thinking about starting my own business

[letdown427]

You know what, I agree. I was just automatically thinking of people like ourselves (I presume) who give a damn about PCs etc, whereas as you said, the normal consumer, is just going to go for the thing that integrates it all, and fits in his/her pocket.

I don't think they're dead just yet though, but yes, the average PC as we know it will be gone soon enough.

If you could replace all of my previous responses with " Ah, touchez" 😀

 

[loic2003]

Originally posted by: jbourne77
I don't even do PC work for my family. I got abused like a ragdoll when my wife and I first married. Especially by her father. The bastard would invite us over for dinner, but it was always just a ploy to get me to work on his PC. Eventually I just put my foot down:

"Honey, either you tell him this sh*t stops, or I do. Your pick. I really don't care which way it is, as long as it happens."

She chickened, so one day he invited us over and before I even had my coat off...

"Hey jbourne77, could you fix my wireless network?"
"No. I work 8 - 5 and I'm paid. Do you give free legal advice on your spare time?"

Not only has he not asked me to work on his PC since, we hardly ever get invited over for dinner. Talk about a win win situation!!!

Oh for sure. I hate the way people think you really enjoy p!ssing around with their sh!t-riddled PC's, you know... because you 'like computers', so just using one it a total joy to you. They don't appreciate how much money you're saving them by doing them these favours, yet don't even put the time/effort in to learn what they did wrong to cause such a huge fvckup.

No, it's not good when IE has five different search/ad bars, and 10 popups come up every few minutes...

At uni, the governemnt fvcked up with their accounts and I basically got no cash to live off whatsoever. I'd asked if I got one over the previous four months, but they said all would be fine. I found out I'd receive jack during my first week. I was forced to work, but didn't want a sh!t job in a supermarket or whatever, so I started a PC replair/building business in the village I lived in. It had it's ups and downs, but was more than enough to see me though uni, even with my drinking and drug fueled lifestyle. At one stage I was making £800 (~$1400) a week, but it all took a lot of time and I'd receive calls for support al the time. I enjoyed it but was positive it would not make a decent business.

It is a shame that we all have this skill that is much sought after, but truth be known, it's far easier just to palm people off to dell and make your own life much easier. Any profits you make look weak once you add tme spent building and supporting the same devices. If you decide to have a 'no warranty/support' policy, then you're quickly going to get yourself a bad name as the first few people with support issues are going to be stung and then spread the word that you suck.

It's a lose-lose situation.

 

[talyn00]

Originally posted by: gigapet

Originally posted by: letdown427
you don't have a landline, and so you presume it is being phased out of everyones life? That sounds a bit tunnel visioned to me? 😛

landlines have not been phased out.

I personally don't think that PC's will be dead in 10years. They most probably will be smaller on average, that's a fair assumption, but for some people, as components get smaller, they see that as an oppurtunity to get more into the same space, not to take what they've already got and make it smaller.

I don't know what generation you are apart of but people my age (20's) for the majority do not have a land line. I am not counting VOIP as land line.

But anyways....I am not sure what you are basing your argument on here. Sure enthusiasts and certain industries as I said before will want and require the most advanced bleeding edge tech. The everyday user though will not require 800 TB of diskspace or 100 GB of ram. with a 50 gb video card and 8 GHZ or processing power. When the majority of people sit down at there PC they are using some sort of Browser, Image editing app, Messenger/Email, Office suite, Security Suite, Video Editing maybe, Multi Media player, Game or two. These applications simply dont require huge amounts of data/information processing.

landlines still have their uses.

 

[patentman]

Originally posted by: Budmantom
BTW

How many high-end pc's have you sold(so far) and how much have you made on each system?



Tom

Oh, I've built a lot of gaming rigs for people, but free of charge because I just like building them. Just thought I would turn a hobby into something else is all.

As for competing with dell etc.. I agree I woudn;'t try to compete with those guys. The market I would aim at is the same market that alienware, falcon-nw etc.. aim at, only I thinkI could undercut their prices by more 50%.

 

[Budmantom]

Originally posted by: patentman

Originally posted by: Budmantom
BTW

How many high-end pc's have you sold(so far) and how much have you made on each system?



Tom

Oh, I've built a lot of gaming rigs for people, but free of charge because I just like building them. Just thought I would turn a hobby into something else is all.

As for competing with dell etc.. I agree I woudn;'t try to compete with those guys. The market I would aim at is the same market that alienware, falcon-nw etc.. aim at, only I thinkI could undercut their prices by more 50%.

You will find out quickly that your "customers" will not be nearly as plentiful once they have to pay...

Good luck,

Tom

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: gigapet
10 years for the death of the PC.

If you think it's not going to happen for 10 years, then start your own damn thread about it instead of crapping in this guy's thread about selling computers. It's irrelevent to him, because people are still buying computers NOW, and NOW is when he wants to sell them.

Dumbass.

 

[Syrch]

yeah man the market is hard and to start out now is next to impossible. I'm not going to be one that says you can't do it b/c there is always a way but to be successful its going to take quite a bit. And supporting them afterwards is never fun.

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: tikwanleap
[thread hijack detected]

yea no crap, this was a great thread until gigapet posted.

 

[govtcheez75]

Originally posted by: Budmantom
The reason the big pc makers can charge so much is because they have a name.

I thought it was the opposite. I thought they can charge so little because they have a name and buying power. They get parts very cheap, and they pass on some of this cost savings to their customers so they can get market share. and they streamline the manufacturing process, so it takes very little labor to make them.

 

[TechnoPro]

Originally posted by: gigapet

Originally posted by: letdown427
you don't have a landline, and so you presume it is being phased out of everyones life? That sounds a bit tunnel visioned to me? 😛

landlines have not been phased out.

I personally don't think that PC's will be dead in 10years. They most probably will be smaller on average, that's a fair assumption, but for some people, as components get smaller, they see that as an oppurtunity to get more into the same space, not to take what they've already got and make it smaller.

I don't know what generation you are apart of but people my age (20's) for the majority do not have a land line. I am not counting VOIP as land line.

But anyways....I am not sure what you are basing your argument on here. Sure enthusiasts and certain industries as I said before will want and require the most advanced bleeding edge tech. The everyday user though will not require 800 TB of diskspace or 100 GB of ram. with a 50 gb video card and 8 GHZ or processing power. When the majority of people sit down at there PC they are using some sort of Browser, Image editing app, Messenger/Email, Office suite, Security Suite, Video Editing maybe, Multi Media player, Game or two. These applications simply dont require huge amounts of data/information processing.

You're the one with tunnel vision now. You list these futuristic tech specs and then follow that with the applications that people use today? A real visionary would certainly not be constrained with the software that is used today as a clear roadmap of what tommorow will look like.

Mind you, I am a huge enthusisat of convergence technology and miniaturization, but it's inconsequential that a Palm Pilot 10 years from now will play a game that taxes todays best hardware. It's probably easier to dream up future hardware by simply adding a zero to the end of todays GHz and GB, but it's not so easy to dream up what might actually capitalize on such gear.

Can you imagine a device that lsitens to a person speaking in 1 language, translates into another language, and then speaks the translation? All in realtime, of course, with human accuracy levels, and human-like sound quality? Identical in concept to the Star Trek Universal Translator. That app won't be running in your shirt pocket for a long time.

 

[mordantmonkey]

i've started seeing TV commercials for "high-performance pc's" in my area. so they' can't be doing too bad (or they are blowing a lot of money to try to save themselves). but i think they've been around for like 8 years already...

 

[otispunkmeyer]

at falcon though its not just about paying 5k for the computer.

you get it tweaked for maximum performance, its put together by a professional, the paint jobs are in the automotive realm, then theres all the support they have once the system is out the door. one company even has the builder put a plaque with his name on it inside the case (much like AMG built merc engines have the builders name on a plaque) and you get a nice zip file thing with certificates proclaiming 3d mark scores and the like.

your getting the whole shebang really, not just a good pc.

 

[Budmantom]

Originally posted by: govtcheez75

Originally posted by: Budmantom
The reason the big pc makers can charge so much is because they have a name.

I thought it was the opposite. I thought they can charge so little because they have a name and buying power. They get parts very cheap, and they pass on some of this cost savings to their customers so they can get market share. and they streamline the manufacturing process, so it takes very little labor to make them.

Not on the ultra high-end systems.