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Michael Dell
Dell says post-PC era has been good to the PC world so far

Dell has been in the computer market for decades, but sales of its computers have started to decline globally as more and more people move to other products such as smartphones and tablets. In fact, Dell has gone so far as to say that it is “no longer a PC company.”
 
While Dell’s PC sales may dwindling, according to Michael Dell, overall PC sales have tripled since the term “post-PC” was coined back in 1999. CNET quotes Dell from the VMWare 2012 conference, "The post-PC era has been pretty good for PCs so far."
 
Dell noted that 380 million PCs were sold last year. Much of the recent growth has been in the emerging market while PC growth has declined in established markets such as Europe and the U.S.
 
Some fear of the post-PC market comes from consumerization of information technology in the enterprise. This is happening in companies where employees are beginning to bring their own iPads, iPhones, or Android devices and tablets to the office. By using their own devices IT managers save money by not having to provide a device. This is also seen as a contributor to the decline of the computer in the post-PC market.
 
One benefit Michael Dell sees in the post-PC market and corporate IT becoming consumerized is an increase in the need for network virtualization. Dell said, "Think about all these mobile devices and ask how you secure these mobile devices, it probably involves virtualizing the corporate client, then have it show up on any device they use."
 
Dell was also asked at the conference if he believed that IT departments would need to loosen security with workers bringing their own devices to the office. Dell replied, "I haven't heard any of our customers ask for that."

Sources: Citeworld, CNET


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What work?
By Ristogod on 8/28/2012 9:43:31 AM , Rating: 3
Can someone please fill me in on what type of work people are accomplishing with their iPads that they brought to their job?




RE: What work?
By Motoman on 8/28/2012 9:44:59 AM , Rating: 4
None.


RE: What work?
By Mitch101 on 8/28/2012 10:26:58 AM , Rating: 4
As someone who managed Mobile Device access on a corporate level.

Netflix
Facebook
Sport Stats
News Papers
Music
Weather
Books

Netflix and Facebook are the majority there is very little corporate use done compared to play. Its more of an image than business justification.


RE: What work?
By Motoman on 8/28/2012 10:32:41 AM , Rating: 2
Exactly. For the *vast* majority of business users, a tablet is nothing but something cool-looking to carry around and hope it makes you look important.

Waitress in a bar? Sure, use a tablet. Office worker? Nothing that can be done on a tablet can't be done better and more efficiently on a laptop.


RE: What work?
By dgingerich on 8/28/2012 11:48:28 AM , Rating: 2
I do have a user that uses his to remotely access machines for administration through SSH and Windows Remote Desktop. He manages a VMWare ESXi cluster and controls our software code management system.

Of course, he also uses it to watch a lot of anime and read news, just not at work.


RE: What work?
By Samus on 8/28/2012 1:33:42 PM , Rating: 2
How can you enjoy remote access on a 4:3 10" screen with no keyboard/mouse, and if you have the keyboard accessory, how comfortable is it to constantly take you hand off the keyboard and lift it to the screen to tap? AND, at that point, if you are carrying a keyboard accessory around with the iPad, why not just get an Ultrabook or Notbook like a x120 or DM1z (which is cheaper)


RE: What work?
By dgingerich on 8/28/2012 2:01:02 PM , Rating: 2
Honestly, I don't get it. I think he's just coming up with excuses to use it. He's young and makes plenty of money, so he likes buying gadgets then thinking up reasons to use them.


RE: What work?
By Ammohunt on 8/28/2012 2:01:42 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
....why not just get an Ultrabook or Notbook like a x120 or DM1z (which is cheaper)


An forgo having the little Apple sticker on the back window of his Prius?...you just don't get it do you?


RE: What work?
By NellyFromMA on 8/29/2012 3:17:32 PM , Rating: 2
That's correct. It's an attention grabber. Great for on-site demos but thats about it.


RE: What work?
By Snoop on 8/28/2012 9:56:00 AM , Rating: 3
I get some work done on Dinosaur Hunter HD in between meetings with my Android phone.


RE: What work?
By quiksilvr on 8/28/2012 10:13:48 AM , Rating: 1
I refuse to mention the "i" word, but tablets have been making some serious headway in the professional environment. If you have a tablet with the appropriate I/O such as USB, SD and HDMI and a keyboard dock of some sort, the incredible portability can be VERY useful in meetings and presentations (especially when extensive traveling between cities and/or departments within a city is needed).

Furthermore, RDP, VPN and other virtualization tools make it much simpler to get any information you may have left behind at the office or at home on your tablet.

One can argue that smartphones do most, if not all, of these things. But I felt that having a nice 10 inch touch display with a keyboard (and sometimes a mouse) has been immensely useful.


RE: What work?
By Motoman on 8/28/2012 10:31:16 AM , Rating: 4
So in other words...you turn it into a laptop.


RE: What work?
By quiksilvr on 8/28/2012 3:21:22 PM , Rating: 3
Show me a 10" laptop with 15 hours battery life, a multi-touch capacitive touch screen and these capabilities for under $500...don't worry I'll wait.


RE: What work?
By someguy123 on 8/28/2012 5:03:37 PM , Rating: 2
Those ratings are based around web browsing, and none of them actually meet 15 hours. The best is the transformer + dock at around 13 hours, which is practically a netbook with no x86 considering the dock is a hunk of plastic with a battery inside. Most netbooks get around 8~10 hours on the same type of test, as do ultrabooks.


RE: What work?
By Motoman on 8/28/2012 8:31:56 PM , Rating: 2
Why? None of those things would be useful in your 9-5 office job.

A $300 laptop would be better than a $500 tablet in virtually all possible office/business applications.


RE: What work?
By retrospooty on 8/28/2012 11:22:18 AM , Rating: 2
RDP and VPN are great if you are on the go and need quick access to your work environment, but its still not an efficient work tool, its an "easy quick access on the go" tool.


RE: What work?
By Apone on 8/28/2012 11:56:03 AM , Rating: 2
Honestly I'm thinking the same thing as you. However I can provide physical examples of people around me who use iPads for work. My sister works for Lifetime Network (media relations) and she was given a 3rd-generation iPad 3G so she can stay in real-time contact via corporate email with her boss, co-workers, etc. My dad was given an iPad 2 by his company for his international travels so he can keep up with incoming business emails as well.

Yeah I agree, corporate email can totally be handled by a conventional notebook/ultrabook computer so it does add a bit of impracticality adopting an iPad for work. But it boggles my mind as to what some I.T. departments are thinking as my sister already has a company-issued Thinkpad X200 and was recently given an iPad; Perhaps the X200 is in case she has to extensively type up stuff for work?

I agree with Motoman and Commodus; Tablets are practical for certain applications such as a server taking an order or nurse (my doctor's office extensively uses Dell Latitude tablets to input and update patient records) while they're walking around or while talking to a patient.

The only thing I can conclude is that perhaps an iPad works great for staying in touch with important business-related matters while being literally mobile (e.g. standing in a crowded subway train on your way to work) where there isn't always a table and chair that laptops can utilize.


RE: What work?
By hawflakes on 8/28/2012 11:57:14 AM , Rating: 2
1) Take notes during meetings.
2) If given assignment, schedule due date on calendar
3) Take picture of whiteboard with diagrams.
4) Present Word and Powerpoint junk on LCD projector
5) I've created charts a few times, but I like Visio better on my PC.

I also use my ipad to carry my breakfast up from the cafeteria, but this is probably a strange usage. :\


RE: What work?
By Arsynic on 8/28/2012 12:15:48 PM , Rating: 2
The tech that installed my home security system used an iPad and iPad app to get me all set up. But then again, they were using PDAs to do this type of stuff for a while. No one does any real work on these things.


RE: What work?
By luhar49 on 8/28/2012 1:25:12 PM , Rating: 2
Insurance agents, real estate agents etc. With the right apps, a lot of people who don't work out of desks are able to use iPads instead of their old clunky laptops.


RE: What work?
By TakinYourPoints on 8/28/2012 2:30:56 PM , Rating: 2
Field work is where I mainly use an iPad for work. Great for referencing PDFs, doing quick emails, and it is much better than passing around a notebook when with a group of people.


RE: What work?
By tayb on 8/28/2012 3:02:19 PM , Rating: 3
Warehouse management, for one. Works great on a device such as the iPad. At my last company we built our own web based inventory management system and the guys in the back would just walk down the aisle with the iPad.

I can think of quite a few but almost all of them involve a job that typically doesn't have you seated in a desk all day.


RE: What work?
By Amiga500 on 8/28/2012 5:47:50 PM , Rating: 2
+1

Aircraft maintenance manuals are now starting to be all graphical on tablets - no language translation needed - you show graphically the disassembly and torque is universal (Nm or lbf).


C'mon, folks, people do use tablets for work
By Commodus on 8/28/2012 10:50:53 AM , Rating: 2
Lots of people here trying more to defend their own preferences than understand the reality.

A tablet isn't useful everywhere. But it IS useful in places that Dell's product line isn't. Nurses in hospitals don't have to use paper or head back to a desk to chart patients' progress. A lecture presenter can read his notes from a podium in a natural position from the same device that might be showing a presentation behind him. And of course, if you need something that's better for mail than a smartphone but don't need the bulk of a laptop, why strain yourself and your bag?

Mr. Dell had better hope that Windows 8 tablets don't suffer the same fate as Windows Phone -- or all his own company's previous phones and tablets, for that matter. He may still get to run the servers in the background, but a large chunk of Dell's business is based on a home market that could easily be lost -- the company has been losing market share already.




RE: C'mon, folks, people do use tablets for work
By Motoman on 8/28/2012 11:06:16 AM , Rating: 2
Nurses in hospitals? Sure.

Lecturer? No. A laptop is better for him, since h can just set it down and angle the screen and then he doesn't even have to hold it.

And there's not much to the concept of "bulk of a laptop" vs. a tablet. The different in size and weight is minimal...definitely not enough to whine about. And definitely not when you see people buying tablet cases with built-in keyboards and carrying mice around so they can use their "tablet" to actually try to get something done. As opposed to playing Angry Birds.

There are some places where, in a business setting, tablets can make sense. Nurses and waitresses for example. But they're very few and far between. Probably 99% of all business people have no possible use for a tablet that wouldn't be better suited by an actual laptop.


By Reclaimer77 on 8/28/2012 11:27:47 AM , Rating: 2
Tablets are for media consumption. They aren't equipped to get stuff done.

So for some businesses, sure, they make sense. But most applications are better served with a pc/laptop.

And has anyone ever actually seen nurses using iPads in a work setting?? Hospitals are still hopelessly dependent on paper documents.


By RufusM on 8/28/2012 1:32:06 PM , Rating: 1
Tablets are mainly for consumption, but they can be used to great effect to get real work done. It's all about use case.

The main advantage no one mentioned is battery life. A tablet can easily go for a day without recharging where a laptop is lucky to get 4 hours.

Some other cases where they make sense are anywhere you need stand up mobile access:
1. Insurance appraiser/adjustor
2. Onsite estimator
3. Stand-up interview completing/submitting eforms
4. Waiting room interview completing/submitting eforms
5. Mobile video conferencing
6. Mobile repair staff
8. Etc.


By XZerg on 8/28/2012 11:44:07 AM , Rating: 3
Ditto.

My family doctor uses only a tablet with the stylus pen. His is a full fledged Windows tablet PC but he always keeps the keyboard/base folded in.

I, too, am in the market for tablet and the likes of Surface Pro has really got me interested. Sure my usage will be require it to have enough ports to turn it into a laptop but that's for environment dependent. On the go, use the touch screen interface, and at desk use the laptop form with the keyboard attached. This functionality without the weight/bulkiness factor or the high price demanded by many ultrabooks/portables.

The performance factor, in my opinion, has not been an issue since C2D cpu era when married with a SSD for even most work based tasks which usually involve Word/Excel/Code updates/Emails/UML. Yes there are instances where the laptop/desktop performance would be great but are very rare.

BTW - i have seen few people at work actually use the tablet for work related tasks - take notes in meeting, check and respond emails, access desk laptops/work servers for data. I too have used my laptop in many scenarios where a tablet would have sufficed or would have done a better job. Imagine reading training books/videos on a laptop and you would easily realize that the keyboard/base/weight of a laptop is really a bother.


By TakinYourPoints on 8/28/2012 2:33:56 PM , Rating: 2
Gets it.

My mom is a doctor, and one of the hospitals she works at started using iPads back in 2010. Data entry to the cloud while you are on the move is so useful in that sort of environment.

Usage scenarios are based on physical requirements. If you're at a desk all day, obviously a tablet makes little sense. If you're on the move, totally different story.


RE: C'mon, folks, people do use tablets for work
By 91TTZ on 8/28/2012 4:55:37 PM , Rating: 2
If your mom works in a hospital why would she be storing information in the cloud?

Usually hospitals are pretty strict over who can see their data and storing it in the cloud seems like it would be a pretty bad idea.


By TakinYourPoints on 8/28/2012 5:38:19 PM , Rating: 2
It is stored in whatever repository/database they're using, don't know the specifics. "Cloud" was a bad use of words


Post-PC
By DrApop on 8/28/2012 12:41:08 PM , Rating: 2
I don't think we are in a "Post-pc" era. I just think PC advances have declined and software (except for gaming)has not advanced enough to cause a need for more advanced pc.

Heck, for most, Win XP and Office 2003 pretty much match anything a person would "normally" do in Win 7 and Office 2010. Internet it the same, video works fine, most graphics (draw programs/paint/diagram/etc), mp3 and audio works fine. No real reason to upgrade for the normal family or even business. Unless you are going to play the latest games or do high level video and audio manipulation you don't need to upgrade beyond what you had 5 years ago IMO. So I think upgrades have slowed, but PC's are still dominant.

What had happened though is more choice to do the little things...play on the internet, listen to music, watch video, play simple mobile games.....the types of things you want to do on the go.

So the PC area isn't over.....instead, the computing offerings (types of devices) have expanded.




RE: Post-PC
By iamkyle on 8/28/2012 1:33:43 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
I don't think we are in a "Post-pc" era. I just think PC advances have declined and software (except for gaming)has not advanced enough to cause a need for more advanced pc.


But yet that's where the development and innovation has gone. That R&D that was previously dedicated into making your PC harder/better/faster/stronger has now shifted to the mobile space.

That being said, it's amazing how much more revenue you can bring in simply by dumbing something down rather than forcing your user to learn to use your product. Those "little things" like internet browsing, simple games etc. before required a computer to achieve those tasks which required some sort of computer acumen. Now Billy Bob and whoever else can just pick up an iDevice and do those things without learning about user accounts/file system maintenance/backups.


RE: Post-PC
By TakinYourPoints on 8/28/2012 2:43:43 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
That being said, it's amazing how much more revenue you can bring in simply by dumbing something down rather than forcing your user to learn to use your product. Those "little things" like internet browsing, simple games etc. before required a computer to achieve those tasks which required some sort of computer acumen. Now Billy Bob and whoever else can just pick up an iDevice and do those things without learning about user accounts/file system maintenance/backups.


Do you consider this to be a positive or a negative?

Any sort of hoop jumping required on the part of the user is almost always a failure on the part of the software designer. Just because we had to know how to do technical things just to make something work doesn't mean that it is a good thing.

I remember back in the day when I'd have to make custom batch and config.sys files in order to get my games to run well in MS-DOS. I learned and did this because I had to, not because I wanted to. Playing the game was the reason, the steps to get there are irrelevant and unimportant in the big picture. I am much happier having systems like Steam and whatnot taking care of all the busywork. All I'm interested in is playing the game, or whatever it is I'm want to do.

Using and actually being productive or enjoying myself rather than dicking around with the computer is what is most important IMHO. It is why so many neckbeard "dumbing down" complaints don't hold water for me.


RE: Post-PC
By TakinYourPoints on 8/28/2012 2:37:09 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
software (except for gaming)has not advanced enough to cause a need for more advanced pc.


Even that has slowed. The core components of my PC are almost three years old, and based on CPU benchmarks there is no real advantage to me moving from an i7 860 to the newest Ivy Bridge processors. GPU is a different story, but that's mainly because I'm on a 2560x1440 27" display. Anything less and I could have milked an older GPU for a very very long time.


RE: Post-PC
By jardows on 8/29/2012 12:29:06 PM , Rating: 2
The reason, IMO that PC sales has slowed isn't because people aren't using PC's anymore, it is because they are not buying new computers. I have by far one of the fastest/newer computers at work, and it is a 2006 model. It does everything we need to do for work quite well. It really is an issue where there is no reason to purchase new computers unless they are malfunctioning. Tablets aren't replacing PC's, just supplementing them in most circumstances.


Lack of PC Demand Not Dell's Problem
By Flunk on 8/28/2012 11:25:30 AM , Rating: 2
Dell's biggest issue isn't that people don't want PCs, it's that they don't build what people want. Their new lineup is a lot better than their last one but it still has issues. The XPS 15 only has a Geforce GT 640 vs the Macbook Pro's GT 650 and the XPS has horrible throttling and overheating problems http://www.anandtech.com/show/6103/dell-xps-15-l52... The price difference isn't very much either.




By inperfectdarkness on 8/28/2012 3:48:06 PM , Rating: 2
This. If the PC were dead, then all PC companies would be going bankrupt. Maybe that's the case for companies reluctant to change or keep with market trends (Dell, Acer, HP) but it certainly doesn't appear to be the case for Toshiba, Asus, MSI or others.

I have never understood the rationale for calling a market-segment "dead" when the evidence clearly suggests a change to follow market trends is in order. HP killing off palm and subsequently killing off its tablets--for example. Screw cocaine, I want whatever these corporate bigwigs are smoking.


Is it just me...
By NellyFromMA on 8/29/2012 3:16:25 PM , Rating: 2
...or does the following bother anyone else?

quote:
Some fear of the post-PC market comes from consumerization of information technology in the enterprise. This is happening in companies where employees are beginning to bring their own iPads, iPhones, or Android devices and tablets to the office. By using their own devices IT managers save money by not having to provide a device. This is also seen as a contributor to the decline of the computer in the post-PC market.


I think its a little ridiculous that people are expected and encouraged to bring their own device. More often than not, you can't use company equipment or internet to do anything personal, so maybe don't even bring my device into your corporate plan to save dollars?

Just my two cents, BYOD is a super joke that serves no one other than corporations. maybe they can pay half of our on going service bills since they are saving so much ? Doubt it.




"Post PC Era", not likely
By jklauderdale on 8/30/2012 9:08:29 AM , Rating: 2
PC: Personal Computer
Computer: Device or tool that helps in the task of computing
Compute: To determine by calculation; reckon; calculate

My phone is a tool I use to keep my scope's track on point, program lights in theaters, take pictures with, research bands/bars on and occasionally make phone calls with. The fact that it's strapped to my hip makes it a heck of alot more personal than my OTHER computers at home.

Whether you're running Windows, MacOS, Linux or ye olde Tandy graphing calculator, each could easily be referred to as a computer. We're evolving our UI, changing to a more mobile base but still using computers




Struggling to hang on
By Beenthere on 8/28/12, Rating: -1
"We basically took a look at this situation and said, this is bullshit." -- Newegg Chief Legal Officer Lee Cheng's take on patent troll Soverain









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