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PC Makers In Desperate Need of a Reboot
nmpost writes in with a story about how hard it is to be a successful PC company in today's world. "Hewlett-Packard Co. used to be known as a place where innovative thinkers flocked to work on great ideas that opened new frontiers in technology. These days, HP is looking behind the times. Coming off a five-year stretch of miscalculations, HP is in such desperate need of a reboot that many investors have written off its chances of a comeback. Consider this: Since Apple Inc. shifted the direction of computing with the release of the iPhone in June 2007, HP's market value has plunged by 60 percent to $35 billion. During that time, HP has spent more than $40 billion on dozens of acquisitions that have largely turned out to be duds so far. HP might have been unchallenged for the ignominious title as technology's most troubled company if not for one its biggest rivals, Dell Inc. Like HP, Dell missed the trends that have turned selling PCs into one of technology's least profitable and slowest growing niches. As a result, Dell's market value has also plummeted by 60 percent, to about $20 billion, since the iPhone's release."
Face it, folks, the gig's up:
Coming: 1. Then end of general purpose computing. 2. "Secure" computing (Palladium-style) 3. Only approved programs via "app stores"
Apple has been too successful. They've got $100bil in the bank, and growing. All the other computer makers are in the doldrums, and are could come to the verge of bankruptcy just by making some more bad decisions.
It just won a billion dollar settlement which is the beginning of their campaign to obliterate choice in tech.
"Normal" people have been completely brainwashed, and it's doubtful we could explain anything in a way that would make them desire tech freedom. When there was just a chance that Saint Apple's holy iDevices might have to pay for the use of some Google patents, US Senators actually held hearings for poor old Apple.
Buy a couple extra laptops. You'll look on them like you do your C64 now.
I'm not a lawyer, but I play one on the Internet. Blog
Well, sure, but they won't be buying a new one every two years, and the margins for HP and Dell and such will be razor-thin.
Their profits are actually quite good. But then you subtract all the money they pay to incompetent executives, and all the money they waste on pointless mergers and acquisitions, and suddenly they are losing money.
Where are the tech advances? Where's the engineering?
From personal experience being an ex HP engineer, The MBA's came in and laid us off. Seems we were making too much money and they needed their bonus.
Mind you, they did not do it all at once. First they asked if I would take a 20% pay cut and when I said no, they came back with a request that I take a 10% pay cut. Again I refused and it took them 8 months to find someone to do it for less than me so they could lay me off.
6 months after laying me off, the project was closed. Seems the idiot they hired and saved a bunch of money on, lied on his resume.
Coincidentally, right after HP peaked, they hired former Microsoft Windows boss Bill Veghte who is just recently made it to COO managing daily operations. He is in grand position to perform his Elop maneuver on HP when Windows 8 launches, announcing total commitment even unto death. How odd that after all these years the heads of BOTH of Microsoft's two largest and most successful divisions might jump ship almost simultaneously and wind up at the head of key companies just at the pivotal moment. Uncanny, eh?
Help stamp out iliturcy.