Page 43 - EngineerIT May 2022

TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION, NEW PRODUCTS AND PEOPLE

Long live the desktop

By Raeford Liebenberg, Manager at Silvermoon, a Galix company

he demise of the desktop has been predicted for decades, as thin clients, notebooks,
netbooks and a variety of other devices were set to take over from this stalwart
Tof computing. Yet the desktop remains, and has even seen a resurgence in the
last couple of years for a number of reasons. While it will eventually become redundant
technology, this will not be for the foreseeable future, and we can expect some evolution growth of 11% in Mac sales in Q3 2021.
and advancements in this space as it continues to be a solid option for years to come. This trend is likely to continue as the
component shortage will impact the
A better experience availability of laptops for several years at
When the Covid-19 pandemic initially hit and the world went into rapid lockdown, laptops least.
were the go-to technology to enable a remote workforce. More than two years on,
however, this view has altered somewhat. The work from home situation is here to stay, The future of the PC
but many organisations have realised that a desktop for an employee’s home office will The reality is that smartphones and
work just as well, if not better, than a laptop, and that they are less expensive too. tablets have become so powerful and
Most work from home staff do not actually need to be able to work from anywhere multifunctional that a portable computer
or on the move, and a desktop with a large monitor, an external keyboard and a mouse is redundant for many people. In South
actually improves productivity. Not only is it easier to work on a larger screen with Africa, with our volatile currency and
ergonomic accessories, desktops are also typically a lot more powerful than notebooks. logistics and supply chain challenges, we
For employees working with large data sets, spreadsheets and intensive applications, this can also expect the component shortage
extra power is hugely valuable and saves a lot of time and frustration. to have a protracted impact. When
working from home, a desktop is more
Supply and demand comfortable, more powerful, cheaper and
The other element to the continued relevance of the desktop PC in recent years is also more productive, and is likely here to stay.
related to the pandemic, but this time on the side of supply and demand. The worldwide This is not to say they will not evolve, as
component shortage means that laptops and portable computers are simply not as readily they will undoubtedly continue to become
available, and are also becoming more expensive. smaller, faster and more powerful, and
According to research firm Canalys, “the PC market has undergone a two-year CAGR taking up less of a footprint in the home
of 9% from Q3 2019” and grew 5% in Q3 2021, flying in the face of predictions from 2019 office while peripherals become more
that the end of the desktop was finally here. Apple also aligns with this trajectory, with a ergonomic. Long live the desktop.

EBV Elektronik adds new supply of the near future as a top-three analogue
brand name by industrial customers
analogue chips from SG Micro in EMEA,” said Leo Liu, Global Sales
Vice President at SG Micro. “Their
knowledge and experience in delivering
high levels of application support to
BV Elektronik, an Avnet company concluded a new distribution agreement for the customers will be vital in helping us
EMEA region with SG Micro Corp, a fast-growing chip developer with an extensive penetrate new markets, and we have
Eportfolio of analogue ICs. high expectations that EBV will be a
Based in Beijing, China, SG Micro specialises in high-performance and high-quality significant demand-creation driver for
analogue semiconductors designed for use in a broad range of applications across our products and technologies across
wireless communication, consumer, medical and industrial markets. the EMEA region.”
Offering highly competitive lead times and focused on delivering the highest quality “SG Micro makes a valued addition
parts possible, SG Micro has developed more than 3500 analogue products and has a to our analogue portfolio,” said Thomas
wide product portfolio including precision signal-conditioning devices and energy-efficient Staudinger, President at EBV Elektronik.
power-management ICs. Specific devices include op-amps, drivers, analogue switches, “SG Micro has more than proved itself
low-dropout (LDO) regulators, lithium battery chargers, microprocessor supervisors and as a fast-emerging company and a
DC-DC converters, high performance ADCs and DACs, voltage regulators and more. future silicon leader by offering a rich
“We are very pleased to partner with EBV in the EMEA region. EBV has a dedicated combination of innovation, quality and
sales network in over 60 locations, with a strong emphasis on analogue as well as product availability, all bound together
experience in extensive applications. With the energetic support of our field sales and with the knowledge of how to make
FAE colleagues at EBV, we aim to become a top EBV product line and to be recognized in world-class analogue products.”

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