Scott Mueller's Upgrading and Repairing PCs Forum

What your future outlook for the computer repair tech? With people speaking death to the PC and replacing what we know as the personal computer to desktop/Laptops
that have a operating system and everything you do is done from a web account.
I know Google is saying cloud computing will be there core business, Microsoft, Amazon and Intel are big players and all are building datacenters. They claim no more viruses
if thats the case that will hurt my business big time. I also see HP for example as well as goolge have thin client desktops and Laptops for cloud computing. If they offer these at say $199 the computers will be throw aways like most cheap printers. What do you think Scott will the Computer Repair Guy's with shops be out of business? I am asking about the future say 3 to 5 years from now?

Thanks, Craig

We don't have a general discussion (i.e. anything goes) section on this forum, which means that there isn't really a place for non-technical questions like this. I mean this doesn't exactly fall under "Network Hardware & Configuration", but then it doesn't really fit under "Desktop PC Hardware" either. However, since I feel strongly about this particular subject I'll let it slide this time... <g>

OK, so here's the deal: People who use computers to do real *work* (creating, writing, designing, editing, accounting, etc.) will always need real computers like desktop and/or laptop PCs, workstations, servers, etc. Is this the majority of people worldwide? No, but the numbers are still quite significant.

How significant? Lets look at the current state of things. As of Feb. 2011 the online market share of "internet devices" is currently about 5%, while Windows PCs and Macs (I guess Macs are "real computers" too <g>) command 95% of the market (90% Windows, 5% Mac). In addition worldwide PC sales are still increasing, and are projected to be over 400M units annually by 2015.

What about the more distant future? Will the sales and market share of internet appliances eventually surpass that of PCs? Probably. The truth is that the majority of people only use a computer for web browsing and social networking, and you don't really need a PC for that. Those people would be much better off with simple "internet devices" or appliances such as smart phones, pad type devices or cloud based computing appliances. Note that this is not a new idea, but the growing power and capability of these devices makes it much more practical today.

But I wouldn't worry just yet. While I believe that simple internet appliances will eventually be the rule for the masses, there will always be a significant number of people who use a computer for real work, and they will need PCs. In addition, people who want to "own" their personal and/or professional digital data (whether it be music, pictures, video, documents, spreadsheets, etc) will need some form of real computer to store, manage, and otherwise archive that data. In other words, even among the people who just "browse the web" there are many who would be unwilling to turn all of their family photos, videos, records, etc. over to some "cloud", and then pay monthly or yearly fees just to *rent* it back. I mean what happens to their data when they stop paying the bill? Those people will want to have their own private cloud instead.

Bottom line: There's no need to fear the clouds. <g> As long as PCs (desktops, laptops, workstations, servers, etc.) continue to be sold and used in large numbers worldwide, there will be a similarly large market for people to service and support them. Scott.

Great post, Scott! I have thought about the same subject and agree with your analysis of the situation.

At least when my household subscribed to Comcast's cable service (we dropped them in favor of DirecTV back in July), Comcast basically wouldn't let their customers transfer DVR recordings onto VHS tapes or recordable DVDs. When it was time to return a Comcast DVR, the recordings on the DVR's hard drive went with it. Fortunately, DirecTV is more lenient. Scott, is there any chance PCs could someday replace "boxes" one gets from a cable or satellite provider?

That's already happened, but the expense and hassle isn't always worth it for most people. Scott.

I guess I should've included the word "permanently" in my previous post in this thread.

Should one beware of Dropbox?

No more or less than any of the other cloud providers. Scott.

Scott, would you miss physical data storage if it were to cease being an option?

It will never cease being an option. Scott.

Scott, would you be OK with cloud services that are available for free?

Doubtful. Scott.