SAN FRANCISCO (Fortune) -- Our love affair with PC hardware may be waning in this recession. Instead, we're smitten with services.We still like the results of computing - we couldn't have services like our beloved YouTube, Facebook or iTunes without warehouses full of servers somewhere, processing bits. But there are signs that we're burning out on buying traditional computers.
Look at the numbers. PC sales are off. So are Intel's (INTC, Fortune 500) earnings (down 90% from a year ago), and Microsoft's (MSFT, Fortune 500) (down 11%). And computer retail? Let's not even talk about the woes of Circuit City or CompUSA.
Even cell phone sales are suffering, but at least there's excitement at the high end with the iPhone, BlackBerry, and upcoming Palm Pre - all of which blend computer-like features with pocketable convenience. Contrast that with PC-land, where the only sustained buzz appears to be around low-end netbooks.
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