Are Desktop Computers Dying?

Well, the tasks that use to only be done by desktops are moving to other form factors.

The overall market for the desktop form factor is shrinking. As chips get smaller, we can put it in different form factors. Laptops take over for some balance between power and mobility. Mobile phones take over for the quick-whip-it-out kinda computing. Very specific computing tasks will end up in what we might call internet appliances, like an Ambient Orb or a Nabaztag. Even everyday tasks like emailing or web browsing might end up on Jack-PC thin clients.

That said, desktops have some advantages over other forms of computing--some off the top of my head are dual/triple screens, faster CPU/price. And if you want to do crazy hardware things like overclocking with some crazy cooling schemes, you'd probably do it with a desktop. Applications like photo-editing and coding seem more comfortable to me on a desktop.

If anything, I think desktop will remain as the computing hobbiest's choice of platform to tinker with, as they're cheap (power per price) and you can open them up and fiddle around with shit.

Yes. My "main" desktop machine died several months ago. I popped out the hard disk, put it in an external FireWire enclosure, and I plug it into my MacBook Pro when I'm at home. So now I'm 100% reliant on the laptop, and perfectly happy. I'll buy peripheral machines (iPhone, tablet, etc.), but I don't plan to buy another desktop.

Yea, they are. I live off my laptop, and when I'm home I plug it into my 24 inch dell and a MyBook external drive (where I keep all large media).

I can have a huge screen and tons of storage with a laptop, and I can move it around with me. If I have a Desktop + Laptop, I have to worry about syncing all the time.

the way i see it, yes desktops are dying b/c as many have said, you can do those tasks just as easy on other form factors.

dont worry though, the desktop isn't going anywhere, and neither is the desk.

when multitouch really takes off and becomes the sole form of interface between the user and pc, i believe we'll see things equalize to how they were a few years ago.

laptops will be slightly less functional, and a great addition to a large desktop. imagine a your desk, except instead of that monitor you have a huge, interactive surface. i believe that is the future of personal computing.

No. Not until latency is no longer a factor. Which , at least in the US, will not be for some time.

With the growth of people on the move, and the technology in laptops today. I would say yes.

I think everything is moving online. Once that happens, laptops will become obsolete too and there will just be publicly available computers everywhere. They will all be able to do the same thing since they will all have access to the same internet.

Yes