Is the computer repair business dead?
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Home PC repair has been dead for a long time. I don't think many users use PCs for much anymore. Everything is done on a tablet or smartphone these days. I'd really like to see Android as a mainstream desktop OS in the future. I know remix is out there and I run Remix almost daily on as a VM, but it isn't efficient compared to Chrome OS. I have to give my android VM 3GB of RAM to get decent performance.
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I think it's less computer repair and more advice now. It's really hard to beat a Chromebook for an average user provided they use the apps for their documentation. You would typically pay more for the repair than you would a new device.
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@Carnival-Boy said in Is the computer repair business dead?:
@scottalanmiller said in Is the computer repair business dead?:
@Carnival-Boy said in Is the computer repair business dead?:
Chromebooks are still niche.
Top selling computer category in the US. Anything but niche.
Where do you read that? Everything I've read is that outside of schools Chromebooks still have a tiny market share in the US.
Where are YOU reading that? In US market reports and Amazon made a big deal that Chromebooks were the top sellers last year and maybe the year before. It was a big deal at the time. Now people have just accepted that Chromebooks are a massive market segment.
IT people normally don't own them, it's mostly "normal" people. But now we are seeing IT people getting them, too. I used to only know a few people with them. Now practically everyone I know uses one or is planning to order one. I've had probably ten people this month tell me in person, not online, that they are switching to one.
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@Carnival-Boy said in Is the computer repair business dead?:
I don't know a single person who owns one. I'd guess that 99% of my friends don't even know what one is.
This is certainly not how it is here. I can't remember the last time you had to explain what a Chromebook was and basically everyone has used one.
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@Carnival-Boy said in Is the computer repair business dead?:
I don't know a single person who owns one. I'd guess that 99% of my friends don't even know what one is.
There are a lot of use cases for them. I used to work for a non-profit that helped people with developmental disabilities. Some just enjoy clicking on blinking colorful ads, so viruses became a big problem in the client computer lab. Chromeboxes were a great fit there.
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@scottalanmiller said in Is the computer repair business dead?:
@Carnival-Boy said in Is the computer repair business dead?:
I don't know a single person who owns one. I'd guess that 99% of my friends don't even know what one is.
This is certainly not how it is here. I can't remember the last time you had to explain what a Chromebook was and basically everyone has used one.
I only know one person who uses one regularly, but a few people who own them.
If you're just a web surfing, facebooking normie, then a chromebook is for you. I don't have many close associates that fit that mold. Even the more normal/non techie types here in my office typically have a need for something a bit more - like connecting their computer to their sewing machine, etc.
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The local repair guy in my town doesn't even try to fix computers. I've been told by others that his services are terrible for computers, but is excellent at fixing cracked phones as most people are normally clumsy or careless. He also does game console repairs and trades. Calls himself "TxNerd". I don't put much stock into the business as has been said, that industry died long ago. You will starve going into repair business.
I've considered going into business-side services, such as an MSP, but also understand that the problem with this industry is that nobody wants to pay after services have been rendered. Therefore, either I'll consult and give advice or I'll be hired full time as an IT pro. Or, do a startup in something that nobody else has ever thought of, but that is becoming ever increasingly difficult.
20 years ago, Amazon didn't exist. Now they are a giant in a number of different industries. Google didn't exist 25 years ago, and now we're using their products, such as search engines, storage, phones, TVs, computers (chromebooks), etc. Just depends on what you can think up and how soon you can get it to market before the next person.
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@NerdyDad said in Is the computer repair business dead?:
20 years ago, Amazon didn't exist.
Actually they did
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What's important about both Amazon and Google is that they essentially entered the market the first day that the market existed. Not quite, but almost. They were in the first few days of the Internet when people were scrambling to make businesses fast enough to leverage the new media. What's REALLY interesting is how no one has arisen to compete with them in the decades since. All of the major players were formed before the Internet was even commonly available at home. Most people hadn't gotten access to see the Internet yet when these companies formed. Anyone who got in later, didn't make it.
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@scottalanmiller said in Is the computer repair business dead?:
@NerdyDad said in Is the computer repair business dead?:
20 years ago, Amazon didn't exist.
Actually they did
Okay, for like 2 years. July 5, 1994. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon.com
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@NerdyDad said in Is the computer repair business dead?:
@scottalanmiller said in Is the computer repair business dead?:
@NerdyDad said in Is the computer repair business dead?:
20 years ago, Amazon didn't exist.
Actually they did
Okay, for like 2 years. July 5, 1994. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon.com
That's three years in two weeks. And 23 is mathematically significantly older than <20. 15% or more.
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I dont even know what a Chromebook is.
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http://www.cio.com/article/3194883/computers/chromebook-shipments-surge-by-38-percent-cutting-into-windows-10-pcs.html
I don't know how reliable that report is, but you're talking about 10M vs 270M units. Chromebooks are growing fast, but they are far from top selling. Niche still applies. -
@marcinozga said in Is the computer repair business dead?:
http://www.cio.com/article/3194883/computers/chromebook-shipments-surge-by-38-percent-cutting-into-windows-10-pcs.html
I don't know how reliable that report is, but you're talking about 10M vs 270M units. Chromebooks are growing fast, but they are far from top selling. Niche still applies.Sorry, should have said, top selling category for consumers. Business is still the majority of PC purchases, by a massively growing margin, it's only for consumers that Chromebooks are doing so well. And it was Amazon that was making the biggest deal about it.
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@marcinozga said in Is the computer repair business dead?:
I don't know how reliable that report is, but you're talking about 10M vs 270M units. Chromebooks are growing fast, but they are far from top selling. Niche still applies.
It's not 10M vs. 270M. There are two issues. One is that they are calling the 270M the PC shipment market, but are including non-PCs like Chromebooks in that number. So we dont' know what all it includes but we definitely know that all Windows, Mac and Linux desktops and laptops are in that number.
So it is 10M out of 270M, not 10M vs. 270M. And it includes categories of gear, like desktops, for which Chromebooks essentially do not exist. They have the Chromebox but no one is actively making one, just old stock. They are currently only really shipping in the netbook category.
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@scottalanmiller said in Is the computer repair business dead?:
@marcinozga said in Is the computer repair business dead?:
I don't know how reliable that report is, but you're talking about 10M vs 270M units. Chromebooks are growing fast, but they are far from top selling. Niche still applies.
It's not 10M vs. 270M. There are two issues. One is that they are calling the 270M the PC shipment market, but are including non-PCs like Chromebooks in that number. So we dont' know what all it includes but we definitely know that all Windows, Mac and Linux desktops and laptops are in that number.
So it is 10M out of 270M, not 10M vs. 270M. And it includes categories of gear, like desktops, for which Chromebooks essentially do not exist. They have the Chromebox but no one is actively making one, just old stock. They are currently only really shipping in the netbook category.
Does the category really matter?
and why don't you think that a new wave of Chromeboxes have hit and taken off? Are non mobile computers a dead thing for consumers? (I do think they are pretty much dead for the average consumer - they'd rather have a laptop that they can use anywhere in the house.)
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@Dashrender said in Is the computer repair business dead?:
and why don't you think that a new wave of Chromeboxes have hit and taken off? Are non mobile computers a dead thing for consumers?
Outside of gaming, yes. When is the last time you knew of home users buying desktops? It still happens, but it is rare. Gamers are the last big hold out. Chomebooks entered the market just as the desktop market was dying. Everyone that I know that moved to Chromebooks ALSO moved away from desktops around the same time. Coincidence, I'm sure, but that is where the market is. Outside of gaming, it is rare that anyone needs much power. The idea of power users at home is quickly waning.
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@Dashrender said in Is the computer repair business dead?:
(I do think they are pretty much dead for the average consumer - they'd rather have a laptop that they can use anywhere in the house.)
My take is a little different - that they don't want a dedicated space to work on a computer. Similar, but slightly different driver as to why it happens. It's less, I feel, a desire towards mobility and more a desire towards not having anything in the house that reminds them of a work environment. I'm different, I have a desktop that I'm on now, and a Chromebook for moving around the house. But that's not why most people do it. I think, anyway.
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When I hear someone wanting a desktop (other than gaming) it's always because they want a full sized screen and keyboard - then I remind them they can use those things on a laptop. Sometimes they change, sometimes they don't.
