Do we have the same fate as TV Techs?

[Dameize]

I was talking to my granda today who was previously a television engineer from about the age of 16. When I was talking to him he said that he worked for a firm that had about 12 employees and each literally did about 10-40 jobs per day each on a home visit basis. This was in probably a 15 mile radius of where i live maybe even 10..

This was when tvs were popular. he gave me a huge insight on what he did and from what he told me it was pretty much the same as pc techs today. As tvs became cheaper though they became easier to replace and less prone to faults.

I know this has been discussed before but do you think computer technicians have the same fate as tv techs? that firm with like 12 employees doing an average of probably 25 jobs a day each plus competing firms (he said there was like 2-3 + shops) are now dead and tvs are very cheap and not worth fixing. I know a lot of pc stuff is software based but as windows is updated its going to be less and less virus prone just like mac osx is not very prone to getting viruses.

It just got my thinking really as I know a lot of people that are 15/16 etc are tech savvy and in a few years will be the threat that those who are 18-22 are to the older ones now.

My personal opinion is that in 15 years time we will be pretty much obsolete.

Discuss.

 

[sassenach]

With more and more devices being used on home and business networks, our business will grow. Straight-forward PC repair may drop off, but plenty of other solutions will need to worked out and put in place.

 

[Dameize]

I suppose. A lot of the tv firms went but in the 80s. He ended up working in a cigarette factory at about 40-45 but is pleased he did as its a very nice private pension. Cant say hes terribly computer savvy but hes tolerable to talk to and I dont have to be jargon sensitive.

I was trying to get him on board with the pc repair business as I could probably get him up to speed in a couple of days but hes just not interested.

I bet a lot of techs here wish they had a business like those tv ones i described haha

 

[Thedog]

In 15 years I would say hopefully we are obsolete. If computers still need human-based maintenance, gives blue screens, hard drive corruption, viruses etc then science haven't really gotten far!

 

[Dameize]

lol you sure are a pessimist you want to be hoping that it stays the same

 

[compnet]

The difference is all a tv does is change channels. There is so much user input with a computer they will always find a way to break them.

 

[Dameize]

Most home users simply browse the web. Browsing the web and changing tv channels are quite similar. If windows was patched and made viruses almost obsolete then I think that it would eliminate most software based issues and it would rest on hardware failure which as I mentioned is getting to the point where in some cases its better buying a new pc.

 

[lan101]

I agree as far as home users go, that web browsing is the main thing that the majority of them use. If viruses completely went away, then my business as I know it now probably wouldn't exist in the same form.

I also think as more devices are used on the web though, new problems will arise eventually. I don't see viruses going away. I mean they will be in a different way 20 years from now.

I just hope there will always be a "niche" for the small business to be able to survive. I think, as mentioned in many other threads, that the small business support is where little guys can maintain.

Apple has pretty much eliminated the little guy from repairing their computers because of their apple stores and their pricing structure. I believe Appleby or one of the other members here has said that the only way they survive is by supporting some schools that are on all apple hardware.

 

[RichmondTech]

My personal opinion is that in 15 years time we will be pretty much obsolete.

So let's see what was around 15 years ago. Desktop computers. So if your computer shop was around 15 years ago fixing desktops and you decided that all you were ever going to fix were desktops, then yes you'd pretty much be out of business by now.

So later we got laptops, and if you decided that all you're going to fix are desktops and laptops then you're still doing well, but that's going to start changing with tablets and smartphones becoming more and more popular.

The point is that with all technology there's always something new around the corner. You're either going to adapt with the changes or you're going to go out of business. This is business 101.

So the iPad has been out for two years now and I think I'll be getting an iPad in 2012 just to keep up with the technology. I see more of my customers starting to use them and I need a way to leverage that into my business. Even with the free classes they offer at the Apple store I feel that there is room in the market to offer my own paid classes.

 

[Dameize]

I agree as far as home users go, that web browsing is the main thing that the majority of them use. If viruses completely went away, then my business as I know it now probably wouldn't exist in the same form.

I also think as more devices are used on the web though, new problems will arise eventually. I don't see viruses going away. I mean they will be in a different way 20 years from now.

I just hope there will always be a "niche" for the small business to be able to survive. I think, as mentioned in many other threads, that the small business support is where little guys can maintain.

Apple has pretty much eliminated the little guy from repairing their computers because of their apple stores and their pricing structure. I believe Appleby or one of the other members here has said that the only way they survive is by supporting some schools that are on all apple hardware.

+1 thats exactly what Im getting at. I think if windows updated tomorrow and completely eliminated viruses most guys on here would go out of business and the big ones with hundreds of customers would crash and burn. Just my opinion as viruses are the staples of any pc repair business and although its not the same as tv repairs what Im getting at is that solutions were eventually found by manufacturers and they became extinct.

 

[dgiles79]

You just have to evolve your skill set to match what the customers need. There will always be a need for technology services, it will just look different from how it does today.

 

[compnet]

I fully agree - adapt or die. But viruses aren't going anywhere - in fact they are just getting worse and more rampant.

Web browsing is 100 times as complex as changing the channel.. TVs have x number of channels that do one thing - display an image on your screen. The internet has multiple browsers using multiple runtimes accessing uncountable websites, to do anything from displaying an image on your screen, to playing games, to uploading a virus on your computer.

A TV also has two plugs and requires no setup aside from what your tv provider will do for you with their service. Also, when they fail, its almost always an expensive part that comes to close to the price of a new TV.

Also, there is no value aside from the parts in a TV. People have data on their computers that they will pay to get back.

I do think shrinking price tags will hurt us, but I don't think the dying TV repair industry is a good analogy to computers.

 

[SprinterTech-WI]

If anything TV repair MAY go up as more have integrated software (waiting to see one get "infected" and open a camera up, or only allow certain stations etc...) also more and more "normal" people are getting sophisticated HT setups, and full network integration.... just adapt! I'll bet those TV places would still be in business if they also repaired computers.....

 

[OldSchoolPC]

People are willing to pay $1000+ if their hard drive fails. People are also too cheap to get Mozy or Carbonite, and or too lazy or don't know how to use it properly. When PCs were 2000 each, the money was in hardware first, and data second. Now, it's the other way around. Data recovery, security, and business network related work will withstand until we are dead. In-home repair of residential PC customers is the only sector that is really dying. Adapt or die. Do remote support, and/or transition to the business sector.

 

[altrenda]

So you are saying that if malware disappeared tomorrow, you would be out of business. That should scare you.

It's funny you should mention tvs. I was telling someone that I was replacing the capacitors in an imac power supply, and they asked if I could recap their Visio TV.

 

[OldSchoolPC]

So you are saying that if malware disappeared tomorrow, you would be out of business. That should scare you.

Certainly doesn't scare me. Viruses drive software sales. It's not in Microsoft's interest to develop an operating system that is immune to viruses. Also, anti-virus companies would be out of business. There is big money to be made by "victims" like Microsoft. "Our new operating system is immune to XYZ virus, buy an upgrade!" Then, a new virus comes out for that. Easy money. Besides, when it comes down to it, malware is no different than any other software program as far as a computer is concerned. Computers will never know right from wrong, or good from bad, or wanted from not wanted. To a computer, it just processing code. So was Gator malware? Most of us would say yes. Some end users actually reaped benefit from it (or felt they did). There will always be bad people in this world who will make viruses or malware to either scam you, or f*ck with you. Malware/viruses have been around since before the internet, they aren't going away.

 

[Dameize]

I dont mean completely out of business but if everyone received 0 income from viruses I think its safe to assume their businesses would go down by 50% or so.

 

[OldSchoolPC]

Now that, will be the case for those who don't adapt. I can certainly agree with that. But of course, it will be a long time (never) in which there is 0 income to be made from virus/malware removal. TV techs are pretty much extinct. However PC techs have alternatives. That is, remote support, data recovery, and working in the business sector. Those three things with GROW. So there is plenty of potential for growth for those who adapt.

 

[Rosco]

I fully agree - adapt or die. But viruses aren't going anywhere - in fact they are just getting worse and more rampant.

Web browsing is 100 times as complex as changing the channel.. TVs have x number of channels that do one thing - display an image on your screen. The internet has multiple browsers using multiple runtimes accessing uncountable websites, to do anything from displaying an image on your screen, to playing games, to uploading a virus on your computer.

A TV also has two plugs and requires no setup aside from what your tv provider will do for you with their service. Also, when they fail, its almost always an expensive part that comes to close to the price of a new TV.

Also, there is no value aside from the parts in a TV. People have data on their computers that they will pay to get back.

I do think shrinking price tags will hurt us, but I don't think the dying TV repair industry is a good analogy to computers.

+1 for the new guy. adapt or die. there are so many things that go on in a computer there will always be something to fix. We just need to provide services that people want and need!

 

[acesdeals]

yes a lot of things have changed with technology and many stores have closed but a lot of new businesses have opened

IT will be around for a while

A lot of TVs are becoming SMART so many people will probably need help settings them up, calibration is the new thing now and i am sure you can incorporate that into your services offered

Building HTPCs for customers is also something that very profitable, parts can be had for cheap and you really only need an atom based processor and most of the software is cheap or free if using linux and the only reoccurring cost for them is the hulu or netflix subscription