Comments on: Adieu to the old-fashioned desktop computer?

Tae-Hyun "Tiger" Cho, CEO of Averatec, says the all-in-one PC is the way of the future.

[inachu1]

I have already seen some people mod their PC to fit inside a Commodore 64 case.

It would be nice to have a ALL IN ONE unit but this just makes the keyboard hot and I do not like that.

[Maclover1]

UM most if not all.... ALL IN ONE's have a detached keyboard. Apple, Sony, Dell and HP sell ALL IN ONE's with detached keyboards.

[rockstarblech]

You are an idiot dude! they arent laptops LOL
The monitor and tower are combined...everything else is the same. mouse, keyboard etc.

Drugs are bad for u! =D

lol =P (im just playin around. making a joke out of it while reinforcing facts. take no offense)

[DrtyDogg]

Asus Makes an all in one inside of a keyboard. With Wireless HDMI and a trackpad.

[Seaspray0]

And to think that in the 60's they were attempting to make a computer that fit inside a single room.

[dbloyd]

That would be an excellent idea to have a thin keyboard with an Atom CPU that is the entire computer. Just hook up your monitor and mouse. Price it around $199.

[rockstarblech]

Those are already available. my neighbor owns one. hes also a doctor tho.
He says it works excellent.

[Mergatroid Mania]

Those have been around since the 1980's. The old Amiga computers had hard drive, video, audio, ports and keyboard all built into the same case (Amiga 500, 600, 1200).
The only thing they're doing different now is building in a monitor. Of course LCD monitors were not available back in "the day".

[Rants&Raves]

I had an all-in-one quite a few years back -- it was called the BookPC. The idea is good (small form factor, low price), but as soon as a component fails or becomes radically obsolete (say, mine only had a CD player at the moment the DVDs came out), then the whole box is a loss (the BookPC wasn't as it sort of was serviceable, but getting things in and out of it was a fight).

I also prefer the Asus eee Box approach: you can use any monitor, and screw the PC on the VESA mount between the screen and stand. Very nice (plus makes for a killer public display control unit). Is the monitor in the image above special-purposed ? If so, that's dumb; why replace a good monitor every time the box fails ?

[sting7k]

What's this desktop you speak of?

Traditional desktops will probably take a huge back seat and be reserved only for those who need raw power for gaming and graphic design.

[mnaskman]

Of course manufacturers want to drive the market to all-in-one units, they eliminate the ability to fix your own computer by doing so. All-in-ones seem great, but you need to send it back to the manufacturer if anything goes wrong and after your service contract ends it will end up costing you almost as much as a new computer.

[LuvThatCO2]

BING! We have a winner. You're right on themoney, mnaskman.

[crazynexus]

I guess these would work if you didn't want to do any gaming, and would want to buy a new monitor and computer every 2 years, since it appears you can't relaly upgrade these things.

[ihackmore]

Not likely; gamers and steampunks will still build power sucking eyesores.

[crazynexus]

Built in graphics cards that would come on these things are useless (at that price point), no one could game that well, not even just the Sims players. and, like some other people have said, one thing breaks, you're done. Throw away the whole things (cause that's environmentally friendly!) and buy a new one. They're essentially slapping a cheap laptop (it even says it runs the Intel Atom processor) on a base and sticking a 17" monitor on it. And what if you don't like the monitor that comes with the all in one.. this is just ridiculous, and I'll steer anyone I know away from buying these things. You can build a fully functioning desktop for just as cheap, including a 21" monitor. Apple has had all in one computers for years now..yet you dont' see the imac taking the world by storm (I'm not turning this into a Pc Vs Mac debate, so don't start). Concept is novel, however, implementation is ridiculous.

I know with a laptop what I'm buying, and what I'm going to be using it for, and understand the hardware limitations as well as th efact I can't really fix anything on it, other than slapping in more RAM or changing the hard drive. People are going to buy these things thinking they're like desktops, but when that DVD Drive breaks, and they have to buy a new computer or settle for an external one, then they'll be questioning what it's good for. Getting rid of the traditional desktop and the ability for component exchange and repair is ridiculous, and just a way for companies to suck money out of people every 2-3 years when their computer suddenly isn't fast enough because of a leap forward in software needs.

[ArtInvent]

Monitors are getting cheaper and bigger, while computers are getting cheaper and smaller. So let's keep them separate and easily interchangeable.

Personally I think the best way to go is a tiny PC box that clips to the back of the monitor. This seems way more natural and convenient, and you can already do it with a lot of the small pc's being sold. It would be nice to have a VESA kind of standard for clipping a pc box to the back just like the mounting system we have for monitor stands.

For instance, yesterday I saw a deal for a 23" 1080p monitor for $169, while the existing one is 19". I don't want to have to get a whole new pc just to upgrade my monitor.

Now imagine a handle on the top of the monitor, and a keyboard that clips to the front of the monitor so it also protects it in transit. You have a reasonably transportable all in one computer, larger than a laptop sure but cheaper and with a giant screen.

[Maccess]

I go through one desktop keyboard every six months--I use my laptops with an external keyboard at my desk. Anything else with the keyboard that's not part of it will have to go when I have to replace the keyboard.

A built-in monitor isn't such a good idea, either. People upgrade their monitors as larger sizes become cheaper or new technologies become available.

What's feasible are new kinds of small form factor PCs, but I do hope they have PCI-E graphics card slots, because the video card is frequently upgraded by enthusiasts. these new small PCs can even fit behind an LCD monitor using the VESA slot as some already do.

[crescentdave]

The point about the falling price of monitors is true. I don't even look at monitor/box combinations anymore because it really is a buyers market. My latest monitor is a refurbished 27" which I got for a better price than a 24" and it's great. There's no way I'd go back to a 20" or a 24". I don't think it's a matter of being a gear ***** as much as being addicted to usability. I work with multiple files and url's open all the time and the ability to visually see side by side information is important. I can always swap windows, but it's not the same thing.

Plus, I have too much crap. I have usb connections for speakers, for 3 separate external hd's, for a scanner, for a printer, a graphics tablet, external wireless card, videocam, player .... and the list keeps going on. I have two internal hard drives, an updated graphics card, an updated cd/dvd burner and it's allowed me to keep a computer at least a year longer than I'd normally keep one. In addition, with desktops, I can bring over hardware from older computers that are still useful ... SATA drives for example. Maybe that 2nd tier graphics card goes into SLI mode. Desktops have always been about upgrade ability and expandability.

[shootfirst]

There are several points where all in ones fail, but laptops have the same issue and people buy them. Netbooks are even worse than laptops, yet sales are high. I think for corporation needs you won't be in a wrong direction as laptops are very common and have the same fail points. Some corporations use citrix or other software so this would be just an alteration of a thin client that they already use. I personally would not buy one for home use as I use my computer for gaming, however for someone who is just going to do excel and other stuff like that it is almost a good idea. I say almost as desktops have been in the wild for sometime and we all have monitors that go from one generation of machine to another. Maybe if they had pushed this more when LCD technology was coming out it would be a better concept, but you can buy small case computers already and use your previous monitor saving a chunk of change. Where this could help is if people want to use multi-monitor, but most think they have to have the same dimension monitor and fuss when their monitors aren't the same height. Another good thing is that this rids some of the cable mess that we deal with day in and day out not having the extra cords for the monitor. This is doomed to fail as already has been stated however since most people want desktops so they can expand and have more than limited options, so at most this will be a product for people that check email and things that don't have a laptop already.

[willdryden]

Compaq tried this in 1995 with the Precario 5528. Everything was in one box (speakers included) with an external keyboard. It didn't catch on then so I see no reason for it to catch on now.

[shootthecops]

Android: a linux based distribution which won't support any pre-existing applications. thanks for fracturing the market google!

[Magicland]

Gee, he really doesn't have a clue. Hope the company's privately held, I'd hate to see a lot of folks lose money based on his wrong assumptions. Where we're headed is towards more of a server-terminal type of future. Why does everyone in the house need their own computer, especially with multi-cores and huge hard drives available for low prices? One computing appliance, with a large power supply and probably multiple graphics cards, and multi-TB storage array will handle everyone's computing needs, whether they're simply browsing the net, playing games, or even pulling up recipes in the kitchen. Monitor based terminals (both wired and wireless) will handle your connections, along with cordless mice, keyboards and gaming controllers, and offer internet, games, TV, music, video, etc. anyplace in the home you want. The technology to do this exists now, the only problem is hammering out an open, fee-free standard to let everyone's devices communicate.

[Dr_Zinj]

There is a critical design flaw in all laptops, notebooks, tablets, and all-in-ones where the input devices are integral to the display screen. This does not include all in ones where the screen and the CPU only are combined, and the input devices are standard keyboards, or mice that may be moved to comfortable, functional positions.

They are all ergonomic disasters.

You cannot put a screen and a keyboard together for a computer in a single unit that is going to be utilized for more than 10 to 15 minutes at a time, or for several hours per day, without causing severe, long-term damage to people from poor posture and repetitive stress disorders.

[ajbright]

Seriously? Aren't all these all-in-one lego computers universally crap? If I wanted to change my entire PC every time I needed a new motherboard, processor or video card then sure, I'll get one of these pieces of junk.

As it is I prefer to be able to do things like buy a better monitor, add a hard disk or upgrade my graphics card.

We've had fads like this before and they've universally failed.

[martin1212]

Then it is not aimed at you. How many people actually replace their motherboard or processor?

[pithenumber]

@martin
lots of people do
most of my sales are upgrades of existing computer and not brand new rigs

[Mergatroid Mania]

Being a tech in a repair shop, I would only recommend these types of PC for people who don't want to ever expand their PC, need something that looks spiffy and don't mind paying through the nose of it ever breaks down. Good luck getting the built-in LCD monitor repaired out of warranty.

You could buy a newer and better monitor for less than it would cost to repair that built-in monitor.

I could see them in executive offices, the bosses office, maybe the receptionist's desk. Maybe for someone who is more interested in a comnputer that goes with their new curtains than how the unit performs.

I also wouldn't jump the boat and buy any type of computer with Android as the o/s. It's unproven and has such a tiny amount of software it would just be a waste of hardware. I wouldn't mind it in a phone since I don't need a large amount of software in my phone, but that's about it.

All-in-ones (without the monitor) have been around for ages. It's not a new idea, and just adding in a monitor doesn't make it one either. Actually, there was a portable Commodore 64 years ago that had all the audio, graphics and hardware including a disk drive and a monitor (CRT) and keyboard, all built into one case in about 1984 or there abouts.

Yawn, noting new here....

[Mergatroid Mania]

Oops, forgot to spell check, sorry...

[ofmyony]

Large screen HD televisions are going to be coming out with all this pc goodness built in also. So who knows, all in one pc's might be disappearing along with desktops. Everything will be built into your 60 inch LED TV.

[lakorai2]

Uuuh. Is he serious?

All in one desktops SUCK. The lack of upgradeability and serviceability on Macs is their biggest downfall. He's advocating making parts harder to get, more expensive and more proprietary. This is the problem with iMacs and Mac Minis. Power Supply fails? Sorry that will be $400 ($250 + $150 in labor) to fix.

ATX Power Supply fails? Bought a junky no name one? Ok, go on newegg, buy a decent Antec/ThermalTake/OCZ etc unit for $50-$100. Easy to replace, e6asy guides online. Or take it to a mom and pop shop. They'll charge you next to nothing to replace it.

Buying a computer because it's "slim and sexy" is stupid. Would you buy a car with a welded hood just because it "eliminates line on the car?". A car and a computer are meant to be serviced. Yes they will be replaced in a few years, but in the mean time having easy serviceability makes the investment a WISER buying choice.

Macs ARE NOT wise to buy from a hardware perspective. Use EFI-X if you want a Mac.

[dennisl59]

Single Point of Failure aka "Putting all your eggs in one basket". aka "Kludge".

[DrtyDogg]

Count me out. While I do own a couple of laptops. I still use my desktop for most of my computing.