This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Q1 PC Shipments Drop By Most Ever
If weak PC sales throughout 2012 were blamed on expectations for Windows 8, now it is the turn to blame weak PC sales on Windows 8 "lukewarm reception" disappointment. Just never the economy, and the fact that there just is no actual end demand. "Although the reduction in shipments was not a surprise, the magnitude of the contraction is both surprising and worrisome," is how IDC describes the utter collapse in PC Shipments in Q1 2013. Against a forecast -7.7%, the worldwide shipment of PCs collapsed -13.9% to a mere 76.3 million units. This is the fourth consecutive quarter of declines and is the worst quarter since records began in 1994. Interestingly, Europe did not do as bad as expected (though the consumer was worse) but the US and AsiaPac (Ex Japan) both plunged more than expected. Lenovo has almost closed the gap to HP as the world's leading supplier after HP's shipments fell a stunning 23% in Q1. HP opened -7.5% and MSFT -4.3%.
»
- 14714 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
New AAPL target of $317
Gee, it's almost like the economy is collapsing. Or something.
If only you could eat those computers, then sales would come back. 7+billion people all trying to improve their quality of life. Plenty of demand, so little real capital/assets - mark to fantasy forever!!! (Fuck you Bernanke).
Hey, for you techies it's very simple. Whether it's stock prices or economic reports, if you turn your monitor upside down when prices or stats fall, voila! like magic they're actually UP! Dontcha see, this is what the bernank and BLS have been doing all along, now YOU can do it too!
I'm not surprised, Windows 8 has to be an even dumber idea than Vista. The thing tries to turn your PC into an Apple iPhone!
I agree with your post. I think the market entry of smart phones and tablets is affecting the world of PCs
As corporation and government is rob middle class, who is to buy PC?
Boris did the ask question:
SEC does buying some for view the pornographicals.
is not there an App for that?
Perhaps a special tax on those employed in the private sector can fund Obama Computers? Also, if you get a student loan you also get a voucher for 1500 to be used to buy a new computer. No, make that 3500 so they can afford an Apple product. That should help.
Relatively few consumers ever needed the computing power of a PC. Now that one can surf on a smart phone or tablet, no need for a PC to access the internet. Email? Most people manage to make fools of themselves in less than 140 characters, so why use Outlook/gmail/hotmail/whatever? Watching movies? No need for a PC any longer, either. More, the XBox, Wii and PS3 are doing more of the infotainment stuff that once required a PC.
Besides, the PC is too easily made into a secure communications device, whereas most users of all those other devices seem immune to worries about privacy and security.
Relatively few consumers ever needed the computing power of a PC
Speak for yourself GeezerGeek! Every person I know is feverishly mining BitCoins.
it is part of the dumbing down of the masses... no personal computing just twitter your life away.
so sad but so true.
Sorry, everyone, I think this is at least partially my fault. My last two computer purchases were off-lease refurbished Thinkpads.
Yeah, they were a year or two old, but in nearly new condition. Even after buying new extended run time batteries for them, they were still each about $800 less than if I'd bought them new.
Wipe the drives and install Linux and they run faster than a scalded ass ape.
As a developer and trader, my PC's are really required for what I do - no little phone or tablet will ever replace multiple large monitors and sheer horsepower that I can control by writing my own code. I just bought another, bringing my total to nearly 20 PC's. But I'm quite a rarity there.
I just hope volumes don't go so low as to make the prices go up due to the niche-ness of the market. I'll be on desktops/towers for a long time myself, I find the mobile stuff much too wimpy for most of what I do.
As pointed out, most just don't need this kind of power and network. Another factor is that PC's simply became much more powerful than *most* people need, since most people don't do physics simulations, train neural nets, backtest stock trading strategies and so on.
In tight times - why upgrade something that's already better than most need? Even I still use some 2 core relative clunkers (that were the hottest thing going when bought). Because they do their job and are dead-reliable.
When auto companies actually started making cars that are good, and last a long time, the same thing happened - the age of the fleet went up as people didn't need to replace them as often.
Same thing here, I believe. In my own case, I find that my biggest machine - top of the line i7 + over a thousand Cuda cores - does what I need it to - and if I were to want significantly more, well, it's just not available on my budget. Most of the math problems I solve/simulate "blow up" factorially or more than exponential, so the "next increment" over something that fits under a desk is something that needs its own building - which ain't gonna happen here anytime soon.
"I'm not surprised, Windows 8 has to be an even dumber idea than Vista. The thing tries to turn your PC into an Apple iPhone!"
That's exactly what they're trying to do. The penetration of Microsoft into the rapidly growing mobile computing segment, a segment which will be the segment in the future, is an absolutely miserable low single digit percentage:
http://venturebeat.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/screen-shot-2012-11-01-at...
By crowbarring a smart phone/tablet user interface (UI) onto the desktop Microsoft hopes to develop a generation of users who will buy a Win Mobile smart phone or Win8 tablet because they recognize and already know the user interface from their desktop or laptop machine.
However, what Microsoft has foisted onto the laptop and desktop is a UI that can't even be called a windowing interface any more. It's 2D TILES. It should be called Microsoft Tiles 1.0. It's crap for power users:
http://www.nngroup.com/articles/windows-8-disappointing-usability/
I often need to have multiple windows open on the desktop simultaneously. You cannot do that with Win8, you can only have one open over the majority of the screen with small tiles for the others on the left edge of the screen. Why? Because on a smart phone or tablet, your screen is too small to have multiple apps visible at the same time, so that capability is not included even in the laptop/desktop version of Win8. Idiotic!
Microsoft has saddled laptop and desktop users with smart phone/tablet touchscreen interface. Screw 'em. I will never use Win8 until they allow a full Win7 functionality mode. Besides the economy, others feeling the same way is a major reason why PCs aren't selling well.
Sadly, it's not just M$ - if you've seen Ubuntu Unity - it's just as sucky. We just tossed 10 years of usability progress for real users. Luckily, in open source there's a solution - it pissed enough good coders off for them to write new desktop/windowing components that let us have the good old interface, with some progress in making it better than it was.
But every manuf caught the disease it seems. They don't give a shit about their installed base, only new sales, and are just slavishly following the migration of most people to crap mobiles - crap if you need any real computing power and flexibility and multi-tasking.
I recently got a Nexus 10 - it's cute, sometimes handy and so on. But solve any real problem on it? You must be joking, it's just not there. It's great for consuming content, sucks for creating anything real - it's a toy that probably does match the mainstream mentality - the "average guy" who half of people are even dumber than. That ain't me. I'm a maker...I need real tools.
why buy a pc when your phone already is one?!
Discloser: My phone is a tracfone. My PC is a dell pentium R running Linux. Who needs all this shit?
Not According to Joe Kernan at CNBC, he says its time to get excited!!!
More like, a lot of people have moved to phones and tablets and don't need to upgrade their PC as often. My main desktop PC is like seven or eight years old now. It's due for replacement, but we have four or five laptops, three phones, two tablets. You get the idea...
If you want to speed it up consideably, don't by a new pc.
Buy yourself a sold state hard drive; trust me, you will not believe the difference.
It's both. 1Q PC sales reflect both the collapse in IT capital expenditures and the extremely tepid reception of Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 in the corporate IT arena. IT departments are historically one of the first to feel a capex squeeze so the drop in PC/server sales was baked in. However, the record monkey hammering that hardware manufacturers just received can be laid squarely on Microsoft's design decision to go with the "Metro" interface. It's the worst possible decision they could have made with regards to a corporate network environment. Thanks M$!
Senior IT with 17+ years in a corporate IT environment. (Just so you know I'm not talking out of my ass.)
A lot of it is that Windows 8 blows and lack of need for better hardware to power current software. I built a desktop in 2009 and an upgrade to SSD drives is all I've done. Just bought Borderland 2 and it runs it lag free at 1920x1200. Reality is even worse for the Internet/document crowd. I bet many of them are still fine with their MacBook that got them through college 4 years ago.
I bet college kids who used a MacBook that got them through college 4 years ago are going to have to make do. There are no jobs for them. Hope & Change rolls on.
Another fossil of the advance of technology. It has become the typewriter of its age.
Now come the days of the smart phone.
Dark_Horse
Quite true. The browser on my new Blackberry is as fast as my Windows 7 box...................Z10 baby!
The Z10 Blackberry browser sucks, basically.Well, it's nothing special, anyway. I am returning mine on Monday - it was provided by BB for me to test.
"New AAPL target of $317" - Are you talking about apple computer or an actual bushel of granny smiths? Look at the prices paid for a bushel (in fiat) of the latter over the last ten years (thank you Bernanke, you ignorant fuck).
Both? It's called convergence, I think. The granny smiths are better, because you can eat one (but not an iSomething), you can communicate with one (if you can throw accurately), and they 'work' when the power is gone or the internet is down. Which reminds me of the old list of reasons why cucumbers are better than men. I was given the list by a lady coworker, which indicates how long ago that happened.
PC shipments are collapsing due to the iPad, not a problem for Apple.
So this is the reason why Silver goes down :)
Damn you, Sequester!!!!
This reduction in the rise of spending is really kicking our ass.....I'd hate to see what spending cuts would do.
We already have 5 computers and 12 iPods in the house....we don't need another one of ANYTHING!
Sounds like you don't have any IPads. Must buy each family member IPads now.
-The Bernake
and remember, you still have to collect many of ipad mini, and perhaps in near future ipad medium (9") and ipad supermini (5"), and dont forget those ipods as the hearing aids.
my wife and I both using our own machines, both hand me downs from older family members that updgraded over the last few years. There quickly becomes a point where the upgrades and technology advancements on newer machines are completely lost on myself (if they really have improved I simply don't notice). My good quality but slightly older equipment does everything I need, and with the state of the economy there's no need to buy a new one with our limited supply of disposable income.
I agree...just like 720p vs. 1080i/p in HDTV...if your eyes can tell the difference, more power to you.
You just need a bigger TV.
Nah, man needs a projector.
The last time I had to retire a PC (as a geek, I have way too many) it was because the machine and graphics card simply couldn't handle all the animated garbage that popped up on most web pages. The bus was so old no one made a more capable graphics card any longer. That was before things like AdBlock came along to liberate all those processing cycles, and which I never (of course) use while on ZH.
Don't have iPad Minis? Go sell all your good right now and buy the Minis. Everyone needs them, NOW.
P.S. sell your gold.
- Goldman Sachs
Plug the multiples with fiat. Any questions?
No new employees, no new PCs. Simple
Still running a bunch of Windows XP machines at the office. Including the one I'm typing this comment on. Our NEWEST machines run Windows 7. We aren't even entertaining Windows 8. Tried it on our home computers..... and saw absolutely no reason to move to it at the office.
The one overriding comment seems to be "They just change stuff around on the creen but it doesn't do anything new or different. Just makes you have to re-learn how to use it."
Touch screen capabilities of Windows 8? Maybe if I'm running a McDonalds I might care, but I don't.
@NoDebt
I'm typing on my WinXP machine right now. MSFT just announced that it will drop support for XP on 4/8/14. Fine, if I notice any security vulnerabilities, I'll finally make the full switch to LinuxMint. Oh, and the only thing that mildly interests me as a future purchase for the house are the Android-on-a-stick variety. This one is nice, if the least portable of the category:
http://liliputing.com/2012/11/hands-on-with-the-minix-neo-g4-android-min...
Yeah, Linux is the way to go these days.
I have Linux on a USB drive. Plug it in to any PC and away you go....mobile computer on your key chain.
I, too, use XP (64 bit) on my browsing/everyday machine. I have other systems running newer OSes, but XP does what I need and the machine consumes little power. The main problem for XP users will occur when new web technologies are no longer supported by browsers available for XP. That may even include corporate users, although in my experience the browser issue often hindered upgrades rather than promoted them. Some major industry applications that used a web front end refused for the longest time to go beyond Internet Explorer 6, much less handle Firefox, Chrome, whatever.
Pfffft. Our abacus still works like a charm and there's no premature vaccinatin' Bill Gates twaddle nowheres.
And it's immune to EMP attacks.
'you didn't build that'That's for sure.
More taxes, higher gasoline, food, obamacare's much higher healthcare, 97 month car loans...
Seems like people are broke.
There was an article in the newspaper today, blaming it partly on Windows 8. It was argued, that the new OS has deterred many potential customers.
Microsoft is doing a good job of destroying itself.
They even put that POS interface on their 2012 server.
And it's doing a terrific job of destroying others as well. Look at the colossal havoc that Windows Phone has wreaked on Nokia. Probably the fastest destruction of shareholder wealth ever.
Win 8 = POS... Awlful interface.
PS. They also managed to Fup Office 2013.
I have uninstalled both products and I am back to running Win 7 and office 2010....
Microsoft fucks up with such predictable regularity it cannot be on accident.
I buy every 3rd or 4th OS it seems.
98SE, XP,7.
pods
I want to hate on office 2013 too... officially that is.
I've seen fatal car crashes with less mess.
Reuters had a good piece on it last night, saying consumers want touch, but Win 8 touch devices are too expensive. Not willing to pay up for touch and not willing to settle for non-touch devices = worst sales drop ever.
They also mentioned that corporate customers are still adopting Win 7, so this quarter was all about consumer. My opinion on that is consumers have been moving further and further away from needing busniess capable PCs...less consumers working and those who and need business mobility likely have an office laptop...so why by a business machine just to do facebook?
I think MSFT gives it two or three more quarters before they throw in the towel as release Office for iOS and Android.
All I need is an LCD sheath to fit my penis.
SEC boys like to use touch for their porn
ObaMao should just command computers be given away for free, then count them as full retail sales. Why not? Is that any more insane than anything else going on today?
We need zero percent 97 month computer loans! Come on!
12 working days to go then I'm free of HP. Anyone want to employee an under paid, over worked, over qualified IT manager?
Sounds like my job, you want it?
Got to spend my compulsory redundancy first. bare minimum that the law states and even after 8 years it ain't much.
On a bright note they where offering me the option to by shares, which is confusing because if you work for 'em and had a brain you wouldn't touch 'em with a barge pole. Think socialist corporate nightmare.
Anyone want to employee an under paid, over worked, over qualified IT manager
Sure man, the corn needs weeding, and I've got to cut some Locust trees for fence posts. Wood needs splittin' and hogs need chasin'. Send me a picture of the palms of your hands as a resume.
Your comment, ithe its "over qualified" phrase, reminds me of a single panel cartoon I saw back around 1969-70. This was after funding to the space program had been drastically reduced. The context of the accompanying article: the surge in unemployment of scientists and engineers as the space program were suddenly unemployed.
Two janitors, mops in hand with buckets at their feet, are standing in front of a blackboard filled with equations. One says to the other, pointing at part of the blackboard, "and right here is where the equations are wrong..."
Having recently graduated with a BS in physics and two stripes on my sleeve (I was in the USAF at the time) I realized that I'd better make the most of the field into which the USAF had shoved me: IT, or as it was called at the time, Electronic Data Processing. That actually worked out quite nicely for me.
How do people do any kind of productivity on a smart phone or tablet? Don't consider the PC as extinct just yet... One thing I have noticed is people are not buying ready made PC's and instead building their own. Don't know if that is reflected in these numbers....
You buy a bluetooth keyboard for your tablet, duh! The phone screens are too small, but I send a lot of emails using a Blackberry despite that limitation.
There's already no technical reason why a phone couldn't power a larger screen. Maybe heat dissipation could become an issue, though.
#1 Replaced all Desktops with notebooks/Smartphones at home ... saving ca. $600+ /year in electricity .. as a matter of principle.
#2 made sure we didn't buy "Windows 8" notebooks, but cheaper and better Win7s.
(+)ve ROI after 2 years or less.
now go replace your top 10 consuming light bubls with CREE LEd bulbs. : )
For a faster ROI, you could just turn the PCs off when not in use.
Obama phone, Obama PC, Obama car.
Deteriorating/dead space program. Military which can no longer afford itself.
My, my, seems more like the US is like the old Soviet Union.
Sounds like the PC's got "Bitcoined"
LMFAO - these guys are good. Both Intel and Microsoft have climbed about 8% EACH in the last TWO days.
So this morning's report has retraced about half - so far. By the end of the market reaction, both will probably be where they were a week ago.
It needs to be said - I CALL BULLSHIT!!! There, done.
climbed about 8% EACH in the last TWO days.
's Normal !
BigMoney sucking in Longs before shorting with better leverage,
It's because all that disposible income is going into buying guns & ammo instead.
Which is more useful when your being attacked and your life is at stake a windows PC or a gun?
Does your gun have bullets?
Hey if you show people your Windows 8 screen they may run away screaming.
I'm thinking of buying a flintlock, actually.
I'm thinking of buying a flintlock, actually.
Naw, just get a hollow tree, some vines, big pieces of quartz. Now mix up sulfur, charcoal, and saltpetre. Wrap hollow tree with vines, fill with chemicals (well mixed) and top with quartz. Aim in the general direction of attacking zombies or aliens.
If you added tablet computers and it was still down double digits, it would be time to panic. This is merely a shift away from PC's towards tablets.
computers bitchez.. http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/A34ANO
If the Microsoft idiots would just restore the standard desktop interface as an installable option in Windows 8+, they could salvage the situation, but their hubris will propel them over the cliff. So how is that innovative and dynamic private sector working out for all you Gummint haters?
You can in fact bring up the old interface, but it is quite deeply hidden.
But you have to make the OS look like Windows 95 to do it.
There are shell application you can download that put back the start menu, but the start menu has been worthless since Vista.
I still have a PC using Windws XP 64, which is a brilliant OS. Fast, stable, low resource use. The best OS Microsoft ever made. Too bad they didn't keep it. They brougt out the bloated memory hogging Vista instead.
You are right, Windows XP is great, but it will not be supported in the not so distant future. If you can get used to it, Windows 7 is a fairly good alternative to Vista. (I want to spare you what I'd have to say regarding Linux.)
Damn right.
I just wish they would have shiped XP 64 with upgraded directx 11/12 - but instead we got bloated crap. Thats the problem with microsoft, they feel compelled to change everything just for the sake of it,
Looks like they're finding out that customers now have cheaper alterantives....
I like your suggestion, but it's not really practical from a business standpoint.
How much of what we buy is labeled "new and improved"? Try selling the same product with only incremental changes year after year and see how much money you make. It worked for Volkswagen way back when, but name some other companies that got away with such a tactic. And I'm certain that some VW diehards were scandalized when VW had the temerity to add that rear window to the original Beetle.
Maybe you should ask Bill Gates to make XP and open source project; maybe somebody would fix/upgrade it for you. (Don't know about DX12; I read that AMD won't be supporting it any time soon, if you use their graphics.)
Hidden? Deeply hidden? As in, click on the Start screen's desktop tile? I suggest you get a copy of Windows 8 for Dummies and go to page 52.
If you believe Microsoft is "private sector" I suggest you read "Atlas Shrugged".
People realize they don't need a PC for checking twitter, FB, and other useless sites. Only the productive people and video gamers need/want PCs and laptops these days, so I am not surprised by this at all. The majority of the population doesn't want to learn Windows, and I don't realy blame them, when they can just click an icon on their tablet to get to what they want.
I would rather have a liver transplant than have to install Windows 8 again.
With Android tablets being churned out by the million - did anyone really think Windows 8 was going to take off?
I'm no Android fanboy but for average Joe user it really is a no brainer...
That is a very timely report - 3 days ago Jim Chanos posted about avoiding U.S. Tech firms...very interesting
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/jim-chanos-stay-away-u-tech-firms-183534904.html
HP's shipments fell a stunning 23% in Q1. HP opened -7.5% and MSFT -4.3%.
Yup, they sure showed Carly how the company should be run.
Dell sent the grim signals last year:
Dell Shares Plunge on Tech Spending Worrieshttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405270230470760457742225090490293...
It's from May, 2012 but sent a sign for those watching this market.
Speaking about Carly, how about whatshisname who went from Apple to JCP to the unemployment line as JCP suffered. Success can be fleeting. Or serendipity. Or both.
Don't worry about Bill Gates and other msft insiders, they got plenty. Don't worry about Michael Dell, he got plenty too. Buy bullshit stocks every month no matter what the price, they are a great investment in a billionaire's future luxury.
bullish. u can bet hpq and msft will wipe away there losses by tomm.
of course the market turned green, and with hpq and msft slumping today, that is shaving 20 pts off dow, imagine if they were trading reguarly, this thing would go to the moon,
im still waiting patiently for the crash, but its hard.
Don't worry! The Iranians have the solution and the next phase in tech will shortly begin:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9985757/Irania...
Now my Magic 8 ball will be obsolete
Does it come with a hot tub?
The past several generations of chipsets, processors, hard drives, gpu's, etc. are so good, there is no need to upgrade. Previous generations were so slow(and ran so hot) that it was always worth it to upgrade frequently.
Running a 2006 Alienware pre Dell with Foxconn MB 8gigs DDR2 Fastest duel core AMD made. Only upgrade was to a new video card Geforce 550TI with 2 gigs ram. Never have any problems and it even games faster than the cheaper quad core cpu's.
HP is currently going through another large wave of layoffs in the next 2 months.
Everyone should have a powerful home computer. And, they could have one if they used Linux.
Disbility ain't payin me nuf so's I can buy me a 'puter, but this here Obammy fone work's good so's I kin tekst in mah kommet.
Microsoft destroyed productivity with Windows 8 and splintered the environment with Apps vs programs.
Windows 8 RT is a complete failure. I suspect there won't be single device using it by August.
Just about any useful Windows 8 device, like convertible notebooks, are vastly underpowered. Atom processors with 2 GB of Ram on a device with Wacom pen input? The only people that can truly use that type of device are graphics professionals. CS6 can barely run on that hardware.
The Surface tablet was a nice idea, but the pen input is broken for Adobe programs and the cost with a keyboard cover is more than some Core i5 Ultrabooks.
I have hopes for Dell after the buyout drama subsides. The rest of the PC space is completely lost. The designs and ergonomics are terrible, but I guess that is what you get when you hire Justin Tiberlake, Wil.I.Am, Lady Gaga, and Jessica Alba as design consultants and outsource everything to China.
By the way HP, anyone that needs a computer to actually do productive work doesn't give a shit about Beats Audio. When you charge $1200 for a laptop with specs that match a $399 netbook, just because it has a red B logo, don't expect anyone to buy it.
Over the last few months I ordered new computers for the office. The first order came with windows 7 which ,in my opinion, worked pretty well. The next batch of computers came with windows . Windows 7 was not available unless you paid a premium. Well I wish I had because windows 8 is a complete piece of crap, It doesn't function properly and it is difficult to navigate. I hate the pieces of shit and if I could send them back I would.
Suprise drop in pay across 15 industries..
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/rick-newman/2013/04/09/survey-surprise-...
unexpectedly
You don't need a PC or a lap top to consume content. To the contrary, if you consume content on the move, a PC or lap top is the last thing you need.
If you generate content other than simple text, then you need a real machine to maximize productivity.
And yes, Steve Balmer is a complete moron.
BSOD bitchez
Ctrl-Alt-Del
http://blogof.francescomugnai.com/2009/10/the-30-funniest-blue-screens-o...
Microsoft has for years been so focused on maintaining its near monopoly on operating systems by erecting barriers to entry for competitors, marketing strategies, ect., that it forgot to focus on the most important item of all: delivering a cutting edge product that helps users become (or at least feel) more productive.
MSFT has never been a lot more than a very good marketing campaign. Apple was always better. Hell, apple had windows before MSFT had them.
As a CTO corporates are barely moving to Windows 7, and Window 8 is so different, we ran a test and asked our staff to do one thing and one thing only.
Tell the computer to turn off.
It took all of them over 10 mintues before they gave up in anger and disgust.
No wonder Gates never liked Balmer and shorted his own company.
Windows 8 reminds me of that car Homer Simpson designed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpPuYGPcvD4
The reviews I read on Windows 8 are pretty bad. One comment I read said, "If you really, really hate someone, give them an upgrade copy of Windows 8".
Upgrade Win8 to Win XP
seriously ... xp is upgrade only compared to win 3.1. If you really want to upgrade, do it for free and get linux.
Why fix something that isn't broken; i've been using XP since day dot.
I bought a laptop with vista and the first time i turned it on, it took 2 hours to update, haven't used it since.
Linux has plenty of 64 bit apps, pretty much anything you want to do. Oh, and your machine won't bog down.
If i was to upgrade, then it would be a blank machine and i'd give Linux a bash.
But in the meantime, my trusty 32-bit XP does everything i ask...and it doesn't have any UAC bullshit.
Borrow more free Fed Money and use it to build more PC factories in Asia - only the Fed thinks that process will stimulate demand and lower unemployment in the US...
Microsoft has a Master Plan to destroy Windows laptops because Windows 8 does that effectively. I never want another Windows laptop, Win 7 is bad enough. I paid for a Downgrade to XP on a VIsta machine. I have recently used a friend's Win 8 CompaQ and thought the hardware was junk and the software OS was unreal; I had no idea how to do anything with it.
How did HP screw up its business model and become an Ink Vendor ? Its printers are junk and it destroyed CompaQ which was so good with Rod Canion. HP should have merged Kodak into an Imaging Division instead of buying CompAq or Autonomy or Palm.
the tablet mania have proven one thing ... most people never needed a desktop or a laptop. All they needed was a screen and ability to check email and browse web.
And I'll take 4. One for each bathroom.
Microsoft created a bomb more devisitating than any nuke with Windows 8. Why is Balmer still employed?
Balmer, and the rest of top management, should have been fired when MSFT offered to buy YHOO for 44.6 billion dollars.
No wonder LENOVO comes pretty close to HP or even surpass it in the next tally, they make great PC and notebooks at good bargain prices. Just take a close look at the latest Lenovo IdeaCenter All-in-One PCs or their smallest, full-function mini-desktop IdeaCenter Q190 series, pretty cool... a little wonder suits HTPC (Home Theater PC) at good price ;)
HP simply takes too much the margins, causing their products are either overpriced or inferior in quality/specs!
Microsoft Should Rethink Its Windows 8 Strategy, Says Analyst - 2013-04-12
Windows 8 still fails to excite, if we're to take a look at the latest statistics regarding the OS market share in March 2013, and IDC analysts claim that Microsoft’s new OS is doing more harm than good to the PC industry.
So, as far as Clive Longbottom, analyst at market researcher Quocirca, is concerned, Microsoft should rethink its Windows 8 strategy as soon as possible.
“Unlike [the era of] Windows Vista, where Microsoft still had a stranglehold on a growing PC market and so could afford to have another go, Windows 8 is now fighting in a multi-fronted war on tablets and smartphones,” Longbottom told IT Pro.
“Microsoft will retain its stranglehold on the PC market, but the PC market is shrinking and it has to rethink its strategy and quick.”
Microsoft, on the other hand, is already one step ahead and is currently making the final adjustments to Windows 8.1, the first major overhaul for Windows 8 that could bring several improvements in terms of features and appearance.
No indication is available at this point on the release date, but it appears that Microsoft might plan to bring the new OS to the market this summer.
My mother-in-law bought a new HP desktop computer a few weeks ago; it came with Window 8.
I poked around on it for several minutes and hated it. I knew my mother-in-law would be lost trying to use it.
So I rebuilt it with a new Windows 7 and, after a painful search for compatible drivers, she is very happy - going from Windows XP to 7 is not hard, compared to that horrible Windows 8.
>>>
...HP's shipments fell a stunning 23% in Q1...
<<<
It is a great shame that a company like HP, started in the proverbial 'American way' from a garage, that grew and grew by producing very high quality manufactured goods, has ultimately been brought low by bad management.
They were like the Mercedes of electronic systems gear...how could management types do so much damage to such a quality brand?
It's cool! I'm sure the vast HP12c sales will make up the difference. I'm a buyer!
My PC going strong! A+ Certified Technician in the household helps ;)
Windows 8 sucks
I just got myself a 15" Mac Air. Thank you Windows for eventualy prompting me to by Apple. Simple easy, light, and functional. The other day i was traveling and did not have access to wifi. I just connected my old Samsung x cover workphone over usb and used it as a 3G modem. No additional software needed just some easy network setting changes and plug and play. Love it.
This survey appears to ignore the laptop market where all new Windows laptops have forced W8 installations. There are reports that such hardware is being offered at large discounts due to lack of demand, and the prices of remaining W7 laptops have gone up.
I have postponed buying a new laptop indefinitely (although I need one) because I saw in detail in the store what an abortion W8 is, and I am not prepared to pay AAPL prices.
Microsoft claims 60 mill W8 systems "sold" but these are probably sitting in PCs or laptops in warehouses or collecting dust on dealers' shelves.
Every time there's big iPad sales or, like today, poor PC sales, CNBC starts running with all that "the PC is dead" meme, which is simply absurd and stupid.
Sure, tablets and phones are taking a share, but almost everybody I know has at least one desktop in their home, many two, three or more, because they're hooked into road runner or other cable service and are workhorses.
Most are being bought used. There are 69,690 active listings on ebay right now.
The computer I'm using right now is an Apple from 2006, fast as hell, capable of just about anything I need to do (running three businesses off it) and cost me $72, a big upgrade from the 2003 iMac I bought 3 years ago for $50.
There's a very good reason why sales of PCs are falling... everybody has one or more and they don't need to upgrade right away.
Yet, despite the obvious slowing of sales in PCs, Wal-Mart China knock-offs of just about everything else, the market keeps going up, up, and away.
The planet is pretty much oversupplied with everything, including food. watch what happens around August, when everybody's home gardens start making trips to the supermarket a bi-weekly or even monthly affair.
Americans may not be the smartest people on the planet, but the continued move to self-sustainability is eventually going to crush a lot of Wall Street firms, and soon.
Crap. That actually made some sense. I must not have drunk enough last night. I'll start liquoring up my brian around 3:00. I have to, to watch the markets close at NEW ALL TIME HIGHS! Geezus!
Well, I did manage to call my "brain," Brian in the last paragraph, so maybe there's hope that last night's boozing did kill some "brian" cells. Trying to become a zombie is hard work, and I've been at it for over 40 years.
Windows 8 blows. It was a case of engineering saying "Wow this is neato", and no one checking with the customers. This rarely happens in high tech.
Windows 7 and 8 suck. I've been nursing old XP along all these years, and to heap insult on injury, I build my own PCs because a monkey (like me) can do it.
So their sales are falling off- no surprise really.
Well of course people aren't buying more computers... Intel, NVIDIA and AMD aren't releasing anything worth buying at a decent price.
Intel and AMD have been stuck with 4 cores/8 threads CPUs for the last 6-7 years.
Release a goddamn 200$ CPU with 8 cores 16 threads... you can do it easily.
NVIDIA and AMD have been delaying their new video cards for a year...
Of course people aren't buying new stuff... CONSOLES and Ipads/tablets are slowing down the PC market...
What for all the CPU and/or GPU powers??? Not every one is an avid gamer... enough to say that the existing CPU & GPU powers are more than sufficient to cater the needs of the MOST comp users, esp. those home users with standard office applications, some casual multimedia processing, and browsing purposes. Why would any one go for the exorbitant core i7 if i3 or even a dual-core or the equivalent yet significantly cheaper AMD CPU is more than enough??? Just see no reasons for further upgrade!
Nonetheless ZHers if you are to acquire a new system today, make sure it comes with USB 3.0 ports (usually marked in blue color, 10X the transfer rate of usb2.0 upon the usb3.0-supported HDD); HDMI port, decent sound card (5-in-1 or 7-in-1) and Wifi a/b/g/N....