Can Newegg Survive the Post-PC Future?

jfruhlinger writes "Upgrading your desktop PC's video card was once a rite of passage for many Slashdot readers — and could also be a gateway to building your own computer from the motherboard up. And more often than not, you bought the components from Newegg. But the tablets and ultrathin laptops that are today's hot sellers don't let you so much as swap in more RAM. What's a component retailer to do in world without user-serviceable components?"

Comments

Not post PC for businesses yet

[sandytaru]

I still manage about 500 desktops, and we're constantly ordering parts from NewEgg. While the consumer PC era is being described as ending (not true in my experience), the business workstation is going to be around for a long, long time.

Re:Huh?

[afidel]

The only place I've seen the device ID database is with WiFi cards and that is due to the way the FCC certifies a solution. You must verify that the solution meets emission standards, and has no user replaceable parts that may alter compliance. Obviously if you have an antennae array in the laptop and the user can hook up an arbitrary card you can't certify that to be compliant and so they lock the WiFi cards that will work to a known set of tested cards. It's the same reason mini reverse TNC cables were used for external antennas, prior to WiFi those connectors were not used in any widely available consumer product and so they met the FCC's compliance requirement.

Yeah, still waiting on that...

[sirwired]

When it comes to computer parts, Amazon's website is a freaking disaster zone. NewEgg's search engine has a few quirks, but it's still way better than Amazon's. And I don't find Amazon's pricing to be significantly cheaper, and their free shipping is WAAAYYY slower.

Interestingly enough, the local "CompUSA" store (formerly TigerDirect Outlet) has prices that are usually within a buck or two of NewEgg, and I can have my part NOW. The place is a poorly-organized dump, but as long as they have the part I need, I'm not that picky.

Re:YES

[TheRaven64]

The problem is that this is largely incompatible with the nicest form factors. I've disassembled every laptop I've owned. I thought the parts in my 386 were crammed together, but my new MacBook Pro is almost a solid lump of hardware internally. You've been able to get more standardised components for a while, but the price you pay for these is that you need more space when everything is modular. With the trend towards smaller machines, the first thing you sacrifice is modularity.