate large programs and internet speeds will be fast enough to store all information in a cloud.
Of course I'll have another requirement from a tablet and that is to be able to use a second monitor.
But really, why would the general public require a PC? All they are interested in is information - not creating it. Nobody likes to be tied to a home computer - it's required at work. I can do so much more with my iphone and tablet that I don't ever see myself purchasing another PC. If I want to show pictures - it's off to the apple tv where my entire family can view from the comfort of a couch or chair and not by huddling around a desk in a room.
We are no longer attached to the PC's umbilical cord.
Life moves on and one day the tablet and smartphones won't exist and I will be the first to accept change if it makes life more fun.

I personally still prefer to build my own "Tower" pc because its a versitile computation machine how else is a PC gamer going to play high end grapichs games, and teak performance. It does exactly what I put into it. what can I say "Its a Birck house" its mighty, mighty.

If I remember correctly an IBM executive once told us that the total PC market would be around 5 or 6 computers...

If the author wanted to be really progressive, he'd rename this article, "How to Sound Like a Complete Moron at IBM". And YES, we are all a little bit stupider for clicking this link, thanks and not surprised Inquirer!

Reality or not, Dean's comments are indicative of the general trend in leading tech companies:
- The personal computing platform is getting cheaper, portable and less powerful. The $2000 PC gave way to the $1500 laptop, which is now the $900 tablet or smart phone.
- The personal computing platform is moving from a general purpose machine to a specialized platform that has the capacity to supports a few key features: the supercharged cell phone with a touch screen and web browser, the music player that lets you play Angry Birds. It seems like each iteration narrows the scope of possibilities of what we, as average Joes, can do with our technology.
- As our computing capability is getting nerfed, major players are ramping up cloud services to fill the gap (and in the process monetizing their computational infrastructure's idle time)

What I don't know, and what I can't shake, is what this means. Will we go back to a newer iteration of the dumb terminal? All our fancy consumer goodies' processing power relegated to shoving fancy pixels at a touchscreen while any real processing horsepower is located in the cloud? Is this really a good thing? Is this a bad thing? I don't think so, but why do I feel like I'm getting ripped off sometimes?

Good gosh, I'm under 30 and I'm already sounding like an old codger...

I guess the PC is dead, at least for IBM where it has been dead for a long time.

This is a ridiculous idea. Sure, computing is more widespread and diverse than was probably imagined back in the 70's, but the variety of platforms will never crowd out the PC. It doesn't matter that it's not the bleeding edge of so-called "computing." The desktop is far more ergonomically functional for a great many tasks, and since those tasks have a strong business lean, unless we go back to the stone age, PC's will be around, will be plentiful, and will be ever more powerful. So this is just another guy with an opinion, an erroneous one, but one that gets traction because it's controversial and the media needs to sell ads with this drek.

Everything has it's place. This idiot was just trying to justify IBM's decision by echoing other people's words.

Share holders: "Why aren't we taking advantage of a huge market? What are you? Stupid?"

Exec: "According to this graph thingy mobile internet capable devices out number PC's and are growing like wild fire. The PC market isn't growing like it was. Therefore PC's are dead.

Reality: To the people that think setting up a PC is complicated, yeah it may be dead. To the people with an IQ above room temperature, the PC is alive, well, and is going nowhere. Steam, Newegg, Microsoft, Bioware, and other companies are alive and doing well.

I just wish people would stop saying stuff like this. It spreads doubt when it's not grounded.

The PC is dead. Makes a great sensational statement, sure.. but it's incomplete.

The PC is dead for non-technical consumers.

That's a little closer to the truth I think. Consumers will migrate toward "connected devices" because they serve specific purposes without the requirement of having any technical knowledge. That's great for consumers. For technical people, creative people, peopel like me.. we will always have workstations with serious horsepower and serious screen realestate.. because we need it.

And there are A LOT OF US out there.. so PC's aren't going anywhere.

Great headline though! ;)

PC's will always be around as long as battery technology stays in its current conventional form. That is the weakest link in all these portable electronics (tablets, smartphones, laptops, etc.) We will need MUCH greater battery life, and I'm talking a week or more of heavy usage -- or the solar charging or self-charging battery technology I'm reading about -- before people completely ditch their PC's. Plus, for paying bills, or doing extensive writing, I don't know about you, but I still prefer to spread out on a desk and be comfortable doing those things.

Is this by any chance the same IBM executive that, in the 1970s, questioned why anyone would want a computer in the home?

In my humble opinion, I think it would be more appropriate to say that the "definition" of a Personal Computer is changing (rapidly). But of course it makes more news to state that the "PC is dead" (or soon will be).

This was probably the same IBM exec that told Bill Gates "Sure, we will lease your software from you ! All the money is in the hardware anyway !"

Maybe the growth of the PC is going to go way down, but PC's over all are here to stay for a long while yet.

But that is like saying I don't need walking shoes because I have running shoes. While it could be true, some people like to walk, some people like to run, some like both.

Vinyl Records-I listen to them.
Vacuum tubes-I use them (amplifiers)
Manual Typewriter-I write with one.

I also use a computer, smartphone and the rest.

The medium is the message, and therefore will never wholly go away.

Having used to work for IBM for a number of years, i have realised over time how little actually these so called IBM executives know. Making wrong business and management descisions day after day and still managing to pay themselves big PBC 1 bonus's and somehow avoiding redundancy, unlike the rest of their staff.
The PC is dead, dont make me laugh. The PC is alive and well and inside your phone, your tablet, your pad, your laptop, your internet tv and so on. Its just that this IBM exec doesnt understand that the PC is everywhere now and not just with a keyboard and mouse with Windows 7 on it (or should i say Windows XP as IBM havent even updated their own staffd operating system yet).
If the PC is dead, why are IBM still giving staff outdated laptops to work from? Why not be forward thinking in this area for their owh company?
Why? Because they arnt forward thinking.
END OF LINE

Claiming the "PC is dead" may be a bit premature. Tablets are great for what they are and they are seriously cutting into the laptop PC market, but there has yet to be a legit replacement for the desktop PC when it comes to engineering, office adminstration, etc, etc... Touchscreen keyboards are only so good and you can't sit with a tablet on your lap for hours on end writing. I'm certain we'll see PC's change, but there will still be a keyboard, mouse, and monitor on a lot of desks for a long time to come.