PC sales will rise again, predicts Intel, but tablets are toast The last few years haven't been good for the PC market as the old upgrade cycle died and buyers piled into tablets and smartphones. But Intel is convinced the PC will rise again, thanks to new hardware and form factors. "I honestly feel this is a once in a decade moment," enthused Kirk Skaugen, GM of Intel's client computing …
That's the thing with tablets - once you have one there is not much of a reason to upgrade. I am still using my iPad 2 (even though I hate Apple!). It is slow but I cannot justify the £400 to get a new Android one, given the amount that I use it. I actually use my phone more then the tablet.
When NVIDIA and AMD shift from 28nm to finfet 14/16nm next year small desktops for gaming/graphics apps get more interesting but the Intel guy could hardly say that.
He's right about 2 in 1. I couldn't go back to an old style laptop and as more people are experiencing the benefits and prices fall the interest among non techies seems to be growing. Anyone here found otherwise?
I have both a ten year old PC and an Apple Mini. My aging eyes much prefer the PC for actually seeing things I might buy for my business, for doing spreadsheet stuff and for any actual word juggling stuff I do, like email. Typing on a screen is miserable compared to a full keyboard. I use the mini for Square, for travel, and for navigation, and let's face it, games while waiting. I am a troglodyte who loves my 17-inch screen and will be replacing it with another if it goes pfft.
So everyone will rush out to get a laptop with 3D so that it will recognize them instead of typing a password??? No way! It's just as likely as we'll all embrace Windows 10.
As for 2 in 1's, it's far cheaper to get a $150 tablet, add a $30 keyboard and enjoy Android! Google docs are as good as Office and collaboration is much easier, which is increasingly important.
and Google does what with all those lovely docs etc that you let them store?
They are (IMHO) just as bad a Microsoft when it comes to slurping your data. Yes they might use it for other purposes but they are using it just the same.
Enjoy your google tablet and everything it leads to.
It is time people woke up the reality of the world we live in. Everything we do it tracked and logged by the varioys Government Agencies and Hackers around the world. We the people have to take steps to minimise our exposure to data slurping in whatever form it takes.
Don't store anything the cloud. Turn location services off on your phone. Use multiple different aliases for the various Internet accounts you have. Etc etc etc.
If you don't whatever comes your way is what you deserve.
"50's paranoia. It's grrrrrrreat!"
You know, I used to hate smugness. That was until I got the joy of saying "I told you so" to all you head-burying ostriches that love using that word "paranoid" every time someone expresses concern about erosion of liberties and destruction of privacy, until the reality hits home and the chickens come in to roost. Then when the cops are turning your house upside down because a microphone in your smart TV picked up somebody saying something suspicious, I'll smile smugly and say "I told you so. You called me paranoid, but I fucking told you so. You deserve this."
@ steve roper.
"You know, I used to hate smugness. That was until I got the joy of saying "I told you so" to all you head-burying ostriches that love using that word "paranoid" every time someone expresses concern about erosion of liberties and destruction of privacy, until the reality hits home and the chickens come in to roost. Then when the cops are turning your house upside down because a microphone in your smart TV picked up somebody saying something suspicious, I'll smile smugly and say "I told you so. You called me paranoid, but I fucking told you so. You deserve this.""
Yep. That's definitely paranoia.
Agreed. It's fine storing your accounts in the "cloud", so long as you are paying the provider, under a binding contract which will hit them with big penalties after any data breach or data loss. But using a "free" service is something you should only do occasionally for data you care nothing about. Anyone doubting this can read the Google/MS/Dropbox T&Cs.
Sure, use Google docs to write flyer for the local fete. But remember, it is part of Google now, not your flyer. You get what you pay for.
So, you have an issue with Intel and Microsoft locking you in, but you'll sell the farm to Google who has progressively (and far more successfully) taken control of your life. From monitoring your DNS lookups to monitoring your searches to monitoring your file contents to tracking your location (ever wonder how traffic data is so accurate?) to controlling your shopping habits to feeding you selected news articles, to installing fiber which will provide them some control of your TV viewing habits to controlling your navigation, etc...
Google is charging you less money but asking you to pay with your soul instead.
I genuinely believe that under current management, Google tries to do no evil. What happens when their empire is threatened and somebody like Carly Fiorina is given the CEO spot? Do you honestly feel ok giving Google so much of yourself to save a buck or two? Or have you simply decided that Google now knows so much about you that you may as well try to profit from it?
Google sold is soul to the devil when people like Schmidt came on boad... they were there assigned to make money, a lot of money, in any way. And I guess those very money blackened the souls of the founders too.... when you get used to your private 767 for a quick holiday on an exotic island, it's hard to think "no evil".
If you want to know what your private data looks like at Google or Microsoft or any of the other places that collect it, then picture a giant sand dune. It's in there somewhere, one or two grains.
Do you imagine some geeks at Redmond looking at your browsing history and laughing at your choices? The could be very bored at my "private data" if they ever saw it, but they won't because it's in a massive pile of the same sort of boring crap.
I get dog food ads on YouTube and in browser windows, but I don't own a dog and haven't kept a dog ever. All you have to do is script some misinformation activity and your "private data" is worthless.
I'd quote the well-known "It's not paranoia if they're really after you", but I don't think there's any point - the broken babelfish in the ears of those with their head in the sand translates anything they hear as "you're right you're safe you're right you're safe you're right..."
If you want to know what your private data looks like at Google or Microsoft or any of the other places that collect it, then picture a giant sand dune. It's in there somewhere, one or two grains.
You idiot, sorry, but you are. They basically know where you live, if you were stupid enough, they even know your real name. They sell that data to some advertising corp which has other sources of information about you, such as customer cards of your local supermarket, grocery, or DIY store. They recoup all that with big RDMS' and they have the local grocery store give you free vouchers for, say, incontinence pads, because your Mrs, while in her 60's, ordered a large quantity of menstruation pads online for your step daughter. Obviously, they thought the pads were for her ...
Don't believe me ? Already happened here in France, big scandal ... Seriously, this IS already happening, wake up, anybody in ????
Now, guess what, they know your birthday (you certainly entered it on some form or another), they know all your contacts (whatsapp, iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, Facebook, anybody?), they know their birthdays too ...
When you start calling people idiots, it's best to get at least the basic facts right first. Google doesn't sell personal customer data to anyone. Companies pay Google to place their ads based on the data they have collected on their users. Those companies have no idea who is seeing their ads unless you click on one and go to their site. Even then, they don't know anything about you unless you give them your personal details directly.
If you want to know what your private data looks like at Google or Microsoft or any of the other places that collect it, then picture a giant sand dune. It's in there somewhere, one or two grains.
No problem. It's called data mining and re-identification. And it's all covered by the Google and MS terms and conditions.
I quite like the way they did it, with efficiency. Nobody wants to see giant, intrusive adverts for stuff they have no intention of buying. You have making it go away, advertiser is completely wasting their money.
Google simply stepped in, created a far more attractive advert, and put things on it I might vaguely want to buy.
Maybe you'd prefer all sites had subscriptions - but reality is that internet we know today is supported by advertising. I don't mind Google's adverts (that much).
Yep, when the marketing man speaks with his forked tongue TONGUE TIPS ARE UP 100 PER CENT!
Wake us up when a big product category increases by 150% rather than trumpeting what's little better than statistical foam of the also-rans. Meanwhile here's a more enjoyable misleading comparison...
Percy: You know, they do say that the Infanta's eyes are more beautiful than the famous Stone of Galveston.
Edmund: Mm! ... What?
Percy: The famous Stone of Galveston, My Lord.
Edmund: And what's that, exactly?
Percy: Well, it's a famous blue stone, and it comes ... from Galveston.
Edmund: I see. And what about it?
Percy: Well, My Lord, the Infanta's eyes are bluer than it, for a start.
Edmund: I see. And have you ever seen this stone?
Percy: (nods) No, not as such, My Lord, but I know a couple of people who have, and they say it's very very blue indeed.
Edmund: And have these people seen the Infanta's eyes?
Percy: No, I shouldn't think so, My Lord.
Edmund: And neither have you, presumably.
Percy: No, My Lord.
Edmund: So, what you're telling me, Percy, is that something you have never seen is slightly less blue than something else you have never seen.
Percy: (finally begins to grasp) Yes, My Lord.
Upvoted if only for the Blackadder reference.
The scenes with the Infanta Maria and her interpreter still crack me up every time.
Second only to the home-selling conversation with Mr & Mrs Pants in the season-II episode.
"What we're talking about, in privy terms, is the very latest in front-wall fresh-air orifices, combined with a wide-capacity gutter installation below."
"You mean, you crap out of the window?"
"... Yes."
"Well, in that case, we'll definitely take it. I can't stand those dirty indoor things."
..Wait, what were we talking about again?
We now return you to your regularly scheduled discussion about PC sales.
[Blackadder]
Totally OT, but glad to report that the 11 & 14 year-old children have been totally enamoured with Blackadder, though they found series I a bit "different". Mind you, they also enjoy a lot of other "classics", from Dad's Army to Red Dwarf and beyond...
M.
I finally upgraded 2 five-year-old PCs this year, and that was only to get SATA3 and USB3. (One Intel and one AMD. The AMD, with a weaker processor, boots up faster.)
I thought I had no use for smart gadgets but I got a tablet recently (for free thanks to bank promotion) and find it a fun toy and occasionally useful. It sucks for doing any serious work though.
I don't know what this means for Intel.
Still have the PDP-11 Instruction set manual on the bookshelf and a complete set of PDP-11/45 Schematics in the loft.
Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way
I just bought a reconned 3-year-old laptop. Now I feel like such a Bad Consumer. And I have no 3-D camera, nor a 3-D golf ball printer, as one commentard promised me.
But the laptop will run Qubes OS, which is apparently very little like Win 10 indeed. So behind the times, and yet so little urge to catch up...
"In the next few weeks both HP and Lenovo are going to be releasing laptops with 3D cameras built into the lid, and Intel has been working with Microsoft to make them integral to the Windows 10 Hello biometric security system. The camera scans the user's face and then opens the operating system, and Intel hopes the system will also replace password logins for websites."
Will plastic surgery will be necessary once this 3D facial info is hacked / leaked?
Seriously, none of the big players in the the tech industry are seeing what a watershed moment this is for privacy, how is that possible? When I first read the paragraph above, I thought it was to take 3D photographs which might be interesting, although 3D laptop screens turned out to be a gimmick...
Well, let's put it this way: it's much, much easier to change a password. The biometric data will leak one way or another sooner or later. What are the odds it won't even be stored encrypted? But as the common or garden variety user always puts convenience before security, this could actually be quite successful.
Hmm. So if I correctly understand this approach to security, then certain information derived from having a number of cheap laptop sensors view/scan my face, possibly including an infrared (thermal/heat) signature, will be saved within the target system. At a later time, the laptop security app will try to use this info to make a go/no-go decision. It will either allow or deny me user or root level access, by performing a new sensor scan/view, and then making an intelligent A-to-B comparison between the new/current data, and the saved-away-for-reference data.
Oh, my. This promises to be a source of endless fun & amusement. Let's call the "saved-away-for-reference" data, the "keyfile".
So, let me put-on my black hat for a bit (black watch cap actually, but same symbolism).
At some point, the user (victim) is likely to fire-up said laptop, successfully satisfy the login requirements, and possibly even connect to the internet. If I'm then able to root the laptop using any of the conventional phishing or spear-phishing techniques, then can I simply copy the most recent keyfile? Maybe I can transmit it back to myself as an attachment using a good old-fashioned email hack?
Alternately, can I remotely overwrite the victim's keyfile with my own? Brings a whole new wrinkle to the crypto-locker ransomware business.
Can I crack the data format on the keyfile itself? Can I write a simple hex editor to allow me to change the saved data? Better yet, can I use the keyfile data and a 3D printer to create a head & shoulders bust of the victim? How much data does a keyfile retain, anyhow?
Will the operating system automatically upload saved copies of the victim's keyfile to the NSA, Microsoft, Google, ComCast, Amazon, Ebay, Mozilla, etc? Can I passively capture this transmission or alter it in flight? Can I crack one of the redundant archival servers (used for storage of keyfiles by large faceless enterprises) and simply download a few hundred million?
If the scan/view process is not obtrusive (no little red flashing light) then can I remotely trigger a keyfile capture by the victim's laptop and upload the victim's new keyfile to myself? (Here's looking at you, kid!) Can Ebay also do this? (Allowing them to be somewhat more certain that the $47,000.00 USD bid, made for an autographed copy of Taylor Swift's last wardrobe malfunction, was indeed done by the victim him/her self.)
Will there evolve a black market in keyfiles? (I'm rather fond of actress Scarlett Johansson. I'm curious what her 3D head & shoulders bust might look like.) Will it be illegal to buy/sell the keyfiles of others? Do victims automatically receive copyright benefits on their own keyfiles? What if my employer (Walmart, Target) requires me to provide them with a current keyfile, as a condition of employment?
Last, but far from least... can I fabricate a functional/working keyfile via remote observation? Using videos, photos, and other representations of the victim's head & shoulders? I would think that most public figures (actors/actresses, appointed and elected gov't persons, hereditary royalty, wealthy people, etc) would be hopelessly compromised, in this event.
I could ramble on. But this covers most of the thoughts I find interesting at the moment.
this covers most of the thoughts I find interesting at the moment.
The first thought that came to me is this: if the technology is sensitive enough to discriminate between identical twins, what happens when I grow a beard?
Vic.
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