Research firm: PC sales plunge as Windows 8 flops

[Clive]

The ailing personal computer market is getting weaker, and it's starting to look like it will never fully recover as a new generation of mobile devices reshapes the way people use technology.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Research-firm-PC-sales-plunge-as-Windows-8-flops-202387501.html

[Simon]

Tablets and other mobile devices simply cannot perform all of the tasks a main desktop or laptop PC can, so I can't see them fading into oblivion just yet.  Windows 8 might, though.   

[Steve]

It's not a long list though Simon especially if you look at on line alternatives.

[Simon]

In my case, the main thing is storage.  Disregarding cloud storage, which not everyone likes or trusts, until a tablet comes along with 2TB of storage (upgradable), I won't be chucking out my desktop PC. 

[Gary]

People are using cloud storage, dropbox etc and its simple you can keep a tablet with you and access all your storage anytime, there are for most people very few things they need a desktop pc for. I cant think of anything most of my friends use a desktop pc for. Why do people need huge hard drives when they can use the cloud.

Hard drives fail, Flash drives can fail, god forbid a fire/flood could wipe out all your local storage or it could be stolen. I guess in the cloud its as safe as anywhere, and I'm not keen on cloud storage myself tbh. Computers are evolving and big old clunkers are not really needed for most. I don't use mine much, but I use my tablet a lot, and if I can access my photos my documents and music from a tablet/phablet anywhere in the country or even the world why do I need a traditional pc...I think that's a question more and more people will ask.

[Steve]

I have a 1Tb HDD attached to my iPad over my LAN so I don't need to get too excited about running out of storage space. It's more about doing the same with the tablet  but the process is different. Yes I use cloud I have iCloud, Google Drive, Amazon and Box.

[Technical Ben]

Gary, Cloud storage fails too. Really, it's not made of magic.

[cavillas]

Since I installed windows 8 on my 2.5 year old computer running windows 7 pro 64 bit, more applications seem to run faster and more reliably.  All devices run better as well.  Using Classic Start menu so it seems just like Windows 7 but with added capabilities and applications on the Start screen.  It's just a matter of getting used to it and using it, once tried for a time it is second nature.