Are Desktop Computers Becoming Obsolete?

Autumn said:
I have to use a desktop because I require adaptive software due to being legally blind. I have an HP with a tower and a 34" monitor, and also an HP All-In-One with a 27" monitor. I can't use a laptop, tablet or smart phone because the screens aren't big enough to accommodate the magnification I require. So I hope desktops won't become obsolete, at least not before I do...
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My friend registered Blind has been given and taught to use a ‘tablet ‘ with software that speaks to him each option as he runs his fingers over the screen. The software is called Synnaptic and at 90 he has a successful introduction to computing. Email, entertainment, photography etc
 

Mamanana said:
My friend registered Blind has been given and taught to use a ‘tablet ‘ with software that speaks to him each option as he runs his fingers over the screen. The software is called Synnaptic and at 90 he has a successful introduction to computing. Email, entertainment, photography etc
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Thanks for the information. My sister is going to research Synaptic and see if it's available here in the US. I appreciate your response .
 
Lewkat said:
I love my desk top and huge screen. I'll be turning over to Windows 10 as soon as my son has a spare moment.
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Same here, I have Dell desktop, w/a 17' screen. I'll be switching to Windows 10 when I have Geek Squad come and clean up my computer for me.

When i purchased this computer about 2-3 yrs ago, I thought I was getting the 10, but I'm using Windows 8?

I no nothing abt computers...
 
No, they are not becoming outdated. I can't imagine texting & I can't imagine watching some movie on a tiny little iphone. I have a traditional tower computer, a big 22 inch screen & a full keyboard. I am a very good typists & I enjoy writing. None of those silly 1 line gibberish from people texting with smartphones for me. If this one goes, I think I would fork out the cash for a good Mac computer. I use a flip phone for emergencies & talk on the road but at home I want/need the comfort & luxury of a nice big screen.
 
The primary difference between a desktop and a laptop is portability.

The desktop obviously needs to stay where you set it up. A laptop on the other hand you can tuck under your arm and just GO.

I don't think desktops will become obsolete, there are still many uses for them. Plus you can upgrade several parts in a desktop (RAM, graphics card, storage etc) that you can't upgrade as easily, or at all, in a laptop because of severely limited upgrade options.

There's also the question of fixed peripherals in a desktop that don't exist in a laptop. When you buy a laptop, you're stuck with the same screen, keyboard, trackpad, ports, speakers, etc. for the duration of its life. Yeah, you can hook up your laptop to a desktop monitor, use a mouse instead of the trackpad etc., but if you're going to do all that, why bother with the laptop...just use the desktop instead!

There are a bunch of differences between desktops and laptops....cost, size, convenience, portability, life expectancy, computing power, ease of upgrading, etc and those are the factors that folks tend to consider when making a choice between what kind of machine they want. While laptops tend to have a larger share of the market, I think there will always been a need and demand for a reliable desktop.
 
Ronni said:
The primary difference between a desktop and a laptop is portability.

The desktop obviously needs to stay where you set it up. A laptop on the other hand you can tuck under your arm and just GO.

I don't think desktops will become obsolete, there are still many uses for them. Plus you can upgrade several parts in a desktop (RAM, graphics card, storage etc) that you can't upgrade as easily, or at all, in a laptop because of severely limited upgrade options.

There's also the question of fixed peripherals in a desktop that don't exist in a laptop. When you buy a laptop, you're stuck with the same screen, keyboard, trackpad, ports, speakers, etc. for the duration of its life. Yeah, you can hook up your laptop to a desktop monitor, use a mouse instead of the trackpad etc., but if you're going to do all that, why bother with the laptop...just use the desktop instead!

There are a bunch of differences between desktops and laptops....cost, size, convenience, portability, life expectancy, computing power, ease of upgrading, etc and those are the factors that folks tend to consider when making a choice between what kind of machine they want. While laptops tend to have a larger share of the market, I think there will always been a need and demand for a reliable desktop.
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You are very much right, Ronni! One thing I did with my tower computer is change the keyboard. It seems that all computers come with black keyboards (remember Henry Ford's "You can have any colour you want as long as it is black). Well, I got fed up with the small letters on a black keyboard, looked at keyboards on Amazon & found a white keyboard with nice large letter. Just "what the doctor ordered" for someone my age. The truth be know, I have 2 laptop computers that I used to take when we spent our winters down in Texas, Mexico or elsewhere. Now with Covid-19, they are gathering dust in the closet as I am not going anywhere until this crisis is over. I like the laptops for travel but I would never think of using them at home when I have my big screen & my nice white keyboard. As far as RAM I have 16 so I don't need anymore. I used to have 2G hard drive but it died on me. Now, I have a solid state hard drive & it works fine. I don't play games so I have way too much of power for just research.
 
MickaC said:
I could be wrong.....but i learned with Mac, heating is not an issue.
Have had friends that are frustrated with heating issues with other brands of laptops......they had to resort to a cooling fan attachment......but didn't always help.
Mac and apple for me.
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I agree MickaC. Before I graduated from Wikipedia University and completed my doctorate at YouTube Institute of the quick fix I discovered that heat sinks, cooling pads and component sized faraday cages (Preferably brass) are RF free, inexpensive, require no power source, won't break down, create RF interference and zero ambient noise like bladed fans whether internally or externally mounted. Proper grounding of your components to your house mains that meets the National Electrical Code reduces the chances of externally produced electrical interference. I remember the days when brick and mortar along with catalog sales electronics hucksters were pushing cooling fans for components supposedly to eliminate the dangers of fires and meltdowns due to overheating and other scare tactics. The biggest scam were the muffin fans pushed by Lafayette and Radio Shack. To this day it was discovered that any motor utilizing brushes produces RF interference like any other RF radiator. Today light emitting diodes a/k/a LEDS are the worst offender of RF radiating hash.

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Never had any reason to own a laptop. We have his and hers desktops, both running W10.
I have a 27" monitor and an EZsee large print keyboard which is great. The keys are yellow and the letters/numbers are the full size of the key. It also has keys for sound volume. I never liked using a mouse, so I have a Logitech cordless trackball. I have added a webcam and microphone so that we can do Zoom meetings. The kids are 3000 miles away, grandkids are 1200 miles away.
I won a Kindle tablet about 9 years ago which I peck at from time to time.
 
I have a twenty-one inch Apple desktop in my office, an older iPad light in living tv room,
and an even older mini iPan in the bedroom, mainly for reading in bed at night. My daughter
and grandson gave me the the desktop. My daughter took her granddaughter’s iPad and gave me her iPad light. The mini iPad I bought; it was an reconditioned iPad. Hardly worth bringing home, that is why I mainly use it for reading. I’m homebound so the desktop is appreciated.
I tend to like the Apple products better because they have worked better for me and I’m more familiar with them. I’ve never had a smart phone and don’t have any cell phone now. I don’t really think the desktop will go away.
 
Ronni said:
you can hook up your laptop to a desktop monitor, use a mouse instead of the trackpad etc., but if you're going to do all that, why bother with the laptop...just use the desktop instead!
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DH has all those additions to his laptop. He used to take it when travelling. Since we both have iPads, that’s what we use for travel now. When we’re away, he packs up the laptop & stores it out of sight.
 
Jules said:
DH has all those additions to his laptop. He used to take it when travelling. Since we both have iPads, that’s what we use for travel now. When we’re away, he packs up the laptop & stores it out of sight.
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I just finished converting a neighbor's laptop with her 32 inch monitor, printer and a wireless mouse. I personally like a mouse instead of a touchpad, too many times the pointer traveled around my screen whenever my thumbs touched the pad.

I used a Linux distro, a spare HDMI cable and external USB extender with 4 ports. Everything is up and running with her cell connected via bluetooth. She has the ability to use the laptop mobility, she has the equivalent of a Chromebook without Google's tracking. Zero cost!
 
I use my laptop at a desk set up like a tower with a mouse and wifi off. My 12 year old tower with Vista got cranky over the years but still works. If I eventually upgrade I'll look for another tower for the benefits mentioned above.
 
Can't picture this becoming obsolete ... they only keep getting better!


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