The real question is why iPads caught on and why the PC response was inadequate. My answer: Instead of making PCs easier to use feature creep became an all-consuming passion.The fact is, a lot of geeks are in love with "geekism," speaking only to other geeks, out-geeking other geeks, with almost no interest in non-geek needs and desires. Which is true of ALL electronic devices, not just computers. If you are a non-geek consumer, in other words, screw you. No interest in the fundamentals of education, how to teach people anything, just assume that they are all geeks. Apple knew better. Microsoft did not. And so XP, for many people, remains the superior product and Vista, Windows 7, and now # 8 are orphans. Its the feature creep, stupid. My humble opinion Billy ------------------------------------------------------------- ZD Net The one event that destroyed the PC industry Summary: While many factors played a part in the implosion of PC sales, there's no doubt as to what catalyzed the catastrophe – the launch of the iPad. () By _Adrian Kingsley-Hughes_ (http://www.zdnet.com/meet-the-team/us/adrian-kingsley-hughes/) for _Hardware 2.0_ (http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/) | July 17, 2013
Just as with the demise of the dinosaurs, many theories have been put forward as to why the PC industry ground to a sudden halt the way it did. Some blamed consumer boredom with Windows, while other pointed the finger at an overall flaccid economy, while pointed to the ethereal 'post-PC' shift. Others weaved more elaborate models revolving around Moore's law or even changing aesthetics. While these factors may have played a part in the implosion of PC sales, _a chart published by analyst firm Asymco_ (https://twitter.com/asymco/status/357441283033288704) leaves us with no doubt as to what catalyzed the catastrophe – the iPad. Since its launch in April 2010, worldwide PC shipments have been in freefall, with year-on-year percentage growth that was once in strong double-digit territory now having nosedived quite alarmingly into negative double-digit terrain. <FIGCAPTION>(Sou So, while there's little doubt that we've shifted from an era dominated by the PC to one ruled by post-PC devices, this shift clearly coincides with the introduction of the iPad. Tablets have, in one form or another, been around for decades. Microsoft has tried – and failed – on several occasions to take them mainstream. But it was Apple's iPad – with that name that many thought would doom it to failure – which took the idea of a tablet computer and transformed it into a marketable, successful product. This, in turn, paved the way for Android-powered slates, and then devices powered by Windows RT and Windows 8. What didn't help following the launch of the iPad was the way that Microsoft, along with its hardware partners, started furiously churning out expansive, poor quality tablets that OEMs could only convince consumers to buy by offering them at firesale prices. This confusion allowed the iPad to gain ground on the PC, and cemented its position as a game changer. What's interesting are the suggestions that the _post-PC industry could also be headed for stagnation_ (http://www.zdnet.com/7000018071/) , as the _high-end smartphone market becomes crowded_ (http://www.zdnet.com/7000017885/) . If this turns out to be the case, then beleaguered PC firms scrabbling for new markets could find themselves leaping headlong into another imploding market. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
