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Desktop PC Sales Decline For the First Time Since 2001
iMac Early 2009 Review
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TheWerewolf - Sotto voce
07/15/09

In reply to Desktop PC Sales Decline For the First Time Since 2001
Mmmm... that's pretty flimsy data to be making such a sweeping conclusion upon.

For one thing, does 'notebook' include 'netbook'? That's a huge growth area and is targetted at people who want the most bang for the buck - just the thing people want in a recession.

Take out the netbook component and see if notebooks do so well.
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Edited by TheWerewolf - Sotto voce at 07/15/09 3:17 AM

VenomIreland
07/14/09

In reply to Desktop PC Sales Decline For the First Time Since 2001
I'd say after the recession both will go up, but laptops more, I bet this figure include netbooks though, damn they're selling fast.
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BacteriaEP
07/14/09

In reply to Desktop PC Sales Decline For the First Time Since 2001
Also... am I the only one who finds it incredibly annoying to use a notebook for too long? I'd kill myself if that was my primary computer. The things get very hot and the screens on even the largest of laptops (which create more heat and are hardly laptops/notebooks) still balk in comparison to my 24" monitor...
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Edited by BacteriaEP at 07/14/09 6:41 PM BacteriaEP was starred BacteriaEP was unstarred

DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star.
07/14/09

@BacteriaEP: In 2003, I bought a really nice, really expensive laptop because I was going on a military deployment for 6 months, and needed to upgrade my old-ass compaq. After I got home, I used the laptop as my main computer hooked to my old-ass CRT monitor for about 90 days. Eventually I wanted to play a game that my integrated card couldn't handle. As nice as my laptop was (and actually still kind of is) spending $500 on an Emachines, and then another $300 on ram and a graphics card was the best move until I learned how to build systems myself.
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TheWerewolf - Sotto voce
07/15/09

@BacteriaEP: You do know you can connect most laptops/netbooks to an external monitor and hook in a keyboard and mouse, right?
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BacteriaEP
07/14/09

In reply to Desktop PC Sales Decline For the First Time Since 2001
I believe "pretty soon" is a great exaggeration. It may eventually happen but a 4% decrease doesn't at all mean its happening soon. If anything it's still a long ways off... if it even happens at all...
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Kerensky97
07/14/09

In reply to Desktop PC Sales Decline For the First Time Since 2001
I'm assuming that notebooks include the netbook market? I'm thinking it's mostly market driven too. In the middle of a bad economy a $300 computer+monitor combo looks really good.
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Identity (Metric)
07/14/09

In reply to Desktop PC Sales Decline For the First Time Since 2001
Viva the laptop!
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DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star.
07/14/09

@Identity: Secret since 2008: The desktop PC is dead! Long live the home-office server!
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Identity (Metric)
07/15/09

@DeusExMach has jumped the snark: Now you're just being silly.

Actually, I kinda like that idea for a home office. A laptop or three with a centralized backup / storage / etc area. Hmm...
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Hello Mister Walrus
07/14/09

In reply to Desktop PC Sales Decline For the First Time Since 2001
So what you're telling me... is that Gizmodo can predict the obvious? Brilliant!
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admoseremic
07/14/09

In reply to Desktop PC Sales Decline For the First Time Since 2001

What does this mean? Most likely, it means we were right: the desktop PC is sputtering out.

I don't know if now is a good time to draw judgements seeing as how we're in the middle of a huge recession.
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Edited by admoseremic at 07/14/09 6:13 PM admoseremic was starred admoseremic was unstarred

Mike
07/14/09

@admoseremic: Um, did you read the article? Laptop sales are UP 11%.
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Hello Mister Walrus
07/14/09

@Mike: That's not really relevant. Consider that without a recession, we might have had a scenario in which laptop sales increased by 30% and desktop sales increased by 10% (just making up numbers). This year's decrease is thus not indicative of a decline in the desktop market. It only serves as a measure of relative growth between laptops and desktops.

You could argue that desktops will be extinct in the long run as computers become very fast and cheap. However, last year's sales data is not sufficient to conclude that this process has begun.
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TheSonOfKrypton
07/14/09

@Hello Mister Walrus: I love the sound of logic.
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deanbmmv
07/14/09

@Mike: And laptops are mainly a consumer item. However some of the biggest hit by the recession are business, combined with not wanting to upgrade to Vista with Win7 around the corner and the fact the business sector is a very large purchaser of desktops it more than likely shows business currently don't want to buy new stuff if they don't need to. So the lack of Busnies sales could make a major chunk of that 5%.

Also Desktops are the home of pro, power and gamer users. Who are generally skilled enough to built there own at a cheaper price. and the self-built desktops won't show up in sales data.
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Mike
07/14/09

@Hello Mister Walrus: Ouch, burned on so many levels.
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SigmundTheSeaMonster
03/07/09

In reply to iMac Early 2009 Review
I compared the new 24" to a Dell XPS All In One and guess what? The iMac 24" is the better deal.

And Giz, the iMac wasn't designed for anyone that NEEDS to upgrade. It is for those that want their deskspace back. This model is 100x quieter than previous iMac. And 100x more difficult to repair. (the magnetic glass screen is a PITA...keeping a speck from getting under it almost requires a clean room).

You want to upgrade, get a MacPro. And I always tell potential buyers, if you can't afford it, you probably can't. :)
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balls187
03/06/09

In reply to iMac Early 2009 Review
Not bad.

Did you try playing newer games via Bootcamp? I think you'd have better numbers.
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balls187
03/06/09

@balls187: Edit to add: Very difficult to upgrade by hand, except for adding RAM

Is a con.
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Torley
03/06/09

In reply to Mac Mini 2009 Review
I agree about the strongest points here and cited this Gizmodo piece in my article: "New Mac mini: Beware small gains at a big price!"
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Kaiser-Machead
03/06/09

In reply to iMac Early 2009 Review
The biggest problem with these things are the graphics. I'd rather buy a refurb than one of these. From the looks of these, I'd be better off buying a Macbook hooked up to my HP monitor and get the identical graphics card, firewire and desktop space be damned. I've always been interested in these iMacs, but AIO's notorious caveats are inescapable, especially considering that even a laptop is easier to get into and upgrade.
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MrBlahBlah
03/06/09

@Kaiser-Machead: With the 512 MB nVidia 8800 GT (not sure if this is offered anymore), my 3.06ghz plays half life 2 eipsode 2 with everything maxed out, except anti-ailaising , which is at like 2 or 4x

are you a heavy pc gamer
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edblor
03/06/09

In reply to iMac Early 2009 Review
"You'd really need to up the RAM to 4GB,..."

Why? Why is 4GB needed in a slightly faster model, then what was needed a year ago (2GB) with a slower model, and the same OS?

I don't get why maxing out RAM is now a must-have! I know the prices have fallen to quite reasonable levels. But that does not mean we have to.
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Kaiser-Machead
03/06/09

@edblor: The new iMacs have shared graphics rather than discrete, so upping the RAM likely helps in that regard. Shame really. a Desktop should not have low graphics like that.
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Kaiser-Machead
03/06/09

In reply to iMac Early 2009 Review
Whenever there's a Mac article like this, the argument "I can build a better PC" seems to crop up quite a bit. I have to challenge this and ask for a complete list of components that are on equal ground, as well as a case that I could use to recreate the form factor without doing the machining myself. If it can be done, I'll buy all that shit and do it myself.
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mikecoscia
03/06/09

In reply to iMac Early 2009 Review
Wow I can build a much better windows machine at those prices. Apple = rip off.
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Kaiser-Machead
03/06/09

@mikecoscia: I'd really like to see you try to recreate an AIO for less money. You can build a PC with better specs, sure, but it won't be a solid single unit in a machined aluminum shell.
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