Acid washed jeans started as an idea that turned into a trend. Truth be told, I owned several pairs and even had acid washed parachute pants at one time. Luckily that trend stopped as soon as it started.
The prior paragraph was almost verbatim how I started a presentation to a bunch of stodgy middle management. I cut the light hearted portion of my speech short when I realized they really didn’t want to be there. My agent should have warned them I’m unshaved, wear shorts, a tee and a baseball cap everywhere.
Preparation for the presentation gave me time to rethink a prediction I made a couple years ago when tablets were being introduced. Tablets are and were a very inexpensive option to laptops. Tablets swept mainstream computing and many people hastily converted from PC’s to tablets.
Primary reasons people switched were economics and function. Four or five years ago we were at the pinnacle of the recession and many people opted for lower priced tablets. Tablets are also very convenient for surfing the web and offer a smaller, more portable package than a laptop.
Many businesses also swapped laptops for tablets due to size and cost. Because businesses were quick to adopt, new business specific apps were developed which made the transition much easier. At that time repair companies like mine reported lower than expected sales because of the switch to tablets.
I admit that I was wrong with my prediction about tablets taking over for about ten years. Really, tablets have conquered the market for only the last four years. What’s happened is quite astonishing and different than I imagined.
Sales of PC towers have skyrocketed at a faster rate than laptop or tablet sales. Companies like HP have been unable to keep up with demand for towers which is quite unusual. Consumers have realized nothing in our computer world is as rock solid as a stationary desktop computer.
So why the sudden rise in PC tower sales? Computer towers are the cornerstone of our technology portfolio. Towers are stationary and can hold substantially more information than either a laptop or tablet; moreover, towers are easily expanded. Because they’re immobile, desktops don’t have the failure rates of mobile devices.
Desktop PC’s are usually placed in such a location in a house they’re near the printer and networking equipment. Portable devices are conveniently synchronized and print jobs can be queued over the network. Because desktops are not easily moved, young users can be easily monitored.
Years ago the fastest and most powerful laptops were referred to as desktop replacements. Customers purchased them thinking they could take the place of desktop PC’s. That trend lasted many years until consumers started to realize laptops simply can’t be expanded. Like laptops, tablets are what they are and typically can’t be expanded.
The tablet craze fizzled out much quicker than I anticipated. My hunch is that tablet sales haven’t slowed down; but PC sales have risen. As people realize tablets aren’t as versatile as PC’s they are finding a place for both. Tablets are one of those devices that haven’t performed to most peoples’ expectations.
If I only had this much insight when I was a kid I could have saved my parents’ money on all those acid washed jeans. A good technology portfolio includes a smartphone, tablet, laptop and tower. Understanding the applications and limitations of each device is prudent to being completely satisfied with the overall investment. Affording all that technology is another story.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can call him at (978) 919-8059 or visit www.LocalComputerWiz.com.)