The Desktop is Dead. Long Live the Desktop! - Comments Page 1

please do anything you can to lobby for desktop computers with full-sized keyboards and hand-operated mice. please - I'm begging you. FWIW, I have no smart fone nor tablets, other than my blood pressure medication 😁

I use a desk top computer with two monitors and, while I have a laptop computer, I seldom use it. So, if I were to purchase another computer it will be a desktop computer.

Hi Bob, this is my first response to your many great tech articles.
I have struggle with the argument to buy a laptop over a desktop. I prefer the desktop for all the reasons you just stated. I think this year is the year to build/replace my 12 year old desktop.

I'm one of those with a PC, a laptop, a tablet and a smart phone. They each have their place in my life. My phone is always with me, the tablet is easy to carry around when required, the laptop is also portable but less so and the PC stays in its place. BTW my laptop is 11 years old, the PC 3 years and the tablet and phone both 2 years old. They will be kept until they break unrepairably.
Keep up the good work.

I have a laptop. When it's sitting on my desk, it has a wireless mouse, a wireless keyboard, a monitor, and a hard-drove plugged into it. It functions as a desktop computer. Or, I can unplug everything and take my laptop with me, whenever I want to. Problem solved!!

To me the desk top computer is the best option.
Smart phones are handy while traveling and in my opinion that is all they are good for.

Bob, I totally agree with you.

I have: a laptop with dual 24-inch monitors, full wireless keyboard/mouse combo for remote full-time job; a desktop with dual 24-inch monitors, full wireless keyboard/mouse combo for study and personal business; a tablet for fun (games and maybe reading); and an Android smartphone for communication, location, and supplication (finding out if a restaurant is open, etc).

There is really no way for me to do my job/study successfully with may tablet or smartphone. And really no way for me to play the game I play on the desktop or smartphone. They all 4 have their purpose, and none of them can truly replace the other.

Never, ever, will the desktop be replaced - there's just no substitute for the full keyboard, interchangeable/addable parts, less expense initially and for parts, build-it-yourselfableness, etc, etc, etc. If you need small due to space limitation, buy a NUC.

Excellent article and opinion! I too have a desktop, laptop, tablet and a smartphone. I enjoy the use of my attached peripherals such as my scanner and printer and my desktop provides the easiest access to accomplishing those tasks. I also am able to install a tremendous amount storage both internally and externally much easier on my desktop computer.

I love desktops; always have, always will. Staring at small screens is irritating mentally and physically. Of course if you are mobile and have to carry a laptop around, so be it. My PCs automatically put me in a work mode, especially as I love to write. And playing games--who wants to stare at a tiny area.
Long live the trusty old desktop!

I can not replace my desktop computer. I have a dual boot system, where I do big projects in the Windows and Linux operating systems. In addition, this serves as an archive, which I also have backed up in a few other locations. A small "smart" phone would never allow me to do that, even though it has its place for "small" things and is portable/convenient for travel. Thank you for another informative article!

I am nearly 3/4 of a century old. I am retired and dealt with technology in education. I have 3 devices (Desktop, iPhone, iPad) and use all 3. Things have evolved quickly since the DOS days. I cannot imagine doing w/o now, tho some days I think I could live w/o the iPad I really wouldn't want to do so.
There are too many things that you can't access the same way from a mobile device that you can from a desktop system. Banking and accounting type things for example. I am about to start this years taxes, no way would I want to do these on a mobile device! And I prefer doing my own rather than using popular software. When I have the taxes up on the monitor, I usually have the IRS directions up on my iPad or use an extra monitor of my husbands. I like the flexibility the different devices give me.

I totally agree with “old but not outdated”. Each device has its strong points and nothing has even come close to being an acceptable substitute for some of the things a desktop or laptop offers. Give me a desktop or give me death!

Recently,I retired my main desktop machine for a newer one in its place.I needed a better video setup as I have dual monitors in my day room.

The older desktop is still useful,so I am looking to upgrade it for another project.So far I am able to find many components as add-ons with no trouble.One look at eBay brings many vendors with competitive prices,so I consider the desktop market to be alive and well.

Couldn’t agree more, Bob. I have smaller devices for mobility but unless you live on the road or in a coffin apartment in Tokyo, a dual-screen desktop is a must!

I mean sure, you can hook up all kinds of peripherals to a laptop to try to emulate a desktop. But let's face it, it’s still an Easy-Bake Oven in a 6-burner convection oven world.

I run a desktop. Always buying a refurbished machine from a reputable company online. They recondition business machines with fresh install W10 OS. My current one cost $130 (free shipping) I've had it about 5 years and it has served well, long hours every day. Several older friends needing PCs have asked me and I've purchased one for them through the same vendor. Most recently, got one exactly like the one I'm using, except it now cost $73. Including new mouse and keyboard, free shipping, and a 1 year warrantee. Not bad for a C2D w/8 gigs ram, 1TB HD, HDMI and display ports, and a DVD burner. I think if they stop selling new desktops? This refurbished market will exist long into the future.

I have been retired for a few years and no longer need a desktop for work. Although I own a laptop, tablet, and smartphone, I prefer my desktop screen and keyboard for Zoom, reading and sending messages, Web searching and reading, looking at photos and videos, and reading news sites.
I prefer the tablet for playing solitaire and listening to podcasts.

Google "Ergonomic Desk Setup" Once you get past the ads you'll see drawings of a figure seated in front of a computer. That figure's hands are on a keyboard that is level and at the same height as the figure's elbows. The top of the monitor is at the same height as the figure's eyes. You can't do that with a laptop.

I use a desktop setup like that picture shows and an ergonomic keyboard. My smart phone is for checking my mail and calendar when I'm away from home for more than a few hours.

So you say, but for those of us who don't have a smartphone because of the damage it can do to our health, we do have DESKTOPS and use them better than those on smartphones. They can't multitask using a smartphone by having two different pages up at the same time. Oh, they can do a lookup, but that is for the task at hand, they can't answer a call while still being up on the one page, look something up, and give the answer while typing another. Desktop users who have the know-how can and do it all of the time, as I do. The only thing I paused was a 1958 movie "Run Silent; Run Deep" which I am still going to watch. But I also have Twitter, Pogo, and my email server up at all times, where I screen messages before they get near my system. It is best to leave the spam messages on their server where they can take care of it. Just because I'd mark something as spam on my computer doesn't do a thing, but marking in on the email server certainly does.
So desktops are only dead to smartphone users who are more apt to be harmed from those antennas inside that smartphone which are doing damage to pregnant women, children with ADHD, and Cancer patients (which I am one of). Now you know why a desktop isn't dead in Windows 10 Pro and 11 Pro.

Thank God for desktop computers. I use mine for photo processing and touchup. I have a laptop and a tablet, but my best work is done on the desktop. I just upgraded the memory on the desktop so I can do more at one time. I like looking at my 24-inch monitor for the detail work.