Goodbye Desktops?

Just read the blog article post from Gizmodo (http://gizmodo.com/5301401) and I was wondering why in the world the desktop PC has vanished out of consumer home? After a few minutes to lament, I came up with a few conclusions and possibilities on my own. (Beyond the obvious laptop argument)

1. Home entertainment advancements. Now that every device has Netflix built-in, Slingbox, AT&T U-Verse and a bright future for IPTV, Blu-Ray, and all-in-one media centers, it is hard to compete if you are a desktop. The desktop was an entertainment hub because of the three 'I's: interaction, information, and Internets. Desktops could be and probably were likely used as a entertainment center before the modern-day advances in home theater, but now a desktop is likely an antique according to Moore's law standards. Now, from the comfort of one's loveseat or recliner, can rent a movie (Netflix, Apple TV, most digital cable and satellite carriers), watch home-movies (built-in memory card readers on most high-end HDTVs, YouTube-enabled sets), communicate (CES 2009 unveiled Internet-enabled TVs), and gaming consoles, the home entertainment market has surely done away with the need to gather around a small monitor in comparison.
2. Wireless. With the introduction of 802.11 standard, the desktop became threatened, and now with the introduction of 3G networks a few years back and continued bandwidth upgrades and a plethora of smartphone devices supporting such, the trend is to be ultra-portable. iPhone, Blackberry, and other high-end smartphones retrieve anything you would request out of a desktop to a phone. The iPhone has 32GB storage, plenty for about 5 movies and 600+ songs and the capability to make a phone call all the more solidifies its place as a desktop killer.
3. Other than the simple fact of the laptop, the actual technology inside the laptop has also caused decline in the desktop sales. Dual core processors are available for both a desktop and laptop, and comparable other specifications come about the same price tag, when you include a LCD monitor, keyboard, and mouse in the mix. It is amazing how much manufacterers have squeezed into a single laptop enclosure to make a complete computer, not a halvsie, and thus the fall of desktops.

It is no surprise that desktops have declined the past several years, simply because there is no way to improve them over laptops. Sure, the monitors can get bigger and cheaper, but nothing can compare to portability - anywhere computing is the wave of the future, and unfortunately, desktops cannot comply.