Originally posted by vansmack:
What is that .1% of the the world's computer users? And how many of those are home users - maybe just the gamers?
in terms of individuals, it is indeed low. but in terms of dollars spent and brand recognition that manufacturers get from catering to power-users, their influence is disproportional. dunno about video editors, but the "musicians" category probably has more people in the home than in an the office or professional studio.
Originally posted by vansmack:
And of the best selling PC video games, how many on that list require desktop power any longer?
few "require" horse-power, if you're happy with the game running at 15 fps. but a $500 laptop will not have a dedicated video cards (will use shared memory), hard drive will still be only 5400 rpm and small buffers, CD-R at 24x, no firewire, LCD will be slow, blah blah - specs that are standard on a desktop that costs less. a gaming laptop costs about twice as much as the equivalent desktop. but yes, these facts are meaningless for the majority of home computer users.
laptops will continue their current trend of increasing market share at the expense of desktops. i think i read somewhere that in april this year laptop sales overtook desktop. but i stand by my assertion that proclaiming the "death" of the desktop in 2008 is an over-statement.
