Gartner forecasts double digit declines of -10.6% for global 2013 PC (desktop and notebook) shipments, even as the overall "devices" market (covering PCs, tablets and mobiles) should reach shipments of 2.35 billion units with 5.9% growth.

Such a decline reflects not only shifting customer demands but also adjustments in the channel making room for H2 2013 product launches.

According to the analyst PC shipments will total 305 million units in 2013. The decline is offset somewhat to -7.3% if one counts ultramobile PCs-- bringing some good news to the thin, lightweight notebooks of the Chromebook or Ultrabook variety.

Ultramobile PC demand comes from upgrades over both regular notebooks and premium tablets (such as the iPad or Galaxy Tab 10.1) and should be even more evident come Q4 2013, once Bay Trail- and Haswell-based Windows 8.1 models hit the shelves.

Engage Production Ltd., specialists in interactive technologies for branded environments, in conjunction with SOCA and Jump Studios complete two stunning display installations for Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York City.

The installations include a sculptural-like piece known as The Scroll and a touch screen table known as The Hub. These dynamic installations intend to capture the excitement of the Bloomberg financial news brand and dynamically describe the many facets of Bloomberg’s global business. Due to the success of the New York installations, Bloomberg is now considering similar installations in other Bloomberg offices worldwide. Read more...

Gartner projects a "slight" decrease of -0.1% in WW government IT spending for 2013, changing previous forecasts of 0.2% growth as organisations continue to struggle against weak economic development. 

However the analyst still points out 3 areas ripe for investment-- mobile, IT modernisation and cloud.

“Cloud computing, in particular, continues to increase compared with prior years, driven by economic conditions and a shift from capital expenditure to operational expenditure, as well as potentially more important factors such as faster deployment and reduced risk,” Gartner says. “Other areas, such as data centre consolidation, are lower on the list than in previous years, perhaps demonstrating that they may have met resistance in a more strategic rollout. Vendors should be ready to reposition offerings according to these changing market dynamics.” Read more...

Despite the Windows 8 launch all PC segments show decline in W. Europe during Q2 2013 CONTEXT reports, as clumsy channel marketing and lack of attractively priced touch-based products undermine the potency of Windows 8 as a PC flagship.

“Demand for Windows 8 was not channeled particularly skilfully with mixed press prior to launch, insufficient marketing activity at store level as well as low availability of touch systems,” the analyst remarks.

CONTEXT does mention "some positives" for the period-- clamshell notebooks record a "lesser decline" and a Windows 7/8 upgrade scheme (free Windows 8 license upgrade for customers buying pre-installed Windows 7 Pro) created at least some demand.