PC Era will End in 18 Months

[Marc]

I could see this coming and when the iPad went ballistic I knew it. Smartphones, tablets and other app-enabled devices will overtake PC shipments in the next 18 months, an event that may signify the end of the PC-centric era, market research firm IDC said. IDC said worldwide shipments this year of app-enabled devices, which include smartphones and media tablets such as the iPad, will reach 284 million. In 2011, makers will ship 377 million of these devices, and in 2012, the number will reach 462 million shipments, exceeding PC shipments. In 2012, there will be 448 million PC shipments. One shipment equals one device. PC sales will continue to climb, but will no longer rule.

[Scott Catron]

I still have stuff on 3.5" floppies (and Zip Disks) I need to copy.

[True Position]

In Reply to Parent Post by Scott Catron

I still have stuff on 3.5" floppies (and Zip Disks) I need to copy.

If you have not needed the data since those formats were common, do you really need it?

[Marc]

In Reply to Parent Post by Scott Catron

I still have stuff on 3.5" floppies (and Zip Disks) I need to copy.

I still have a few floppies. I transferred most to CDs some years back (like 99%), and then about a year ago I took all my CDs (and a lot of data DVDs) and copied them to a hard drive (and then destroyed the CDs like I did the floppies). I have data going back to 1987 or 1988. I do have a USB floppy drive.

In Reply to Parent Post by True Position

If you have not needed the data since those formats were common, do you really need it?

I'm a data hoarder.

I can remember a fellow who emailed me with a "get rich quick" scheme (you have a growing web site and reputation and if you follow my plan...." type of thing, investment all on me, of course, it being his idea and all that {not to mention his idea sucked}) and he freaked out when I pulled up and copied him on an email from him to me from 1999 or there abouts and pointed out he contacted me about something similar back then.

Yup - I admit it. I'm a data hoarder. I even have a Mac with OS 9.2 on it so I can pull up some very old documents in obsolete programs. I rarely use it, but that's just me. I even have some text capture files from the old bulletin board days of the 1980's.

But - Data these days takes up so little physical space that I doubt I'll end up on that "Hoarders' TV show that I've heard about. The picture below is about 20 TB of drive space.

and Keeping Elsmar.com Online 24/7/365.

[Scott Catron]

In Reply to Parent Post by True Position

If you have not needed the data since those formats were common, do you really need it?

You never need anything until you need it.

[True Position]

In Reply to Parent Post by Scott Catron

You never need anything until you need it.

Any truly important data I wouldn't be trusting to solely magnetic storage.

[qualityboi]

If broadband EVER gets any better the PC would probably go the way of the landline. Too much greed to make it truly affordable, accessible and fast...at least out here in the US western toolies. Maybe the UK has it right. http://www.moneywise.co.uk/news-view...fast-broadband

I keep my desktop PC pristine in original factory condition and original software except for critical updates, with all my hard drives save the one internal for programs, external and portable. My laptop however gets all the new stuff, the registry usually gets corrupted every six months or so from on the **** it gets from all the different software updates from all the programs...mac may be the answer but then again money is an issue.

[Marc]

In Reply to Parent Post by True Position

Any truly important data I wouldn't be trusting to solely magnetic storage.

Multiply by 3 and I feel pretty safe.