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Hardware Technology

Worldwide PC Shipments Grew Due To Work-From-Home Arrangements (engadget.com) 28

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Engadget: The PC industry bounced back in the second quarter of 2020 after its weakest quarter in years mostly due to shelter-in-place orders prompted by the coronavirus pandemic. According to both Gartner and IDC, PC shipments grew year-over-year in the second quarter -- the former says shipments totaled 64.8 million units (a 2.8 percent increase from Q2 2019), while IDC says global shipments reached 72.3 million units, which is 11.2 percent higher compared to the same period last year.

Both organizations attribute the growth to PC production ramping up after supply chains were disrupted in the first quarter and to strong demand, now that more people need computers to work or study from home. "After the PC supply chain was severely disrupted in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the growth this quarter was due to distributors and retail channels restocking their supplies back to near-normal levels," Gartner research director Mikako Kitagawa said. The mobile PC or laptop segment did very well, in particular, due to people's remote learning and working needs. However, both organizations are skeptical that the demand would continue beyond 2020.
Gartner and IDC also noted that traditional PC shipments exceeded expectations in the U.S. and in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. "HP and Lenovo topped the list of PC vendors worldwide, with Dell coming in third for both IDC and Gartner," adds Engadget.
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Worldwide PC Shipments Grew Due To Work-From-Home Arrangements

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  • Microsoft is determined not to let Windows 7 stick around like XP did and have been aggressively marketing new computers. It's working and Windows 7 is less than 10% in many countries now. It's either put up with Windows 10 or learn how to finally use Linux. Mac is becoming ARM so that is out the options for people who need x86-64.
    • by Merk42 ( 1906718 )

      Mac is becoming ARM so that is out the options for people who need x86-64.

      What would one need x86-64 for that would be fine with using a macOS?

      • by xack ( 5304745 )
        People who use the Unix layer for scientific use and prefer the Mac interface. Also media production software with proprietary plugins written in assembly,
        • People who use the Unix layer for scientific use and prefer the Mac interface. Also media production software with proprietary plugins written in assembly,

          Unix isn't going away in arm Macs. Stop spreading FUD!

          As for proprietary x86-64 plugins; those are supposed to be translated by Rosetta 2. They already specifically addressed that in the Keynote. Start watching closely at time index 1:26:02.

          https://www.apple.com/apple-ev... [apple.com]

        • by Kisai ( 213879 )

          OS X for ARM is just a straight recompile. Nothing is being lost.

          What will be lost is most likely the UEFI firmware layer, at some point. As there would be no actual need for it if the hardware can only boot one OS , and the bootloader likely is locked to it.

          With that said, I don't think Apple would drop UEFI ether. It will likely just drop all the x86 specific parts to it.

  • Another explanation is that after years of Intel stagnation there is finally new compelling offerings from AMD. Up until then there was no compelling reasons to update past Broadwell, maybe even Haswell.
    • by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Friday July 10, 2020 @08:36AM (#60282764) Homepage Journal

      Only enthusiasts care about that now. PCs a decade old are fast enough to run today's productivity software, or if the PCs were any good, they are fast enough to run current AAA games using moderate graphics settings. Most people don't buy new computers because they are faster, they buy them because the software they want to run requires them, or because their old PC has become unusable and it would cost more to fix it than to buy a new one.

      A handful of enthusiasts aside, people are buying these new PCs because they need them. They've been doing just fine with a non-PC device like a tablet, but now they're doing real work and need a real keyboard, and to run real applications that won't run on their toy tablet.

      • Comment removed based on user account deletion
        • It's not about "fast enough". It's about the fact PC hardware, specifically storage, will suffer a failure rate within 5 years of average.

          Not in my experience. Back in the bad old days of ST-506 interfaces and 5.25" HDDs I used to have a lot of storage problems, but I haven't had a disk go bad on me in ages. The only component I've had fail in over a decade was a GPU.

        • Any halfway decent hardware should easily make it the 5 year mark. Portables are a bit more iffy because they see more abuse and you've got the battery to deal with, but if it's not abused and isn't some ridiculous gaming laptop it has a good chance to make it (most gaming laptops run way too hot).

          Even shoddy hardware, if it is good enough to make it past the first few months, also has a good chance to then make it to 5 years.

          Now, a few years back this was less true. The early ROHS-compliant systems (mid-

          • Any halfway decent hardware should easily make it the 5 year mark.

            If only there was a way to identify "halfway decent hardware" upfront without waiting up to 5 years...

            I've seen several HDDs fail over the last 15 years, cracked laptop cases, one failed laptop CPU fan that set off a cascade of other problems, dead laptop batteries that cost half the residual value of the laptop to replace. There are high-end Thinkpad laptops that have slowly dying USB-C/Thunderbolt ports [slashdot.org].

      • Comment removed based on user account deletion
        • Doctors aren't your typical customer. They're used to nerding out, albeit over medical stuff and not necessarily computers, and to understanding numbers. As for reports of Intel vulnerabilities in the MSM, the reports generally downplay the danger. They contact Intel for more on the story, and some PR flacks say some comforting things to them about mitigations. Then the talking heads repeat what the other talking heads said.

          Your average person doesn't replace their PC until it doesn't run what they want to

  • Because people who are suddenly forced to stay home for months usually do not not buy new communication or work-from-home devices.

  • More like jerk-from-home, right, boys?

  • by aardvarkjoe ( 156801 ) on Friday July 10, 2020 @09:11AM (#60282890)

    I just ordered some of the parts to build my first PC in over 10 years, specifically because we're going to have 3 children at home doing school online for at least the first part of the school year, as well as me telecommuting.

    Especially in families where the model has been one family = one computer -- which may not be the norm for us on Slashdot, but I'd guess is pretty common -- the need to have multiple family members online is going to be driving a lot of sales.

  • Work, you say? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Dracos ( 107777 ) on Friday July 10, 2020 @11:30AM (#60283384)

    This should reveal a truth: mobile devices are for consumption. Production requires PCs.

  • Power supplies are going for ridiculously high prices now.
    Stuff that used to be $20-40 after rebate not long ago (eg. Corsair CX, eVGA bronze, et.c) are now closer to $100.
    Thankfully, just as with any self-respecting techie, I have a spare stash for replacements / new builds.
  • Just cuz people playing games at home!

"Being against torture ought to be sort of a multipartisan thing." -- Karl Lehenbauer, as amended by Jeff Daiell, a Libertarian

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