Forum Discussion
Must say...
Drew1903 "It is important, critical to please End Users (customers) & give most of them something that not only works well, but, has/does what most of them want and like."
That is certainly true, Drew. Based on the trade press, users (consumer users more than business users) have adopted Chrome in such large numbers (what, about 65% of the NA consumer market) because of the perceived speed advantage, and users don't know/care about the resource-use issue.
But for those of us who recommend/specify computers, it means, I think, that we will have to take resource use into consideration.
I've been thinking about this for a week or so, and I'm coming to the realization that going forward minimum requirements for a general use (not gaming) consumer/business laptop are something like i3/i5 processor, 8gb RAM, 128/256 SSD and a 60 Whr 4-cell battery. That puts the price up to around $800-1,000 US.
What are your thoughts?
I'm coming to the realization that going forward minimum requirements for a general use consumer/business laptop are something like i3/i5 processor, 8gb RAM, 128/256 SSD and a 60 Whr 4-cell battery. That puts the price up to around $800-1,000 US.It may be what US computer sales people would like most to think, but... Windows is a world wide OS, Edge browser including. So somewhere in the 3rd word where most PCs come to consumers from a foreign shipload junk and wholesale components clearance rebuild store, folks may disagree with these numbers having no choice but to stick with 10-15 year old CPUs, 1-2 GB of RAM, some old GPU card if any, and anything else they can buy on top at Ebay for pennies import tariffs permitting. Not surprisingly, low pay dwellers comprise solid majority of humans on this planet. And there are some industries in these countries using Windows too on similar PCs and devices. No matter paid for or not they expect OS to work. 😊
tomscharbach
Yes, well, Chrome may be popular, but, you have to 'like' something too, hence, my not using it, lol But, seriously... to your point...
It's a challenge to discuss this stuff based on "the average User". Hell, the average User only uses 10% of the machine's potential. If we consider what I'll consider mid-range & up, the dollar figure you state is, now, already, a minimum. Mostly, I've custom built PCs & sold laptops. What was consider robust a very short time ago is a joke, now. Sometimes I've thought the common-place specs for laptops to be ridiculous. Huge RAM & drives as 'the norm' on retail shelves. We're at the point where nobody flinches over 8G+ RAM or considers less. i3s tend to be lower cost machines, but, the extra is small to have i5s and i5s & i7s being the majority choice. People have accepted, these days, that GOOD, worthwhile, long-term units are $1000 to $2,000 & more. Are big, powerful computers necessary? Not for Windows 10. But, when it comes to what the collective 'we' want to do with computers, now & going forward, strength IS needed. People are doing more, able to do more, they are expecting & demanding more. both in hardware AND software. There are some ok 'puters in the $600 to $800 range, but, usually physically small devices. To continue, when gaming, VR activies, 'all' day use, school work, job work, 'constant communication & streaming... the complextion of the computing landscape has changed heaps at a rapid rate & it ain't gonna to slow down, either. Thus the hardware (levels) taken for granted are bigger & stronger. Evolution, natural progression. However, electronics prices do usually drop sometime, a while, after (new) things 1st appear. TVs a prime example.
What gets sold, that is bought & what people, actually, need are not always mutually exclusive. But, whether it's due to a browser or a tonne of other factors, as well, it's the scenario, now & into the future.
And to repeat, the irony is Win10, itself, is not demanding, at all. There are heaps of instances of it running very nicely on older, not robust at all, machines. It's society & our morphing culture that spawns sophisticated gear. Same as just look @ the speeds IPs are offering, now, too. Times have changed, vastly, recently & fast.
Please, excuse my being long-winded 🥱, in this case. Usually my not being thrilled with typing keeps things short. I should use Dictation more 😄 Are you sorry you asked for my thoughts, yet? 😏🤔
Cheers,
DrewDrew1903 "Are you sorry you asked for my thoughts, yet?"
Not at all.
While we are exchanging thoughts, do you know when Microsoft is going to resolve the issues that led to its announcement that the W10 1903 upgrade will be blocked on computers with attached SD cards and/or USB devices ("An external USB device or SD memory card that is attached to the computer could cause inappropriate drive reassignment on Windows 10-based computers during the installation of the May 2019 update. For this reason, these computers are currently blocked from receiving the May 2019 Update. This generates the error message that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section if the upgrade is tried again on an affected computer.")?
The reason I ask is that the standard W10 laptop built/issued for school kids in the classroom until just recently were 11" 32gb RAM (it went to 64gb RAM about six months ago). Accordingly, most school computer programs are still using the 32gb models.
Microsoft issued an advisory a few months ago telling people supporting 32gb school laptops to install an SD or external USB in order to provide room for W10 to upgrade. Now, apparently, following that advisory will cause W10 1903 upgrades to be blocked.
I assume that Microsoft will resolve that issue in due time, and it isn't likely to impact school upgrades, because the school computers run on W10 Pro and are on the "wait until ready for business deployment" model. But I'm curious if Microsoft has said anything to Windows Insiders and Microsoft Business Partners about the issue.
If nothing else, the switch from 32gb to 64gb as the minimum spec for computers to be used by 8-year-olds in the classroom is an indication that specifications keep going up and up, as you say.
tomscharbach
Tom, you are the 2nd person to recently ask me about this. There are some 3rd party articles to read about this. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4500988/windows-update-blocked-for-windows-10-insider-program was the notice from MS regarding Insiders. The issue was fixed in Build 18877... we are currently on Build 18885. The interesting aside here is, I, indeed have an external USB drive and I never saw this issue arise with my own Insider Builds. Possibly because I was on Skip Ahead & may have missed it before we re-merged with Fast track. Also, because, the VM doesn't 'see' host USBs. We'll soon know how it all is sorted. My thought was, if a concern is known in advance, unplug the exteral before taking the Update rather than, after & re-trying it, after disconnecting the drive.
As for 32 vs 64; Some time ago we felt x86 would soon be fodder for history books & scrapbooks. There was, even, talk that 128 would become the norm. I think the latter is a ways off. But, 32 is riding off into the sunset, just a matter of time; doubt that time will be very long.
Cheers,
Drew
