If the rumors of Apple abandoning Intel are true, I think the "open platform" PC (ie. anyone can build them from components) is on shaky ground in the near future. The server market will remain for a while, but the Windows PC market could start to evaporate in my opinion. Chromebook continuing to eat margins from the bottom and Apple gobbling up the high end. With Apple in the future not even putting money into x86 and PC GPUs.
I think Microsoft has become an unreliable partner to Intel/AMD/NVIDIA. People want stuff which Just Werks and Microsoft does not deliver. Chromebooks do, but it's a walled garden which datamines it's users. What PCs need is the best of both worlds, a semi-walled garden of certified hardware, software and apps for the common user, but connected to the open platform PC world. Where enthusiasts can run the same apps, but on self configured hardware and bleeding edge not yet certified OS/drivers.
I thought Valve had a chance to do this for gaming, but I doubted they would ever fully commit ... and they didn't and they're giving up now. But still, if there is to be a future for the PC the time to act is now. Ubuntu despite how it flounders is probably the best bet for an independent party creating something similar to Chromebooks, but without the datamining and without turning it into a completely closed garden. Their present certification and QA program is a joke compared to Chromebooks though ... they need a lot of work and a lot of money to create something which Just Werks on the same level.
I think Microsoft has become an unreliable partner to Intel/AMD/NVIDIA. People want stuff which Just Werks and Microsoft does not deliver. Chromebooks do, but it's a walled garden which datamines it's users. What PCs need is the best of both worlds, a semi-walled garden of certified hardware, software and apps for the common user, but connected to the open platform PC world. Where enthusiasts can run the same apps, but on self configured hardware and bleeding edge not yet certified OS/drivers.
I thought Valve had a chance to do this for gaming, but I doubted they would ever fully commit ... and they didn't and they're giving up now. But still, if there is to be a future for the PC the time to act is now. Ubuntu despite how it flounders is probably the best bet for an independent party creating something similar to Chromebooks, but without the datamining and without turning it into a completely closed garden. Their present certification and QA program is a joke compared to Chromebooks though ... they need a lot of work and a lot of money to create something which Just Werks on the same level.