Like most folks who work in the tech/IT field, people are always asking for my opinion about kit, especailly PC’s.
My reply was usually ‘how much do you want to spend ?’     Today, this got me thinking……. is there any such thing as a ‘crap’ PC any longer ?
With the advent of cheap tablets  (some are just piles of shite that will end up in landfill) the PC makers seem to be giving PC’s away that have better, and better spec.    For instance i3, 4GB RAM, 1TB hard disks on budget £350 laptops.
Whist the screen will be a crap 1366 x 768 resolution screen and the battery will probably last 3 hours (mainly due to all of the OEM junkware thats installed) you can still do far more than you ever will on a tablet computer device.  Perhaps peoples habbits are changing and if all they do is use email and FaceTwatterBook then good riddance, It means I dont have to fix the bloody thing.
However people who actually need a PC for Media, iTunes, Photo/Video editing then its still the best for the job.   They are eminantly flexible and can still be customised to do what you like.   Depite what the press may say, Windows 8.1 (with the new Update 1) makes switching between the Metro/Modern Start Screen apps and traditional desktop a breeze.  If you are still suffering the $5 spent on Start8 will soon sort you out.
Remove all of the cack the thing comes with.  Whatever you do dont buy or run McAfee or Norton AV.  Remove it and Microsoft Defender will be activated which is fine for most users.  Dont waste your cash….. seriously…
They arent the same as the crap that was pushed when the whole Netbook craze came around.  Bit like 3D TV’s really, it was just a fad.  Luckilly the Atom seems to be have relegated to small headless kit, tablets and even phones.  Its even now pretty good 🙂
So thats my opinion as of today, even thought I have just dropped the best part of £1800 on an awsome Lenovo T440S fully loaded !