[opendtv] Re: The case against Thunderbolt

  • From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2011 07:40:11 -0500

The difference is that the PC is a generic business/industrial platform, as well as a household appliance.

Yes Bert it is a widely deployed platform used both by business and consumers. This does no change what I said. The vast majority of PCs are sold on the basis of low cost, not performance. The only market segments that still care about performance are machines for gamers and servers, which now have little resemblance to a generic PC.

PCs are surviving on the legacy of Windows, Microsoft Office, and to a lesser extent on Internet Explorer, as consumers switch to Firefox, Chrome etc.

I am not saying the platform is dying, although one could make the case that it is starting to decline. What I am saying is that PCs are no longer a wellspring of innovation - they have become commodity tools and the industry is primarily focused on low price to keep sales numbers respectable - witness the infatuation with "Netbooks," low cost, under powered PCs, that are quickly giving way to tablets.

The PC is not mainly a fashionable toy with deliberately short life span. Any new and incompatible interface becomes a nuisance in many PC applications, whereas in devices that are expected to become refuse within a couple of years, the fancy new and incompatible interface is a plus.

I assume that you are once again trashing Apple here.

Sorry Bert, but Macs are not designed with deliberately short life spans. This is not even true for some of Apple's consumer products like iPods, but may be true for Smartphones, which people expect to replace at the end of their contracts. That being said, I am still using a 2005 vintage iPod Mini in my truck, and my old iPhone 2G is now being used to play music in the tasting room at the brewery. And my 2007 vintage MacBook Pro is working just fine - I plan to upgrade the hard drive this week - 120 GB does not go far these days. I just added a 1 TB external E-SATA drive with Firewire 800, E-Sata and USB 2.0 ports.

The nuisance factor is what happens when someone tries to push the PC architecture to the limits. This is a major reason the Mac platform continues to dominate the markets for creatives. As Dan indicated, USB does not get the job done when you are trying to play high quality, isochronous video streams, or better yet multiple streams, as is often the case with video editing software.

You "might" be able to make a case that the large number of road warriors who have switched to Macbooks from a PC laptop, are doing so because it is now fashionable to be seen using a Mac. But I would suggest the real reason is because Mac laptops provide a superior end user experience, have significantly better battery life, can run any necessary PC software natively, and are extremely rugged and reliable.

The only computers I am familiar with that are EXPECTED to become refuse within a couple of years, have a Windows logo on them, as every OS upgrade seems to require new hardware to perform decently.



I know that trade journalists have been throwing about the term "post PC world." But like most of these glib phrases, it doesn't make any sense. PCs are becoming embedded into just about anything. They aren't going away anytime soon.

Computers are being embedded in just about everything Bert. NOT PCs.

The PC market is still growing a little, mostly outside the U.S. But the market for Macs is growing at 3-4 time the rate of PCs, and the market for tablets is starting to explode. Perhaps you can explain why this is happening?


 The markets for Macbook Pro are driven by performance and the "elegance" of
 the design.

The accent is on fashion statement, we agree. That's key to understanding why the "big Intel customer" quoted in the article might have been put off by this hyped up new feature.

The accent is on performance and suitability for the task Bert. Some people actually like the fact that they can carry around a full featured laptop that cost $999 and weighs only 2.3 pounds; or a workstation equivalent that can edit HD video for $1,799.

Regards
Craig


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