I got the power!
September 16th 2006 16:16
So what? No really, so what? So what if you have this super duper ultra new $2000 computer? Are you going to be using it for anything more than basic word processing and internet? I’d guess probably not.
Why is it that so many people are duped into buying the latest and greatest PC when an older, simpler, cheaper one will suffice? Don’t get me wrong, there are those of us who require all that extra grunt, myself included, but we are a small segment of the market, a very small segment indeed. By my books if you think you are worthy of the $3000 beast you are sitting in front of you should have been thinking ‘segmentation fault’ from term segment in the last sentence… well maybe not. Best leave the excessively complex stuff to those with an excessive amount of time on their hands.
We have engineers, architects, 3D modelers, computer programmers and other people in similar professions who do need these expensive computers because their job demands it, their jobs include making buildings, or creating artificial intelligence the likes of which has never been seen, these things need this power. But you on the other hand are probably happy with reading blogs, checking emails, and playing simple games.
Well if that’s the case then why do computer manufacturers insist on you owning a beast of a machine? The answer is a simple one, money. Technology progresses so rapidly that something that might cost $1000 right now will cost little more than $500 by next year, however it will be just as powerful now as it is a few years down the track. Granted while the computers marketed for mainstream are significantly less powerful (and cheaper) than those marketed for specialized target audiences, they are still disproportionately more powerful than they need to be.
Let’s assume, if we pay $2000 for a PC to check our emails and surf the net right now, how much will it be worth in one year’s time? Maybe $1600, Ok, can you still check your emails and surf the internet? Well you can, so why is there another newer PC out on the store shelf advertising itself for $2000 now? Is there a point to it? Why fork out an extra $400 when yours does the job just fine? Now let’s go back a few years, back to 2001. I think we should also move into reality now, back in 2001 my parents bought me a computer. It was (is) a Compaq, it was cheap then and it’s dirt cheap now, I think you could probably buy it for say $200 to $300 now. Yet you can still surf the net with it, you can check your email you can still use Microsoft word with it, and it is so damn cheap. Why pay $2000 for another one just like it?
Manufacturing computer’s is an expensive affair for the environment, and we really don’t need to see so many of our limited resources used up for producing a powerful machine which will carry out menial tasks. China is already looking into producing its own CPU’s that will be cheap to produce and effective to use. the chip will be called the Godson 2.
I like the idea the Chinese government has, it is streamlining PC’s, we’ll have PC’s for the average Joe who won’t be duped into coughing up $2000 for a piece of technology too powerful for his purposes. I think that’s how it should be, and make no mistake the Chinese CPU we are talking of is still probably faster than it needs to be to check your email, but at least it’s cheap and efficient, which is at the end of the day all we really want from our PC’s, isn’t it?
I know I am being a little bit hypocritical with an earlier blog post of mine claiming the technology consumer is inherently a geek I feel however I should point out the fact I didn’t say the consumer is a sucker. We can still do everything we do with our $2000 computers as we do with our $1000 computers (most of us). So why pay so much money? Don’t be a sucker, get the PC that is right for you, and try not to spend a fortune on it either. Those computer salesmen are a sneaky breed…
-References
*First image taken from: http://www.3d-view.de/
Your not desiging a car with your PC are you?
We have engineers, architects, 3D modelers, computer programmers and other people in similar professions who do need these expensive computers because their job demands it, their jobs include making buildings, or creating artificial intelligence the likes of which has never been seen, these things need this power. But you on the other hand are probably happy with reading blogs, checking emails, and playing simple games.
Well if that’s the case then why do computer manufacturers insist on you owning a beast of a machine? The answer is a simple one, money. Technology progresses so rapidly that something that might cost $1000 right now will cost little more than $500 by next year, however it will be just as powerful now as it is a few years down the track. Granted while the computers marketed for mainstream are significantly less powerful (and cheaper) than those marketed for specialized target audiences, they are still disproportionately more powerful than they need to be.
My old PC, can still surf the net and use Microsoft Word
An older version of China's new CPU for the mainstream
I like the idea the Chinese government has, it is streamlining PC’s, we’ll have PC’s for the average Joe who won’t be duped into coughing up $2000 for a piece of technology too powerful for his purposes. I think that’s how it should be, and make no mistake the Chinese CPU we are talking of is still probably faster than it needs to be to check your email, but at least it’s cheap and efficient, which is at the end of the day all we really want from our PC’s, isn’t it?
I know I am being a little bit hypocritical with an earlier blog post of mine claiming the technology consumer is inherently a geek I feel however I should point out the fact I didn’t say the consumer is a sucker. We can still do everything we do with our $2000 computers as we do with our $1000 computers (most of us). So why pay so much money? Don’t be a sucker, get the PC that is right for you, and try not to spend a fortune on it either. Those computer salesmen are a sneaky breed…
-References
*First image taken from: http://www.3d-view.de/
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Comment by dalelynn21
Alternate Universe Authors and Their Books
Dale
Comment by Cinico
Small Business Scope
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
I'm glad you liked it Cinico, yeah that would be a good idea I suppose for a new blog post. It's a bit of a shame though that they are not manufacturing older PC"s anymore, or atleast slower ones so people who aren't so tech savvy like yourself can simply browse the web and look up emails etc. Seems like your supposed to also be designing the rocket boosters that are going to be taking astronauts into space, and you have to pay through the nose to get it. But definately there are questions you can ask and thing's you can do to work your way around the sneaky computer salesmen who have a habit of ripping off the average Joe.
Comment by Dani
At the moment I have been using the same PC for almost 2 years and I can still run high quality games and multitask without a worry. So I would think that PC's out there at the moment will last a longer time as they provide an excessive amount of power for such small tasks!
Comment by Joy
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
Comment by Joy
Comment by Damo
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
I hate HDTV though, makes my computer crack when I try to make stuff for it, so I don't anymore.
Comment by Joy
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
Its all free.
Comment by dalelynn21
Alternate Universe Authors and Their Books
I've tried to download the reader, but my computer won't support it. We bought it in the spring of 1999, so we are behind the upgrade curve. Just lately I've noticed that I can't get in to all the files I'd like to, it's been a good computer until recently.
Dale
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
Good luck with your next purchase, I hope my blog posts help