It means new PCs perform a greater number of increasingly complex tasks. But many of the industry's newer features are not driven by consumer needs. These things end up sitting in stores like rotting bananas. This would create a vibrant secondary market of components that could be upgraded and possibly help consumers feel less stranded. Abysmal customer-service is another irritant.
Customers often endure busy signals and hours-long waits on the phone.
It takes the average PC manufacturer 25 hours just to identify the right person to handle a customer support inquiry and nine days to actually resolve a problem from beginning to end. Some 8 percent of the industry's customer-service issues go unresolved. With a record like that, it's little wonder that potential PC buyers are intimidated. Car companies have been doing that for years. The irony is that interest in personal computing remains at an all-time high.