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Three things I'd give up my computer for


I've been thinking about new gadgets I'd like to pick up next year, and for the first time since I can remember, a new PC didn't make the list.
For me, that's unheard of. A new PC has always been on the list. Whether I actually bought one is another story, but every year I watched as new models came on the market. Next year is no exception. Intel's line of new chips, code-named Sandy Bridges,
is the kind of thing I would once have been willing to empty my wallet for. But recently I've been looking at my old computer. It's seen better days. It's on its third video card, its second power supply, and I have to take off the side panel every time I restart so I can push start the fan. The only thing I really use it for these days is surfing the internet, playing video games, and playing the videos on my TV.
Long gone are the days when I actually needed a real processor. It's been probably three years since I've done any serious video rendering, and I don't even remember the last time I had a compiler installed.
It's just getting to the point where I no longer need a PC, or at least not the latest and greatest, and the other gadgets on my list of things for 2011 have helped make the decision for me.
First is a tablet. After months of waiting around to see if the competition had anything better to offer (they don't), I've decided to go with the iPad.
I also need a new phone. My Nokia E71 has been a real road warrior, but after three years, it's beginning to look a little rough, so I'm looking at either an iPhone or an Android.
I also need a new netbook. My days of carrying around a six-kilogramme notebook are over.
Intel's new line of Atom processors combined with the Meego OS looks interesting, but if I can find a decent portable keyboard for the iPad, I may even pass on the netbook. Finally, I'm picking up an Xbox. No, it's not because of the Kinect, but because I'm tired of waiting to see when — or if — the latest games will be released on a PC.
Not the only one
So, a new tablet, smart phone and game console. What do I need a new computer for? I'm not the only one thinking this way, either. Apparently a lot of people are rethinking the need for a new PC.
Gartner, a research company, cut its PC shipment forecast figures for 2011 on Wednesday. The market is still growing, but the company cut its forecast from 17.9 per cent to 14.3 per cent.
That's disappointing for the PC industry, which was hoping to see sales of the new Sandy Bridges chips boost sales. Those who would want to argue these figures aren't the death-knell of the PC industry, at least as we know it, can point to numerous other reasons such as a lousy economy.
But Gartner is with me on this one. It points directly to the iPad, which it says could grab 10 per cent of the PC market by 2014, but it also throws cloud computing into the mix, which will start to affect PC sales in 2012.
How will cloud computing affect PC? Most of the R&D going into processors these days is aimed at the video crowd, with Sandy Bridges being a prime example, but why pay for the chip when you can upload the video to something like Adobe, and have them do the work for you.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised. All the gadgets we have today are the ones we've been dreaming about since the days of Star Trek. I just never thought I'd live to see the day I would willingly give up my PC.
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