Posted by
CmdrTaco
on from the insert-beowulf-cluster-joke-here dept.
ringbarer writes "BBC News are reporting a recent Gartner Dataquest statement that over one billion PCs have been sold worldwide. What's even more impressive is that this figure is set to double by as early as 2008."
Don't nuke it yet. Lets link all those 1 billion coputers into a super computer, channel a lightning bolt through it, and when it shows signs of self awarness, get the thing to start making decisions for us. It's time to replace our fallible leaders with ones that can't make mistakes.
> "there is a world market for maybe five computers."
LOL. I had no idea where that quote came from until I read your post, but I was about to reply with a rip on "The World According to IBM". I guess my instincts aren't too bad after all.
Other interesting quotes you may not be familiar with:
"Personally, I find wealth to be repulsive." - Bill Gates, 1974
"The PC based Unix market is saturated - there's no reason to duplicate Minix" - Linus Torvalds, 1990
"I can't decide between porn and independent music" - Britney Spears, to her High School Career advisor.
"I feel like I'm in the best shape of my life" - Stephen King, shortly before dying in his Maine Home
"The last thing the music industry needs is another bitter female singer" - Alanis Morrisette, Shortly before recording the hit single "Ironic"
-- XML causes global warming.
Re:That can't be!
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
Flamebait my arse, it's a fact. IBM did more to enable the genocide than the SS. They would have been killing jews anyway, but to do it efficiently, on that scale, IBM was needed.
One billion computer..
by
damu
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· Score: 2, Interesting
And how many Windows copies with those billion? Being at the top sure is nice, it is going to be years (passed 2008) when another OS will be able to make a significat gap to the MS stronghold.
dam(U)
--
Useless sig.
Re:One billion computer..
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feldkamp
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· Score: 1
Ah, yes, the obligitory MS vs. The World post.
Re:One billion computer..
by
ch-chuck
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· Score: 5, Funny
Yes, somewhere in Redmond this conversation is going on:
Bill: Hey Steve, this Gartner report says that over a billion PC's have been sold! Steve: Yeah, but we've only shipped 739,428,801 Windows licenses... Bill: Damn software pirates!!
I vaguely remember a quote somewhere (a few years ago) that said:
"We sold 20 million copies of Windows, but there are 80 million running it."
heh. Serves em right!
Pity the big guys selling laptops practically ram Windows (and Office...) down your throat. I'd probably have bought one of the fancier Dells by now if I could have shaved the MS tax off it.
Re:One billion computer..
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Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
Right on, I would have purchased a Dell long ago if they didn't force you to buy Windows and Office. Just remember the excuse from Compaq too: "we can only support Windows on our desktops". Well since our company has like 800 Compaqs, every chance I get, when Windows blows up on Compaq hardware, I'm gonna call those Monopolist bastards for support.
Whoah that's scary. I can just about imagine that many PC's.
I find the though of 1 billion computers sufficiently unreal that I have a hard time imagining it.
Just think of the sheer volume they'd contain - I know that I can fit maybe 50 mini-towers PC's in a server room, imagine the space you'd need for 1 billion...
And I've got parts from at least three-quarters of them hidden away in the spare bedroom closet.
Sigh. My girlfriend has the patience of a saint.
--saint
Re:Only a billion?
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
Sigh. My girlfriend has the patience of a saint.
She sucks a mean cock, too.
This is the slashdot form of name dropping. No matter what the topic of discussion, find some way to work in the fact that you have a girlfriend or wife. No, really, we believe you.
Take into account how many are still in operation, how many have been canabalized to make another new computer, (sold as new?) and how many have been 'sold' to retailers as opposed to homes. How about a better number like, 'X number of computers currently in operation worldwide.'
-- Don't park drunk, accidents cause people.
Re:Irrelevant numbers
by
Hard-Format
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Forget canibalization, how do they define a computer in the first place? do they define it as a Dell, an HP, or a Compaq? or do they define it as a motherboard or processor? I have 6 computers and I made all of them from parts I bought at my local computer store. Do my 6 computers count in that 1 billion?
What about Macs, not just PCs?
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 3, Interesting
If the total is just PCs, what about Macintoshes and other non-PC computers?
Re:What about Macs, not just PCs?
by
FreeUser
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· Score: 3, Informative
If the total is just PCs, what about Macintoshes and other non-PC computers?
PC:= Personal Computer
Macintoshes are PCs, just as Ataris, AT&T 3b2s, etc. were. Just because they aren't WINTEL boxes doesn't mean they aren't personal computers, marketing newspeak drivel (from both the Intel and Apple camps) aside.
That having been said, your question is a good one: does that statistic include non-intel PCs such as Macintosh, and does Macintosh make up a signficant enough portion of the market for the difference to be statistically relevant?
To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck
Re:What about Macs, not just PCs?
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Alrescha
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· Score: 2, Insightful
"PC:= Personal Computer"
You can bang your fist and stamp your feet, and attempt to be as pedantic as possible, but you won't change the reality. PC is short for IBM PC which today means some compatible clone of that machine.
As was driven home to me in 1981, PC, as relates to computers, has never meant *just* 'personal computer'.
A.
-- ...bringing you cynical quips since 1998
Re:What about Macs, not just PCs?
by
Kevin+Stevens
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· Score: 1
It is true that Macs are not PC's. If we break out our history books, we remember that IBM came out with the PC, which was a brand, not a type. The name has since been dilluted to be a type (somewhat similar to how we now Xerox things on a Xerox machine, regardless of what brand the copier is). Until Macs can run windows software right out of the box, they are not IBM PC compatible, and therefore not PC's. Of course, under the new dilluted use of the term, they are. -k
Re:What about Macs, not just PCs?
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Cynikal
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· Score: 1
what if i have an AMD XP1600 running mandrake?
its not a wintel, nor a mac.. how does that fit in?
Re:What about Macs, not just PCs?
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Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
WARNING! Goatse.cx link in above post.
Re:What about Macs, not just PCs?
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Eccles
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· Score: 1
[...]somewhat similar to how we now Xerox things on a Xerox machine
I think you're showing your age there. I used to xerox things, now I copy them on a copier. I doubt I've talked casually about xeroxing something for the last ten years.
-- Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
Steve Jobs is Jealous...
by
robkill
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· Score: 2, Funny
On top of that, how many of these machines are obsolete? These numbers take on a completely different meaning if some 40% of these PCs are either completely obsolete, in landfills, or are in parts in some guys closet.
Honestly, Obsolete PCs should not be thrown away, but given a 'last-mile' OS (such as Linux, because it supports older hardware and would give a user at least a somewhat useful machine) and donated to third-world countries that are in dire need of any computers at all.
Re:Stop the press!
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Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
Dear pathetic karma whore,
Don't you have anything better to add than that? Do you really have to roll out the same old anti-MS gimme-some-karma line? Do you need it that much? Ever heard the expression "preaching to the choir"? Just think for a minute about why you did that, and what it added to the discussion.
Re:Stop the press!
by
cperciva
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· Score: 4, Insightful
That's not really surprising: 90% of the population of the world has never seen a PC.
Not true. The US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Sweeden, Norway, Finland, Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong together constitute 14% of the world's population; I would be quite surprised if any of those countries had seen-a-PC rates below 95%, let alone 70%. Then, of course, there are all the people in countries like India -- sure, many of them will have never seen a PC, but many will.
It is possible that a majority of the world's population has never seen a PC, but the rate is certainly nowhere near 90%.
I've made my contribution with about 10 computers purchased, but since I've built them all myself from parts I doubt this even shows up in Gartners numbers =)
-- There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
Yes... I would also like to post a reply imagining a beowulf cluster of 1 billion computers...
Yes, abillion served
by
Ass-Gas-Istan
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· Score: 4, Insightful
But computers these days are almost a disposable item. A PC I bought in 1998 is on the verge of obsolescence, only 4 years later. Much new software is made for the processor (233 MHz Pentium) or higher. Any further power needs, and my PC won't be able to handle the software. Either I must upgrade it or replace it. And replacing means an artifially high number sold, IMHO.
Other consumer electronics like TV's and VCR's have a much longer life expectancy.
What matters more is what percentage of the units are still running today.
Re:Yes, abillion served
by
Jedi+Alec
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· Score: 1, Troll
Ah, the everlasting discussion... Do you need to upgrade your OS? Do you really need a newer version of the word processor you are currently running? In short, if your PC is doing everything you want to do with it, what's the point in getting a newer one?
--
People replying to my sig annoy me. That's why I change it all the time.
> Other consumer electronics like TV's and VCR's have a much longer life expectancy.
If they last that long. My last TV died in 4 years, my receiver in 3 years, and my last computer in 1 year (CPU went out and damaged the mainboard). The only thing worth a damn is my 1990 Oldsmobile with 211,000 miles on it:)
A PC I bought in 1998 is on the verge of obsolescence, only 4 years later.
Which is why, with proper planning, you can make yours last a long time!
What people don't understand is that obsolescence isn't a factor if you replace parts of your computer when you need to. I am willing to bet that a smokin' Mobo/CPU combo to make your computer more than adequate would run under $200. Add a $99 GeForce3 and you've got a fully up-to-date system. Nobody needs to spend $2000 every time new games are released. At least none of MY friends do.
--
El Karma: excelente(principalmente la suma de moderación hecha a los comentarios de los usuarios)
Then you need to check your power and buy a APC or something, there should be no reason your equipment should be burning out so quickly, unleess you abuse it, dont perform proper maintainance, or there is some outside influence causing these burnouts. I still have a 8086 that runs fine, as well as numerous 286's+, commodores, a trs-80 and other odds and ends. Anyone need a 320K ISA memory card?
So when someone buys something new to replace something old, you say it shouldn't count as a new sale? What if McDonald's followed your logic? Once someone buys a hamburger, you no longer need to market to them, because they no longer count. After all, it's not like they're paying for a whole new hamburger...
The same goes for computers. If the people building computers sell one, it counts as a sale, regardless of how many computers the customer already has.
--
Lack of eloquence does not denote lack of intelligence, though they often coincide.
Yes, I have some 486's and old hard drives that are running fine too. It seems like the new stuff that is crap. We had a console television that lasted 25 years.
I do have my computer plugged into a UPS, but it still failed. I'll admit, however, the other devices I mentioned were not. I do not abuse my equipment.
I shouldn't be in electronics because my electronics fail? Do none of your electronics fail (if so, where do you shop)? How could I have prevented my stereo from dying? I treat all of my equipment well. Should I have replaced my TVs CRT after 3 years, somehow predicting it's eventual failure?
I am not in the electronics industry, but regardless of my profession, it doesn't change the fact that electronics fail. I and most people here are not going to fuck with their receiver when it dies. Most will likely buy a new one.
After owning many computers, televisions, stereos and whatnot over the years, I have not had one of them ever die on me (except this TV that was struck by lightning). I could not understand how you can loose so many electronics in such a short time. Most of my TVs, I had for well over 5 years before selling and buying a new one. I had one television, given to me by my father, that was over 20 years old. Still in fine working condition in the garage. One of the other guys mentioned that you might consider checking your electrical work in your house. Sounds like a good idea to me. About the electronics crack on you, I was j/k. I sometimes just have to mess with people. Have a nice day.
Does this figure counts the Macs
by
Tsk
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· Score: 1
has being Personnal Computers ?
--
none Yet.
Re:Does this figure counts the Macs
by
Peyna
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· Score: 2
Apple doesn't consider Macs as being PCs. In their commercials all comparisons are made Mac to PC (although it's obvious they are just bashing Windows, even though they only say "PC")
-- What?
Re:Does this figure counts the Macs
by
FreeUser
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· Score: 2
Apple doesn't consider Macs as being PCs. In their commercials all comparisons are made Mac to PC (although it's obvious they are just bashing Windows, even though they only say "PC")
Apple may not consider their Macs as being personal computers (PCs), but just because their marketing department is trying to disassiate their product with what it is doesn't make it so.
Apple Macintoshes are personal computers.
And though their marketing bashes Windows (and Intel, since they say WINTEL), it is clearly designed to imply one must dump the hardware to be free of Microsoft, which anyone who runs FreeBSD or GNU/Linux knows to be a false implication.
Re:Does this figure counts the Macs
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Sloppy
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· Score: 1
If Gartner came up with the figure, then it is probably just includes ine specific type of personal computer. The article doesn't even bother to use the term "personal computer" anywhere, just "PC" which now means something else.
I, too, lament that the "PC" abbreviation was hijacked, just like "gay" was. Someone wanted the word, so they took it, knowing that nobody would want it back after they were done with it.
-- As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
Re:Does this figure counts the Macs
by
ncc74656
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· Score: 2
Apple may not consider their Macs as being personal computers...
Funny, when you consider that the box that my Apple IIe came in years ago said "the personal computer" on all four sides. Then again, their slogan at the time was "Apple II Forever," and look how that turned out. (I still have a "stealth IIGS" made from that first IIe, another IIe, and a II+.)
That still means that less than 1/6 people own a PC (because 1 billion PCs doesn't mean that 1 billion people own PCs).
Will this figure double by 2008? I'd agree with that. Will processor speed quadruple by 2008? I wouldn't doubt it. Will lusers still be installing banzai buddy and weatherbug? All signs point to yes.
Will sys admins like me take up harder drugs? It is decidedly so.
So when do we get it right???
by
rimcrazy
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· Score: 1
A billion of these buggers out there and the still work like crap. How many bazillion hours have all of us wasted, reformatting hard drives, reinstalling drivers, yada, yada, yada
Hopefully maybe by 2 billion we will have a product that really servers users rather than abuse them.
-- "TV, a medium as it is neither rare nor well done." Ernie Kovacs
Re:So when do we get it right???
by
sheean.nl
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· Score: 1
*insert Bill Gates marketing talk* *insert Steve Jobs marketing talk*
Just hold on a little longer! It's comming:)
--
If at first you don't succeed, then sky diving definitely isn't for you.
Re:So when do we get it right???
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nick-less
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· Score: 1
A billion of these buggers out there and the still work like crap. How many bazillion hours have all of us wasted, reformatting hard drives, reinstalling drivers
How many times a system must fail, before they call the right man? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind, The answer is blowin' in the wind.
Re:So when do we get it right???
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Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
That's windows fault most of the time, not the hardware... can't fix hardware with a format. Switch to something reliable or wait for MS to decide stability, security, and the rest are all important(toss snowball into hell.... now).
I can't say i'm that suprised. Let's think about this for a moment. How long does it take for a computer to become obsolete? Depending on your need for speed, it can range anywhere from 2-4 years. So, if you've been a computer user for 8 years, you've probably owned anywhere from 2-4 computers by now. Ok, now take into account the number of computers purchased for schools, colleges, and businesses. Granted, they might not replace them as much, but companies and schools do change over all of their systems from time to time. Plus, even though many areas of the world are poor and may not have as much opportunity to buy and maintain computers, there are still over 6 billion people on the earth. Odds are, enough of them can afford a computer to top off the billion mark.
A billion? I would have thought it would be much higher by now.
-- my last sig was too controversial...
now, a new and improved useless sig!
Re:Not really a surprise
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sheean.nl
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· Score: 1
Also think of the fact that even in most western countries not everybody have an PC, here in Holland most families only have 1 or 2 PC's, that's about 1/2 PC/person.
--
If at first you don't succeed, then sky diving definitely isn't for you.
Obsolete? Not everywhere
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
"A PC I bought in 1998 is on the verge of obsolescence"
Maybe in the U.S., France, or Germany, but not necessarily in Zimbabwe, Yemen, or the Vietnams.
Consider that during the early 1990s, North Korea was running its nuclear missile program on Atari 800's.
Re:Obsolete? Not everywhere
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Ass-Gas-Istan
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· Score: 1
Why does everyone have to globalize (thanks, JonKatz!) everything.
And how many actually make it to these places?
Thousands? That's a small percentage.
And the Western hemisphere is where the vast majority of new PC's are sold.
Re:Obsolete? Not everywhere
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sheean.nl
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· Score: 1
NASA's space shuttles still runs on old 8086's, it are not only the under-developed countries who are not capable (/willing) of staying up-to-date.
--
If at first you don't succeed, then sky diving definitely isn't for you.
Re:Obsolete? Not everywhere
by
ghamerly
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· Score: 1
The reason they run on old hardware is because it has been proved reliable, and the legacy software that runs on it has also been proved reliable. When you have an investment like that, you can't just upgrade every time Intel makes a new chip. If you did, you could have major glitches due to oversights in new software/hardware combinations. There's something to be said for a well-developed system, even if it is running on old hardware.
Opportunity
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 2, Funny
A billion computers? That must mean potentially 10 billion seats of Oracle!
WARNING: IMPOSTER BEOWULF POST
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
This post has not been certified by me, Anonymous Coward, and is NOT an official beowulf troll post. The reader is hereby advised that s/he has NOT been authorized by me, Anonymous Coward, to imagine a beowulf cluster of the items mentioned in the news story to which this post pertains.
Re:WARNING: IMPOSTER BEOWULF POST
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Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
Shoo troll. My post wasn't a troll.
Old Computers / Disposal
by
mlknowle
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· Score: 3, Interesting
The article touches on this briefly, but this raises the pressing question of what to do with computers once their usable life has expired... I think that the average user of home computer tends to dismiss this because he or she would only dispose of a single computer every several years, at most. In aggregate, however, the effect of lead, mercury, and other computer components could be devastating.
Add to this that almost all of the computer disposal services I have seen to date are pay-based services; asking people to chip in $40-$50 to dispose of an old computer will provide too great an incentive to simply trash the thing, methinks...
I hate it when people throw their computer into the landfill.
Most of the parts in a typical computer make great tools. All those electronic parts have great uses. Capacitors, transistors, PCI bridges, memory chips, level translaters, connectors, simple logic chips, stepper motors, etc...
When I was young, my best friend and I always dreamed of taking parts other people threw away and build a robot. Used computers are a goldmine for these parts. I once took a stack of old floppy drives, cut the stepper motor/slide assembly from the case and had great axis drives for a remote control webcam driven from the parallel port. Total time to build it was the spare time at work one night.
You can't go wrong with saving old parts. When the pile gets high, you know its time to build something, not throw something out!
dreamed of taking parts other people threw away and build a robot. Used computers are a goldmine for these parts.
Another good source is old photocopiers. Not the new fandangled ones, older, totally mechanical beasts. They had small belt drives, chain drives, gear sets, limit switches, etc. There couldn't possibly be so much "good stuff" in another box that size...:)
Re:Old Computers / Disposal
by
dattaway
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· Score: 2
Don't forget about those little black boxes inside old photocopiers. You know those ones that take 12 volts and have this thick insulated wire on the other end that spits out nearly 10,000 volts. There is often a few of these in each copier.
These little DC power supplies have cool uses. My favorite is to ground the unit, turn it on with a 9 volt battery, stand on a chair, grab the wire, and have others watch my hair stand on end.
They can also charge up big capacitors for destroying things and making loud explosions. But they do have good value when checking long cable links for defects. I used to work at a wire manufacturing plant, and we used 7.5KV for testing wire. If there was a defect that could show up in later time, such as an entry for water, it would burn a hole in it and be flagged for scrap.
Now if I only had a good supply of old copiers. I could have boxes of gears, motors, shafts, brackets, and a complete set of hardware to build any automated machine imaginable.
Re:Old Computers / Disposal
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tomknight
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· Score: 2
Fuck the use of the parts, just think of the shit that people are chucking into the earth (and therefore the water table). Out of sight out of mind maybe, but this is a good way to fuck up the environment. Y'know, the thing your kids and kids' kids need, and that we're supposed to keep in a good shape for them!
Tom.
-- Oh arse
Re:Old Computers / Disposal
by
SN74S181
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· Score: 1
200 years from now, the 'sanitary landfills' will be viewed as a resource. The refining and resource recovery technology have advanced to the point that anybody lucky enough to own 'landfill property' will be rich, as all the resources stored there are mined out and recovered for use.
I'm surprised
by
pympdaddyc
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· Score: 2, Interesting
When I first read this I thought "big deal". But when I thought about it, I realized that I had always assumed the number was much bigger than that.
I wouldn't have been too surprised if the story was "1 billion people have PC's in their homes", but I thought with corporations and schools that number would double.
Oh well, that's one less delusion for me I guess.
doubling by 2008?
by
iritant
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· Score: 3, Insightful
I'd normally believe that number, given that large numbers of people have NO computers, and those who do will probably go through at least two others between now and then, given planned obsolesence.
On the other hand, since the number did come from Gartner, I'd be inclined to disbelieve it on those grounds alone. These are the same people who told me in 1992 that ATM would take over the LAN market by 1994. Anyone remember LANE?
Right! Gartner Group information is pretty suspect, IMHO. It's not that they just make the stuff up -- but they seem to query the wrong people for some of their statistics and jump to incorrect conclusions based on the data they gather.
It's pretty standard fare in the world of I.T. publications though. I see more of the same in all of the "news articles" in these free ZDNet trade publications (eWeek, Internet Week, etc.)
They interview management and project managers instead of the techies, and write sweeping blanket statements based on their (typically generalized) comments.
Actually, if I had to pull a number off of top of my head for what the PC market sales figures will be by 2008, I'd say you'll see sustained sales at roughly the same rate PCs have sold between 1996 and the present.
Just about everyone who currently owns a PC right now will either be getting rid of it, or in most cases, upgrading/replacing it with a newer model, within the next 6 years. I think the PC market is about as saturated as it's going to get. Despite other countries that might be "late to the party" finally buying PCs, you also have a *lot* of market dilution. Things that used to require a PC can be accomplished with combination devices like cellphones and PDAs. Some folks bought their last PC just to get on AOL and check email. This time around, they might do that on their phone instead.
Also, as computer power increases, it reduces the need for the home "power user" to own 3 or 4 computers. (A lot of us own at least 2 PCs because we're still trying to squeeze some usefulness out of at least one of them that's older and underpowered. It might not be capable of playing games, so we make it a dedicated CD burning station or something. Newer systems can do both at once with no real problems.)
I'd like to know how many of them have been sold with Windows ? And what was the progression of this percentage through the years ?
Disco records up 80%
by
mckwant
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· Score: 4, Funny
over the period 1975-1978. If this trend continues....
"Ayyyyyy"
I seriously doubt we'll be seeing computer sales the way we used to in the future.
apologies to the simpsons.
-- ceci n'est pas un sig.
Re:Disco records up 80%
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TweeKinDaBahx
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· Score: 1
On the contrary!
Since only the US and a few other developed countries are really the main market for PC manufactures right now, I can only see expansion in the future. As many countries areound the world become more developed, their demand for PCs increases.
It's really not up to me to say "the number of PCs will double by 2008", but I believe that it is a distinct possibility.
Bantha poodoo. The video's going to have to go through a TV, to keep the price down in the markets you discuss. If you'd prefer to say "the number of internet capable machines will double by 2008," you've got a shot, as the internet ready PS2/Xbox/GCube/CableBox is where the battle has been for the last three years anyway, but they sure as heck won't be PCs.
Uncle Bill realizes that one copy of Windows hasn't been sold for each of those Billion PC's?
-- Don't park drunk, accidents cause people.
Re:What happens when
by
morgajel
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· Score: 4, Funny
we'll see something like this:
The Business Software Alliance and Microsoft have issued a joint statement demanding that the Planet Earth show liscense's for all software on the 1 billion computers known to exist. Gates said he'd be more than happy to slash the price to $200/OS-copy if everyone agreed to pay in full the $200 immediately.
I could go off on a rant here, but perhaps I'll offer the Idea to The Onion:)
The number isn't that impressive
by
Jacer
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· Score: 1
that's about 1/7 of the world population. That figure drops below that because most people who have bought a computer have bought two computers, we'll assume that 1/2 of all computer users have purchased two computers dropping it to 1/14 of the population. from there we'll have to consider how many people there are like me. i've gone through about 50 computers. and then we'll also centralize the computer sales to the less third world countries, since we're on slashdot we'll bitch about american centricity, from there we'll do another economic cut on the number of computer sales, cutting out the lower class citizenes who can't afford a computer, now we'll cut out the hicks who don't know what a computer is, we'll drop the middle class citizens who don't feel they need a computer. Now, by my logic, I own every computer on earth, and also the internet. The internet is half own by Al Gore, whom I contracted to design it but wouldn't sign over his IP.
-- --fetch daddy's blue fright wig, i must be handsome when i release my rage
WARNING: IMPOSTER BEOWULF POST
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
This post has not been certified by me, Anonymous Coward, and is NOT an official beowulf troll post. The reader is hereby advised that s/he has NOT been authorized by me, Anonymous Coward, to imagine a beowulf cluster of the items mentioned in the news story to which this post pertains.
This sentence was added by me, Anonymous Coward, to make the content of this post unique.
It's good to see the PC market finally picking up again. I think we were all a little scared for a while there, but with this milepost, things seem to be getting back on track.
However, the explosion of new PC sales may be a bad sign for my (and a largeish minority of Slashdot users) operating system of choice, Linux.
Linux has long been known as a great OS for aging Intel boxen. Rather than toss an old 486 or Pentium in the dustbin, you can install Red Hat and have yourself a cheap router, firewall, or fileserver. It's fun, free (as in speech and beer), and good for the environment. The key to Linux's advantage here is that the newest versions of Windows will simply not run on archaic systems. The graphically-intensive interface, and support for high-end features such as journaling filesystems and DVD players put the system requirements for Windows XP considerably beyond the specs of that old PC from 1997.
When PC sales levelled off a few years ago, it was largely due to older, trash-bound systems being "rescued" for home use, running Linux. With people once again going to new systems, to play the latest games still available only for Microsoft OSes, they are going to be sticking with the OS that comes preinstalled, supports all of their peripherals, and doesn't require a genius IQ to learn. Until Linux can overcome the advantage of Windows for the staggeringly enormous home user market, I'm afraid that it will remain an also-ran, and be relegated to the history books with the likes of Be, Amiga, and Next.
--
Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
how many of those billion computers still in use our days?
and on related news..
by
tezzery
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· Score: 2, Funny
and on related news... bonzi buddy just hit the 1 billion downloads mark.
Just a thought...
by
Marque_Off
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· Score: 1, Redundant
How many of those billion are sitting in land fills? And how many are still in operation,
how many are still over 6 billion people own a PC (because 1 billion PCs doesn't mean that
1 billion people on the verge of obsolescence, only 4 years later. Much new software is made
for the processor (233 MHz Pentium) or higher. Any further power needs, and my PC won't be
able to make another new computer, (sold as new?) and how many Windows copies with those
billion? Being at the top sure is nice, it is going to be years (passed 2008) when another
OS will be able to handle the software. Either I must upgrade it or replace it. And
replacing means an artificially high number sold, IMHO. Other consumer electronics like TV's
and VCR's have a much longer life expectancy. What matters more is what percentage of the
world are poor and may not have as much opportunity to buy and maintain computers, there are
still in operation, how many have been cannibalized to make another new computer, (sold as
new?) and how many have been 'sold' to retailers as opposed to homes. How about a better
number like, 'X number of computers currently in operation worldwide.' That's not really
surprising: 90% of the units are still running today. That still means that less than 1/6
people own a PC . Odds are, enough of them can afford a computer to top off the billion
mark. A billion? I would have thought it would be much higher by now.
-- While at a conference a few weeks back, I spent an interesting evening with a grain of salt.
Re:Just a thought...
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
You're a really, really poor writer. You should either just break up some of the above into sections with horizontal whitespace between them (call them 'psuedo paragraphs') or spend the time to totally rework the miscarriage you wrote above.
WARNING: IMPOSTER BEOWULF POST
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
This post, although similar to a beowulf troll post, is NOT officially endorsed or acknowledged by me, Anonymous Coward. The reader is hereby informed that s/he is NOT authorized by me, Anonymous Coward, to take the action of not imagining a beowulf cluster of the items mentioned in the news story to which this post pertains. Furthermore the reader is hereby advised that s/he is not authorized by me, Anonymous Coward, to imagine a beowulf cluster of the news story items, at this time.
not that impressive
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
you'd think 1/4 of the population has bought at least one computer... guess not
No way! He was funny!
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
Did you see the way he referred to Microsoft as "M$," with the dollar sign? Hilarious!! And he referred to Windows as "Wincrap!" The funniest thing I ever saw!!
Re:Yes, a billion served
by
Ass-Gas-Istan
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· Score: 1
Hmmm, you didn't read my post.
As you might infer, I use it to play games. Games are getting to the point where they require Pentium II's. When that happens, I can no longer use the box.
I don't word process either, I write letters with old-fashioned pen and paper.
This number is misleading...Still work to be done.
by
Navius+Eurisko
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· Score: 4, Informative
When you read the headline "One billion PCs sold", the first instinct is to think about one billion people who have PCs spread over the world. This is not the case. First off, although I don't know how many people bought PCs to contribute to that number, I doubt it was anywhere close to 1 billion. More likely is the explanation that large corporations bought large volumes of PCs for their offices/plants/etc. Secondly, the distribution of those PCs are not even. For many of the poor in third world countries, they have yet to see or use a PC let alone own one.
Although it is great that technology is reaching the masses, the 1 billion milestone is not a cause for celebration yet.
Where would you like to go today?
by
InnereNacht
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· Score: 1
.......
1 billion x 25% (Being very conservative) =
250,000,000
250,000,000 x $100 per license (Saying your average person only bought one OS license in the last 15 years) =
Ok, so 'PC' may generally refer to a desktop. But by 2008, I see a lot of computing done elsewhere. Tablets, wearables, handhelds, phone-based...maybe even certain types of implants. Will those count? Will thin computers count? They may have failed once, but if we get LCD "paper" technology, a computer you unroll and use wherever starts to seem like a great idea. Will that count?
This would be a more siginifigant number...
by
TweeKinDaBahx
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· Score: 1
...If it were related to something like "People on the net" or "currently in use".
With out anything like the above, it's simply an industry benchmark. It's nice to know PCs have made an indellable [sic?] mark on humanity, but means little in the long run...
The amount of PC's is not impressive, the amount of education put into using the PC's would be impressive to utilise them to a greater extent.
market penetration
by
Joel+Ironstone
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· Score: 3, Offtopic
The beautiful thing about PCs compared to somethign like DVD players and VCRs is that market penetration will have little effect on curbing demand. Once you have purchased one computer you are very likely to purchase another in the next 5 years. Compare that to VCRs: I have the same one I had 9 years ago, in the same time I have purchased 3 or four PC systems (notebooks etc.)
My parents have spent the first 10 years fo this study without a computer, but when they bought one, they jumped on the band wagon and have upgraded and will do so again soon. There is no other product out there...Well i 'm sure there is and I will receive a bunch of commments abotu which product experience the same phenomen, but my point remains.
I think that the operative phrase is "have been sold". PCs (of one form or another) have been around over 20 years. In that time I personally havre gotten through about 25 PCs (allowing for both home and office/school use) and I know people who have far exceeded that amount (18 of my 25 were in the last 8 years). With the long period of PCs availability and the tendancy for multiple ownership in both series and parrallel One billion isn't that impressive a figure.
Also what are they defining as a PC?
On the growth figures. Personally I'm with the idea of the Home PC being absorbed and integrated into other items to provide integrated home entertainment/net-access applicances. I can already send email and surf the web (in a limited fasion) from my TV. Add a word processor, telnet client and put a proper browser on it (to replace that Liberate pile of crap) and it'll do about 90% of what I use my home PC for. My Palm M100 will do the rest.
Stephen
-- "Don't write down to your readers, the only people less intelligent than you can't read" - Sign on Newspaper Office Wall
The last Billion computers...
by
MsGeek
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· Score: 5, Interesting
Enjoy the PC reaching 1 billion sold, folks, because if Palladium is instituted this billion will be the last.
What will be sold in the PC's place will be a neutered ueber X-Box, which can do just enough to let you play Microsoft-approved games, let you surf to Microsoft-approved sites, spend money at Microsoft-approved shops, and run Microsoft applications and Microsoft-approved applications. You will not buy these games and apps...they will be rented to you.
You will be bombarded by ads, ads, ads...pop ups, pop unders, full-screen interstitials, etc. etc. And no way will you be able to block them. Use the ueber X-Box for a TiVo type device? You won't be able to fast-forward through commercials, because THAT WOULD BE STEALING.
Does this picture of the future disturb you? We need to get loud and vocal about this because this is the fondest wet dream of the RIAA, MPAA and Microsoft, and they will have scores of lobbyists and lawyers and will 0wn the vast majority of the Senate and House. (Except Rep. Boucher)
We killed Hollings 2002, we forced Intel to put an "off" switch on its PIII unique identifiers, but we mustn't be complacent.
Microsoft getting its way with Palladium will be the final nail in the coffin of geek culture. We need to get angry, get mad, and then DO SOMETHING.
-- Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
Re:The last Billion computers...
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
Microsoft getting its way with Palladium will be the final nail in the coffin of geek culture.
I disagree. True enthusiasts will build their own computers from commercial parts (not necessarily comodity PC parts). There will always be sufficient demand to ensure that manufacturers produce products that aren't locked into a single architecture.
I have toyed with the idea of building a general purpose computer based on some of the powerful microcontroller systems that are now available. This could run a a cut down Linux, QNX or whatever.
Don't panic. If you are a true 'geek' then you don't need to worry. If you only buy your hardware from Dell and can't use a screwdriver then maybe you have something to worry about.
We need to get angry, get mad, and then DO SOMETHING.
In my experience, slashbots are always angry and mad but seldom have the energy and initiative to DO SOMETHING apart from bitch and moan;)
Re:The last Billion computers...
by
Kashif+Shaikh
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· Score: 1
You forgot to add:
Programming languages that only compile *for* MS approved(i.e..NET) operating systems.
I hate M$:
First they the Operating Systems field(aka Computer Science) and fuck around with it.
Secondly, they force everyone to use their OS from OEMS to end-users. Even use dirty tactics to eliminate any compatible OSs.
Thirdly, they fuck around with standards and create proprietary interfaces. They eliminate any interoperability(*cough* CIFS/Samba).
Fourthly, they spend millions of dollars to promote.NET to build a framework around M$ OSs. They infected the root: Programming Languages which can only be run on their OS and no other. The implications of this are really scary. This isn't like trying to get everyone attached to their OS through applications(i.e. Office); but rather every line of code can only run on M$'s shit.
Fifthly and the end: Pallidium. In a nutshell, Microsoft Universe. They make laws. Unlike other industries, M$ really already owns major markets of the OS industry(consumer/mainstream 95%, server, high level--not sure but I hear its around 50-60%).
Re:The last Billion computers...
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
they force everyone to use their OS from OEMS to end-users...
Oh yeah? They force you to use their OS? Since when?
You're just another pathetic whiner pissing your pants and crying to mommy about how unfair everything is.
Get over it!
MS is the dominant force in the desktop/low-end server market. It's a fact. Live with it.
Nobody is FORCING you do run anything you don't want to. You have plenty of choices - so take them and quit whining like a whipped dog.
Re:The last Billion computers...
by
david.johns
·
· Score: 1
Well, you're a little extreme in your predictions for me. I understand the need to be both vigilant and loud, but there's also this concept of prioritization. Palladium sucks, doesn't do what's advertised, and will lock content away from open sourcers at the very least. On the other hand, if we could get our congresscritters to legislate that all DRM must recognize the concepts of the end-of-life of intellectual property and fair use, we make a major win. That makes the job of DRM manufacturers hundreds, maybe thousands of times harder. I don't like my rights being 'managed,' so I'm all for that.
The cool thing about Linux and other really-really-really open source things, though, is that it won't die. It basically can't. We'd have to get the majority of technological cultures in the world to legislate against the unauthorized use of compilers and FPGAs, and that's not going to happen anytime soon - most of them aren't that stupid, and some of them have already embraced open-source software.
I think it much more likely that Linux and other really-really-really open source things will be left behind at some point by a closed source offering on some totally new and alien hardware (read: not a dumbed-down PC, and not Windows anything) and Linux (or your favorite x-and-such) is going to become passe because the PC is passe. The ideals that create this body of software won't die, though, and then we can start again, with new and even cooler hardware.
So what I'm saying is: don't be afraid that Linux is going to be killed in one fell swoop by Palladium. It doesn't just run on PCs, after all. But yes, we do need to make sure that our voice is loud and clear when it comes to policy, or it may be hard for US to do what we want with our computers.
Re:The last Billion computers...
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
He's just angry because he KNOWS the driver code for his vibrating buttplug (it uses a serial interface) won't ever be digitally signed.
Re:The last Billion computers...
by
bsane
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· Score: 1
His ideas may be far fetched, but they would be possible with Palladium. Microsoft just has to fine tune how far they can push it...
> How many of those billion are sitting in land fills?
I can account for one of them. A guy in the city I live in bought a brand new computer from a Gateway Country store. He claimed the thing was a lemon from the beginning, and eventually got sick of dealing with the service people. Instead of trying to get it repaired by a professional and sell it to help reclaim his losses, he placed the computer in the lobby of their store and took a sledge hammer and smashed it to pieces.
It made quite the news and I think people around here are nervous to buy from that store now, given the track record this one individual brought to light.
PC vs personal computer
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
Some of this is a difference between the term PC, which includes Wintel, AMD, Linux, and even old DOS machines, and "personal computer" (lower case), which has a much wider scope.
Apple doesn't make the first, but it does make the second. Best not to use the terms interchangably, it can cause confusion.
Yeah no PCs outside the US anyway
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
"Why does everyone have to globalize (thanks, JonKatz!) everything."
Are you implying that there aren't really any personal computers outside of the United States, so we really should not bother counting?
Doesn't this suggest that, on the average, people aren't going to be replacing their computers any sooner than every six years?
Re:Six years to double???
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
this figure is set to double by as early as 2008.
Doesn't this suggest that, on the average, people aren't going to be replacing their computers any sooner than every six years?
No, that would only be the case if there were a billion working computers that might be replaced in the next 6 years.
Re:Six years to double???
by
markmoss
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· Score: 3, Insightful
No, that would only be the case if there were a billion working computers that might be replaced in the next 6 years.
But then Gartner is also expecting PC's to finally get out into the rest of the world. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to get to the real data, just their short announcement... As fast as the PC market has been growing in the last few years, I'd expect at least 1/3 of all the PC's to still be in use somewhere, and most of those will be replaced TWICE by 2008. That doesn't leave a whole lot out of the two billion for exponential growth of PC's in the less wealthy countries.
So it seems to me that either they're misquoting Gartner (entirely possible), or Gartner's estimate is actually rather on the pessimistic side. Of course, it's entirely possible that it's accurate - it's getting harder and harder to find real reasons to keep on replacing PC's all the time, and I think to reach much wider of a market PC's must become cheaper in third world countries and easier to use for Americans. (And maybe the third-world market is going to consist of our discarded 100-233MHz machines running Linux, which will suck for PC manufacturers and MS...)
Keep in mind that PCs have been for sale since when? Mid eighties?
Those first 10 years may not be huge, but still take a little time to catch up to.
-- Rod Taylor
Macintoshes like an appliance, not a computer
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
"It's all good anyway, they're not actually real computers anyway. More like an appliance."
If you buy PC software and try to run it on a Mac, that is one thing. If you try to toast bread in it, wash clothes, or nuke popcorn in your Mac, that is quite another problem.
Re:Macintoshes like an appliance, not a computer
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
--Big-i-Mac Special Today--
--12 piece Chicken Microsofts = $0.99 --
--
$cat/dev/random > Sig
How many did Microsoft buy?
by
HanzoSan
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· Score: 3, Insightful
Considering all the PCs they have most likely get infected by Virii, and how Microsoft has 40 billion in cash sitting in the bank.
I'm Sure Microsoft has purchased hundreds of thousands, add in all of the other big companies and you get millions, add in schools and colleges along with government and you get hundreds of millions
-- If you use Linux, please help development ofAutopac
Re:How many did Microsoft buy?
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
Well no actually. Microsoft is a monster company, but only has 43,000-odd employees worldwide. It has one of the highest profit per head ratings of any company.
For the really big spenders in IT, you have to look at the financial, defence and aerospace industries.
Re:How many did Microsoft buy?
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 1, Informative
There's no need to be making up words in hopes of sounding smarter. You only end up looking silly.
Re:How many did Microsoft buy?
by
alphaCoward
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· Score: 1
I think Microsoft only has 1 computer.
They have been developing and testing on the same box for years.
just to be fair
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
I've read over your original post four times now, and I see no reason to infer from that that you play games.
Re:just to be fair
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
Not that it would matter anyway, because if it's a good game you can continue to play it for 50 more years.
"I had to upgrade my dinning room table because Monopoly wouldn't fit anymore."
Shoes. And Hand bags.
by
mekkab
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· Score: 5, Funny
Shoes have established an incredible and enviable market penetration. In fact, they are legislated as a need for the right of entry into certain establishments! (along with shirts)
The easy case is that of children, who frequently need to upgrade their footwear simply due to size.
Another easy case is simple wear and tear. If you keep slapping something on the pavement and slogging it through rainy streets, eventually you will need a new one.
However the cobblers of the world have "conspired" with marketing types and have created a "fashion industry", whereby yearly dictates go out and as a result new shoes have to be purchased.
I admit, I am somewhat immune to these trends. I still have a 6 year old macintosh dual booting into linux with enough life left in it to grade students assignments. I also only have a few pairs of shoes.
However my wife and my sister are 31337 in terms of having the latest and greatest "walking processors", or footwear.
And don't get me started on handbags!
-- In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
What would Dr. Evil say?
by
gelfling
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· Score: 1, Offtopic
hmmmmmm one MILLION!!!! PC's, eh what's that? Throw me a frickin bone people!
then, why are we treating them as if they (the box, board...) will be around forever? certainly, pc's will be increasingly built to consider power, user, and disposal costs, but the discussion seems to be lacking. Is anybody aware of any research into these areas?
My first computer was an XT (that's a clone of the 5151 in the picture). It was still working in 1998 when I replaced it's insides. Indeed, it had a 9600 baud modem, AOL software that worked, Word Perfect, and a hand held greyscale scanner all crammed into it's 640k RAM and 20 MB hard disk. Oh yeah, I'd also added a 3.5" floppy. The piece parts are in my closet, ready for reasembly to amuse the grandchildren 40 years from now. The box now has a 450 MHz AMD k6/2 and runs my DNS and internal ftp server. Works good, lasts a long time.
So cheer up, the more hardware M$ disables the more we have to use. I advertise to clubs I'm in that I will install a free operating system on such computers. Everytime someone posts news of the Microsoft Transmitted Disease of the day, I post the prommise. People hit the server, a 486, a few times a day after that.
-- DMCA, Hollings, Palladium. What might have sounded like paranoia is now common sense.
> The box now has a 450 MHz AMD k6/2 and runs my DNS and internal ftp server. Works good, lasts a long time.
Or you could have put Minix on the XT and let it do the same job. a 450 is a little overkill for internal DNS and lite ftp duty.. My 486 33SX acts as a web server, ftp server, IP Masquerade gateway, SAMBA domain controler, and calculates Mersene prime keys in it's spare time. Uptime since right after the newyear, when I replaced the battery on a UPS I saved from the trash (new server at work had no serial port)
How many can Slashdot users account for?
by
Emugamer
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· Score: 2
Since the beginning of time I can account for a good 25 PCs that I have bought for myself personally and those that I have purchased for myself or had puchased for me in a working enviorment number in the 20s as well.
lowball figure of 45 brand new computers. I'm not going to assume that I am an average slashdotter in terms of consumerism but I'm sure I am not alone...
Re:How many can Slashdot users account for?
by
rtaylor
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· Score: 2
Hmm.. I've got 15. 20 if you could rackmount.
That said, I only have 2 over the last 3 years -- given Gnome 2 I think I can keep it at that for another 2 years.
-- Rod Taylor
Re:How many can Slashdot users account for?
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
Not only am I replacing computers fairly consistently...but I also need more computers than I used to.
Thinking back all the way to my first computer, an Atari 800, here are my stats...
Personally owned, still used = 3 Personally owned; now obsolete and trashed = 8
Assigned to me at work, in use = 6 Obsolete work computers; now Trashed = 4
I used to be perfectly happy with one home computer, but somehow, I can't live without 3 now. Same thing at work - I used to need only 2 computers...but now I actually use 6 of 'em.
-AC
When McD's and Dell merge...
by
ackthpt
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· Score: 1
Over One Billion Servers Sold
Yeah, it's lame, but it's Monday, I'm tired, and after hearing Ren & Stimpy will be back, nothing can top it.
--
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Computer Recycling resources
by
fahrvergnugen
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· Score: 2
Odds are good that if you're anywhere near a metropolitan area, there's a place that will recycle your old PC. Further, in many states it's illegal to just throw an old PC out on the curb. It's not only your ethical duty, it's your legal obligation to make sure this stuff doesn't wind up landfilled.
There's several good resources on the net to help locate computer recycling centers. My favorite though, by far, are the good folks at the Alameda County Computer Recycling Center. The only bad thing I can say about them is that their front page won't render under Netscape 4.7 because of bad table code.
If you're looking for a list, there's a good one buried in the shitty graphics at this site.
-- Even Jesus hates listening to Creed.
Re:Computer Recycling resources
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
I purchased the necessary equipment, because I am a responsible individual, to grind my old PCs into a fine powder.
We go on backpacking trips all the time, often up to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota. We always lug in 30 or 40 pounds of 'computer powder' with us and deposit it in small bodies of water as we travel.
The rich blend of lead, various other heavy metals, and powderized fibreglass and plastic ensures that the far reaches of the globe get their fair share of computer debris.
You should do the same. Remember, we're all in this together.
Re:Computer Recycling resources
by
Sebastopol
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· Score: 2
I really hope the recycle centers do what they say. I was watching Dateline, or 60 minutes or 20/20 (one of those news shows), and apparently Southeastern Asia is receiving boatloads of American used computers.
It was sickening: There were piles of computer chassis as far as the eye could see on the streets, and little pools of bubbling chemicals everywhere. The locals extract the gold from the contacts using things like nitric acid. Of course, they have no respirators, or barely any clothes for that matter. Little kids were hunched over pools of fuming chemicals trying to extract precious metals for pennies.
I really hope the recycling centers do what they claim.
An alternative take on this....
by
tomknight
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· Score: 2
Check out TheRegister's take on this. It's not cheery reading. Follow the link.
Tom
-- Oh arse
Re:An alternative take on this....
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
I am dismayed that the publishers of TheRegister don't shut down their operation. Surely they can find volunteer work in the third world teaching people how to raise their own crops, become economically self-sufficient, etc.
They could volunteer for cleanup efforts for all that Chinese polluted farmland. There are any number of choices for them to make. Let's hope they take action soon.
Re:Al Gore created the internet
by
mtrupe
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· Score: 0
Also, Stephen Hawking doesn't speak too well, but it doesn't mean he isn't very intelligent.
I'd also like to know some results from subsets of this statistic. For example:
How many of that billion are in North America? In Europe? Japan? In landfills?
How many are 286 processors? 386?...Pentium 4?
How many were bought from Dell, Gateway, etc., and how many were built from scratch? Also, define "PCs sold." Is a processor a sale? Is a new motherboard a sale? Or must it be a complete system?
HA- How true... I'll never understand Democrats. Not saying Bush is as intelligent as Hawking, but I don't think public speaking ability is a measure of intelligence. I would love to see all these people who dog Bush for stammering get up in front of 1 million people and speak clearing for 5 minutes (let alone an hour).
They will continue making resource hog apps that require faster processors, when in reality any linux/bsd user knows a 5 yo box can do all of the common tasks with the right software.
"Don't forget about those little black boxes inside old photocopiers. You know those ones that take 12 volts and have this thick insulated wire on the other end that spits out nearly 10,000 volts. There is often a few of these in each copier."
Hmmmm, i find your ideas fascinating, and i would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
-- All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
If you sell a billion does it make them good?
by
bareman
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· Score: 1
Considering the underwhelming impact computing has had on productivity perhaps celebrating that ONLY 1 billion have been sold yet is in order.
Consider the billions of 'delicious' (not) and 'healthy' (not) burgers sold by the famous clown restaurant...
Why use Netscape at all?
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
"I can say about them is that their front page won't render under Netscape 4.7 because of bad table code."
After version 3, Netscape became unusable, due to pervese ease-of-use design, greatly decreasing speed, and frequent crashes like this. Even MSIE is better. Upgrade to anything else!
(I'd feel more sympathy for Netscape's case against Microsoft if not for the fact that Netscape seemed to go all out to make its browser unusable as if they intended people to abandon it)
One 'puter per 6 people...
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
Betcha that they don't have that ratio in Africa though.
There is a point to the above... think about it...
*hint* Demographics of ownership is central to power these days. Those who do not have a PC are less empowered than those who do.
Why don't they count the abacus while there at it. phe, calculators... lol
1 Billion More PCs, 100s More Bankruptcies
by
Peahippo
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· Score: 1
Wow! 1 billion computers sold so far, probably representing 20 years of sales. And 1 billion more in just 6 years! Wowie! Just think how many companies are going to go bankrupt, having jumped on that gravy train and found themselves with many, many competitors who also thought the same thing!
all Enron employees: $6K, each
17000 WorldCom employees: bootprint on the ass, each
1 billion more computers by 2008: $500, each
hundreds of bankrupt computer companies by 2010: priceless
Please, somebody take over, that wasn't that clever.
But computers these days are almost a disposable item.
And therein lies the rub. Disposing of the better part of 1 billion computers. We need more ways of recylcing this stuff. The only thing that approaches continuing usability is the case (case, fans, PS). Everything else has a 2 year half-life and at 6 years seems incapable of running the vast majority of sofware available. Yes, I know that Linux works great on lesser machines. Most machines end up in a trash heap after 4-6 years rather than being reincarnated.
Re:Al Gore created the internet
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
Whoever moderated the comment above is a loser...
Does this picture of the future disturb you?
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 0
No. You disturb me though.
I mean. 'msgeek.org' - what's that all about? A vanity publishing weblog? Wierd!
Frank Lloyd Wright and toilet design
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Anonymous Coward
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Audrey was that Internet appliance that looked like that water tank in the back of the toilet.
Failed pretty miserably. I guess only Frank Lloyd Wright (see the Guggenheim Museum) is the only designer that can get away with making non-plumbing objects look like crappers.
Percentage of them still running
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intermodal
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· Score: 1
Well, I'm still running every computer I have obtained since 1988. That makes my number alone 11. plus the one at work. Computers, it seems, are going the way of the TV...more than one perhousehold instead of a rare or impressive thing (like TV in the fifties). Then with VCR and Microwaves and CD players in the early eighties...it just increases the number as time goes on. Cell phones, DVD Players, and so on. it's just that the rate of proliferation of technology increases with time.
Soon there will be so many computers in the world that humans will be a minority. You will lose your rights, computers will rule our lives, and we will be forced to sit in front of the monitor for 8 to 10 hours a day. The time to act is now. The next time you reach for a calculator, grab the abacus instead.
Since this report is from the BBC I would assume they are using the british definition of 10^12, but that seems impossibly large.
From WordNet (r) 1.7:
billion
1: (in Britain) the number that is represented as a one
followed by 12 zeros [syn: one million million, 1000000000000]
2: (in the United States) the number that is represented as a
one followed by 9 zeros [syn: one thousand million, 1000000000]
I can account for 5 of those (in order of purchase)
C= 64 (Dead) Amiga 3000 (Resold through Usenet) Intel Pentium 133 MHz (Resold to a friend) Intel Pentium III 1 GHz (Main Home Computer) Intel Pentium II 433 MHz (Plays my MP3 Collection 24 by 7) Intel Pentium II 233 MHz Laptop (Flies around my house on a wireless network... controls my music program remotely)
If within two years your predictions come true, that you will only be able to run MS-approved applications on MS-approved hardware on MS-approved OS I will send you the sum of $100.
However if within two years this does not come to play, you will send me $100.
Two years too soon? How about 5 years? Hell, I'll even up it to a $1,000 wager if that will make you feel better.
I'm just curious if any of the Chicken Little's in the world are willing to put some money where their mouth is.
Get a playstation, you only
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Steveftoth
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Game consoles only need to be upgraded every 5 years.
A Billion more?
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Kevin+Stevens
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Considering the trouble PC makers are in right now, and that analysts now consider the PC market to be "saturated," I really can not see how they can predict a billion more machines to be sold in as little as 6 years. Also, consider that microprocessor technology has now leapfrogged ahead of software developers, and we no longer need the latest multighz processors to do what we do on a normal basis. Back when I purchased my first 100mhz pentium system, right out of the box I wished I had the smoking 166, because almost EVERY application would be more responsive run on it. Now, I have a 2 year old 700 mhz athlon, which I am every bit as happy with now as I was when I first put the system together. I forsee this system lasting much longer than my first system, since my first system at two years old was almost unbearably sluggish. I really doubt that the current "saturation point" we are at can sustain the required 166 MILLION PCS SOLD PER YEAR required to meet the next billion mark. And if this is sustainable, let me go invest in some DELL stock. -k
Re:Bush
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Anonymous Coward
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Only an idiot like Bush would say j00 can improve teh economy by taxing people who have no money anyway
so he doesn't say that.
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Anonymous Coward
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"Only an idiot like Bush would say j00 can improve teh economy by taxing people who have no money anyway."
So it's not part of the policy.
j00 teh? I sense a lack of coherence. The rest of the sentence was probably wrong too.
+1 sold folks! Only 1,999,999,999 to go!
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GdoL
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· Score: 1
I saw the billion and one been sold just now.
--
------I can please only one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either.------
"Games are getting to the point where they require Pentium II"
Huh? Games are getting to the point where they require Pentiums 4s! I have a gigahertz duron and even Red Alert 2 gets a bit bogged down at the highest rez when a lot of units are onscreen, and it just a 2d sprite based game.
-- Smoking is an expensive, slow, and unreliable method of suicide.
ButTheyDontEvenHaveElectricityInAfrica.com
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prestidigital
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· Score: 1
The Register (U.K.) is running this article which reminds us that there are billions more people in this world who couldn't care less because they don't even have basic human needs met. BlowTheDotOutYourAss.com offers this take on it.
Re:This number is misleading...Still work to be do
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Peyna
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Extremely rough estimation of the actual number of people who own at least 1 pc.
Each person probably has had:
1 pc at work (which may have been replaced at least once or twice already)
2-3 pcs at home (probably 2-3 that have since been retired)
So let's say each person (or their place of business) has purchased about 5 pcs for them. That gives us about 200 million individuals. Still an impressive number. I would guess the actual number is higher than that.
If you really want to look at these numbers and figure out how many people use PCs, you would have to consider that probably 1/3 of those billion sold have been sold multiple times, replaced multiple times, or people own multiple pcs.
-- What?
War, famine, disease. Never mind - 1bn PCs built
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klykken
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· Score: 1
"BBC News are reporting a recent Gartner Dataquest statement that over one billion PCs have been sold worldwide. What's even more impressive is that this figure is set to double by as early as 2008."
I see, very impressive. Let me lead you to the article "War, famine, disease. Never mind - 1bn PCs built" by Drew Cullen of The Register.
"So that would translate into how many thousands of tonnes of lead and hundreds of tonnes of cadmium? How many water supplies destroyed, how many tens of thousands of poisoned acres of Chinese farming land?"
"Tomorrow we will be running an appeal on behalf of ComputerAid which is looking for end-of-life PCs to refurb and set up in non-profit organisations in Africa. Unfortunately this will run only in the UK. If there are any other PC recycling-for-developing- countries charities out there, let us know and we'll add you to the list."
-- Looks like a fish, drives like a fish, steers like a cow.
Yep, That's what I do. I spend a bit of money on my PC every three months or so then I upgrade friends and family's boxes with the old parts. Of course you can only really do this with a clone but I think that's the best way to build PC's anyway. I can't build 'em cheap but I build them to last and perform.
Actually I got my first Apple in 1983 and it was a
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Anonymous Coward
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PC. That was a few years before the IBM PC. In fact I'm looking at it right now. How sweet it is. Thank god my parents were rich. In todays dollars it would be around $12,000 for this sweet rig: Apple//e Motorola 6502 1MHz 128KB RAM Apple ROM Apple Green 12" Screen 80 Column Text Card (added 128KB RAM) Apple Dot Matrix Printer Disk ][ Drive Joystick (serial) External Modem (1200 Baud I think) Apple DOS 3.3
I'm pissed I didn't pick one up at the garage sale last year. $10 for newer one with color monitor and dual drives.
Oh yeah I forgot the Apple Ad link
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Anonymous Coward
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...are so obscure that the average user cannot see them, or the alternatives are so much more expencive that the average individual cannot afford them, that makes me feel like I'm being forced.
Re:Gateway sledgehammer url
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DickBreath
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· Score: 2
i thought the parent was bending the truth, but apparently not.
Slashdot Mirror
How many of those billion are sitting in land fills?
FoundNews.com - get paid to blog.,
We all know that "there is a world market for maybe five computers."
Fault loves the past, worry loves the future, but content enjoys the present.
And how many Windows copies with those billion? Being at the top sure is nice, it is going to be years (passed 2008) when another OS will be able to make a significat gap to the MS stronghold.
dam(U)
Useless sig.
over one billion PCs have been sold worldwide.
And I've got parts from at least three-quarters of them hidden away in the spare bedroom closet.
Sigh. My girlfriend has the patience of a saint.
--saint
Take into account how many are still in operation, how many have been canabalized to make another new computer, (sold as new?) and how many have been 'sold' to retailers as opposed to homes. How about a better number like, 'X number of computers currently in operation worldwide.'
Don't park drunk, accidents cause people.
If the total is just PCs, what about Macintoshes and other non-PC computers?
One billion iMacs served.
DMCA - Chilling free speech since 1998.
You're all getting a Dell!
That's not really surprising: 90% of the population of the world has never seen a PC.
The only problem is that most of these new machines contain a copy of M$ Wincrap instead of a copy of free (as in speech) software.
But, yes, there is still hope, and room for expansion...
The right to offend is far more important than the right not to be offended. (Rowan Atkinson)
and your point is?
I've made my contribution with about 10 computers purchased, but since I've built them all myself from parts I doubt this even shows up in Gartners numbers =)
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
Obligatory "Imagine a beowulf cluster..." post goes here....
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
a Beowulf cluster, etc., etc.
668: Neighbour of the Beast
But computers these days are almost a disposable item. A PC I bought in 1998 is on the verge of obsolescence, only 4 years later. Much new software is made for the processor (233 MHz Pentium) or higher. Any further power needs, and my PC won't be able to handle the software. Either I must upgrade it or replace it. And replacing means an artifially high number sold, IMHO.
Other consumer electronics like TV's and VCR's have a much longer life expectancy.
What matters more is what percentage of the units are still running today.
has being Personnal Computers ?
none Yet.
That still means that less than 1/6 people own a PC (because 1 billion PCs doesn't mean that 1 billion people own PCs).
Will this figure double by 2008? I'd agree with that. Will processor speed quadruple by 2008? I wouldn't doubt it. Will lusers still be installing banzai buddy and weatherbug? All signs point to yes.
Will sys admins like me take up harder drugs? It is decidedly so.
Linux is dead.
LU
A billion of these buggers out there and the still work like crap. How many bazillion hours have all of us wasted, reformatting hard drives, reinstalling drivers, yada, yada, yada
Hopefully maybe by 2 billion we will have a product that really servers users rather than abuse them.
"TV, a medium as it is neither rare nor well done." Ernie Kovacs
I can't say i'm that suprised. Let's think about this for a moment. How long does it take for a computer to become obsolete? Depending on your need for speed, it can range anywhere from 2-4 years. So, if you've been a computer user for 8 years, you've probably owned anywhere from 2-4 computers by now. Ok, now take into account the number of computers purchased for schools, colleges, and businesses. Granted, they might not replace them as much, but companies and schools do change over all of their systems from time to time.
Plus, even though many areas of the world are poor and may not have as much opportunity to buy and maintain computers, there are still over 6 billion people on the earth. Odds are, enough of them can afford a computer to top off the billion mark.
A billion? I would have thought it would be much higher by now.
my last sig was too controversial... now, a new and improved useless sig!
"A PC I bought in 1998 is on the verge of obsolescence"
Maybe in the U.S., France, or Germany, but not necessarily in Zimbabwe, Yemen, or the Vietnams.
Consider that during the early 1990s, North Korea was running its nuclear missile program on Atari 800's.
A billion computers? That must mean potentially 10 billion seats of Oracle!
This post has not been certified by me, Anonymous Coward, and is NOT an official beowulf troll post. The reader is hereby advised that s/he has NOT been authorized by me, Anonymous Coward, to imagine a beowulf cluster of the items mentioned in the news story to which this post pertains.
The article touches on this briefly, but this raises the pressing question of what to do with computers once their usable life has expired... I think that the average user of home computer tends to dismiss this because he or she would only dispose of a single computer every several years, at most. In aggregate, however, the effect of lead, mercury, and other computer components could be devastating.
Add to this that almost all of the computer disposal services I have seen to date are pay-based services; asking people to chip in $40-$50 to dispose of an old computer will provide too great an incentive to simply trash the thing, methinks...
When I first read this I thought "big deal". But when I thought about it, I realized that I had always assumed the number was much bigger than that.
I wouldn't have been too surprised if the story was "1 billion people have PC's in their homes", but I thought with corporations and schools that number would double.
Oh well, that's one less delusion for me I guess.
I'd normally believe that number, given that large numbers of people have NO computers, and those who do will probably go through at least two others between now and then, given planned obsolesence.
On the other hand, since the number did come from Gartner, I'd be inclined to disbelieve it on those grounds alone. These are the same people who told me in 1992 that ATM would take over the LAN market by 1994. Anyone remember LANE?
I'd like to know how many of them have been sold with Windows ? And what was the progression of this percentage through the years ?
over the period 1975-1978. If this trend continues....
"Ayyyyyy"
I seriously doubt we'll be seeing computer sales the way we used to in the future.
apologies to the simpsons.
ceci n'est pas un sig.
Uncle Bill realizes that one copy of Windows hasn't been sold for each of those Billion PC's?
Don't park drunk, accidents cause people.
that's about 1/7 of the world population. That figure drops below that because most people who have bought a computer have bought two computers, we'll assume that 1/2 of all computer users have purchased two computers dropping it to 1/14 of the population. from there we'll have to consider how many people there are like me. i've gone through about 50 computers. and then we'll also centralize the computer sales to the less third world countries, since we're on slashdot we'll bitch about american centricity, from there we'll do another economic cut on the number of computer sales, cutting out the lower class citizenes who can't afford a computer, now we'll cut out the hicks who don't know what a computer is, we'll drop the middle class citizens who don't feel they need a computer. Now, by my logic, I own every computer on earth, and also the internet. The internet is half own by Al Gore, whom I contracted to design it but wouldn't sign over his IP.
--fetch daddy's blue fright wig, i must be handsome when i release my rage
This post has not been certified by me, Anonymous Coward, and is NOT an official beowulf troll post. The reader is hereby advised that s/he has NOT been authorized by me, Anonymous Coward, to imagine a beowulf cluster of the items mentioned in the news story to which this post pertains.
This sentence was added by me, Anonymous Coward, to make the content of this post unique.
It's good to see the PC market finally picking up again. I think we were all a little scared for a while there, but with this milepost, things seem to be getting back on track.
However, the explosion of new PC sales may be a bad sign for my (and a largeish minority of Slashdot users) operating system of choice, Linux.
Linux has long been known as a great OS for aging Intel boxen. Rather than toss an old 486 or Pentium in the dustbin, you can install Red Hat and have yourself a cheap router, firewall, or fileserver. It's fun, free (as in speech and beer), and good for the environment. The key to Linux's advantage here is that the newest versions of Windows will simply not run on archaic systems. The graphically-intensive interface, and support for high-end features such as journaling filesystems and DVD players put the system requirements for Windows XP considerably beyond the specs of that old PC from 1997.
When PC sales levelled off a few years ago, it was largely due to older, trash-bound systems being "rescued" for home use, running Linux. With people once again going to new systems, to play the latest games still available only for Microsoft OSes, they are going to be sticking with the OS that comes preinstalled, supports all of their peripherals, and doesn't require a genius IQ to learn. Until Linux can overcome the advantage of Windows for the staggeringly enormous home user market, I'm afraid that it will remain an also-ran, and be relegated to the history books with the likes of Be, Amiga, and Next.
Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
how many of those billion computers still in use our days?
and on related news... bonzi buddy just hit the 1 billion downloads mark.
How many of those billion are sitting in land fills? And how many are still in operation, how many are still over 6 billion people own a PC (because 1 billion PCs doesn't mean that 1 billion people on the verge of obsolescence, only 4 years later. Much new software is made for the processor (233 MHz Pentium) or higher. Any further power needs, and my PC won't be able to make another new computer, (sold as new?) and how many Windows copies with those billion? Being at the top sure is nice, it is going to be years (passed 2008) when another OS will be able to handle the software. Either I must upgrade it or replace it. And replacing means an artificially high number sold, IMHO. Other consumer electronics like TV's and VCR's have a much longer life expectancy. What matters more is what percentage of the world are poor and may not have as much opportunity to buy and maintain computers, there are still in operation, how many have been cannibalized to make another new computer, (sold as new?) and how many have been 'sold' to retailers as opposed to homes. How about a better number like, 'X number of computers currently in operation worldwide.' That's not really surprising: 90% of the units are still running today. That still means that less than 1/6 people own a PC . Odds are, enough of them can afford a computer to top off the billion mark. A billion? I would have thought it would be much higher by now.
While at a conference a few weeks back, I spent an interesting evening with a grain of salt.
This post, although similar to a beowulf troll post, is NOT officially endorsed or acknowledged by me, Anonymous Coward. The reader is hereby informed that s/he is NOT authorized by me, Anonymous Coward, to take the action of not imagining a beowulf cluster of the items mentioned in the news story to which this post pertains. Furthermore the reader is hereby advised that s/he is not authorized by me, Anonymous Coward, to imagine a beowulf cluster of the news story items, at this time.
you'd think 1/4 of the population has bought at least one computer... guess not
Did you see the way he referred to Microsoft as "M$," with the dollar sign? Hilarious!! And he referred to Windows as "Wincrap!" The funniest thing I ever saw!!
Hmmm, you didn't read my post.
As you might infer, I use it to play games. Games are getting to the point where they require Pentium II's. When that happens, I can no longer use the box.
I don't word process either, I write letters with old-fashioned pen and paper.
There are probably more than a billion MS licenses shipped due to the Windows Tax(tm). An awful lot of companies buy their licenses twice.
The Day Today - Game Warden to the Events Rhino
Oh wow, that was a good one. Tell us another pappy.
When you read the headline "One billion PCs sold", the first instinct is to think about one billion people who have PCs spread over the world. This is not the case. First off, although I don't know how many people bought PCs to contribute to that number, I doubt it was anywhere close to 1 billion. More likely is the explanation that large corporations bought large volumes of PCs for their offices/plants/etc. Secondly, the distribution of those PCs are not even. For many of the poor in third world countries, they have yet to see or use a PC let alone own one.
Although it is great that technology is reaching the masses, the 1 billion milestone is not a cause for celebration yet.
.......
.0001 (Selling your soul) =
1 billion x 25% (Being very conservative) =
250,000,000
250,000,000 x $100 per license (Saying your average person only bought one OS license in the last 15 years) =
25,000,000,000
25,000,000,000 x
2,500,000
Sell my soul for 2.5 Mil? What the hell!
Ok, so 'PC' may generally refer to a desktop. But by 2008, I see a lot of computing done elsewhere. Tablets, wearables, handhelds, phone-based...maybe even certain types of implants. Will those count? Will thin computers count? They may have failed once, but if we get LCD "paper" technology, a computer you unroll and use wherever starts to seem like a great idea. Will that count?
PCs sold with DRM: Zero
I'm just saying.
sulli
RTFJ.
Just go into a store and ask for Mac software, or ask for PC software.
If you assume that your Mac is a PC and take home PC software to run on it, you'll be screwed.
"Just because they aren't WINTEL boxes doesn't mean they aren't personal computers"
A large percentage of PCs run AMD processors, or Linux, so the term Wintel does not even apply.
The "PC" was pretty much invented by IBM around 1982. Before that, they were called microcomputers.
Apple itself certainly does not agree with you. Their add campaign talks about switching from PCs to Macs.
... and all I got is this lousy boggy pentium....
...If it were related to something like "People on the net" or "currently in use".
With out anything like the above, it's simply an industry benchmark. It's nice to know PCs have made an indellable [sic?] mark on humanity, but means little in the long run...
Linux is dead.
LU
Two facts:
1) Gore said in 1999 "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet."
2) The Internet was around before Gore was in Congress.
Which fact are you ignorant of? Ignore the salon FUD for once.
The amount of PC's is not impressive, the amount of education put into using the PC's would be impressive to utilise them to a greater extent.
The beautiful thing about PCs compared to somethign like DVD players and VCRs is that market penetration will have little effect on curbing demand. Once you have purchased one computer you are very likely to purchase another in the next 5 years. Compare that to VCRs: I have the same one I had 9 years ago, in the same time I have purchased 3 or four PC systems (notebooks etc.)
My parents have spent the first 10 years fo this study without a computer, but when they bought one, they jumped on the band wagon and have upgraded and will do so again soon. There is no other product out there...Well i 'm sure there is and I will receive a bunch of commments abotu which product experience the same phenomen, but my point remains.
I think that the operative phrase is "have been sold". PCs (of one form or another) have been around over 20 years. In that time I personally havre gotten through about 25 PCs (allowing for both home and office/school use) and I know people who have far exceeded that amount (18 of my 25 were in the last 8 years). With the long period of PCs availability and the tendancy for multiple ownership in both series and parrallel One billion isn't that impressive a figure.
Also what are they defining as a PC?
On the growth figures. Personally I'm with the idea of the Home PC being absorbed and integrated into other items to provide integrated home entertainment/net-access applicances. I can already send email and surf the web (in a limited fasion) from my TV. Add a word processor, telnet client and put a proper browser on it (to replace that Liberate pile of crap) and it'll do about 90% of what I use my home PC for. My Palm M100 will do the rest.
Stephen
"Don't write down to your readers, the only people less intelligent than you can't read" - Sign on Newspaper Office Wall
Enjoy the PC reaching 1 billion sold, folks, because if Palladium is instituted this billion will be the last.
What will be sold in the PC's place will be a neutered ueber X-Box, which can do just enough to let you play Microsoft-approved games, let you surf to Microsoft-approved sites, spend money at Microsoft-approved shops, and run Microsoft applications and Microsoft-approved applications. You will not buy these games and apps...they will be rented to you.
You will be bombarded by ads, ads, ads...pop ups, pop unders, full-screen interstitials, etc. etc. And no way will you be able to block them. Use the ueber X-Box for a TiVo type device? You won't be able to fast-forward through commercials, because THAT WOULD BE STEALING.
Does this picture of the future disturb you? We need to get loud and vocal about this because this is the fondest wet dream of the RIAA, MPAA and Microsoft, and they will have scores of lobbyists and lawyers and will 0wn the vast majority of the Senate and House. (Except Rep. Boucher)
We killed Hollings 2002, we forced Intel to put an "off" switch on its PIII unique identifiers, but we mustn't be complacent.
Microsoft getting its way with Palladium will be the final nail in the coffin of geek culture. We need to get angry, get mad, and then DO SOMETHING.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
> How many of those billion are sitting in land fills?
I can account for one of them. A guy in the city I live in bought a brand new computer from a Gateway Country store. He claimed the thing was a lemon from the beginning, and eventually got sick of dealing with the service people. Instead of trying to get it repaired by a professional and sell it to help reclaim his losses, he placed the computer in the lobby of their store and took a sledge hammer and smashed it to pieces.
It made quite the news and I think people around here are nervous to buy from that store now, given the track record this one individual brought to light.
Some of this is a difference between the term PC, which includes Wintel, AMD, Linux, and even old DOS machines, and "personal computer" (lower case), which has a much wider scope.
Apple doesn't make the first, but it does make the second. Best not to use the terms interchangably, it can cause confusion.
"Why does everyone have to globalize (thanks, JonKatz!) everything."
Are you implying that there aren't really any personal computers outside of the United States, so we really should not bother counting?
Ask ANY Mac enthusiast, novice or expert. Watch the commercials on TV.
About the only people who call Macs "PCs" anymore are those who are anal about the definition (I was once).
You can call it what you like, but if nobody else refers to it as a PC, communication will be difficult.
It's all good anyway, they're not actually real computers anyway. More like an appliance.
this figure is set to double by as early as 2008.
Doesn't this suggest that, on the average, people aren't going to be replacing their computers any sooner than every six years?
"It's all good anyway, they're not actually real computers anyway. More like an appliance."
If you buy PC software and try to run it on a Mac, that is one thing. If you try to toast bread in it, wash clothes, or nuke popcorn in your Mac, that is quite another problem.
"Billons and Billons Served"
--Big-i-Mac Special Today--
--12 piece Chicken Microsofts = $0.99 --
$cat
Considering all the PCs they have most likely get infected by Virii, and how Microsoft has 40 billion in cash sitting in the bank.
I'm Sure Microsoft has purchased hundreds of thousands, add in all of the other big companies and you get millions, add in schools and colleges along with government and you get hundreds of millions
If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
I've read over your original post four times now, and I see no reason to infer from that that you play games.
Shoes have established an incredible and enviable market penetration. In fact, they are legislated as a need for the right of entry into certain establishments! (along with shirts)
The easy case is that of children, who frequently need to upgrade their footwear simply due to size.
Another easy case is simple wear and tear. If you keep slapping something on the pavement and slogging it through rainy streets, eventually you will need a new one.
However the cobblers of the world have "conspired" with marketing types and have created a "fashion industry", whereby yearly dictates go out and as a result new shoes have to be purchased.
I admit, I am somewhat immune to these trends. I still have a 6 year old macintosh dual booting into linux with enough life left in it to grade students assignments. I also only have a few pairs of shoes.
However my wife and my sister are 31337 in terms of having the latest and greatest "walking processors", or footwear.
And don't get me started on handbags!
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
hmmmmmm one MILLION!!!! PC's, eh what's that? Throw me a frickin bone people!
one BILLION PCs, bwahahahahahaha !!!!
then, why are we treating them as if they (the box, board...) will be around forever? certainly, pc's will be increasingly built to consider power, user, and disposal costs, but the discussion seems to be lacking. Is anybody aware of any research into these areas?
Comment removed based on user account deletion
By the time any Palladium h/w is available there will be close to 2 billion PCs already installed.
How on earth will MS pursuade people to replace all these machines?
That is, unless the CBDTPA becomes law.
If CON is the opposite of PRO
Shoudn't that make CONgress the opposite of PROgress?
So cheer up, the more hardware M$ disables the more we have to use. I advertise to clubs I'm in that I will install a free operating system on such computers. Everytime someone posts news of the Microsoft Transmitted Disease of the day, I post the prommise. People hit the server, a 486, a few times a day after that.
DMCA, Hollings, Palladium. What might have sounded like paranoia is now common sense.
Since the beginning of time I can account for a good 25 PCs that I have bought for myself personally and those that I have purchased for myself or had puchased for me in a working enviorment number in the 20s as well.
lowball figure of 45 brand new computers. I'm not going to assume that I am an average slashdotter in terms of consumerism but I'm sure I am not alone...
Yeah, it's lame, but it's Monday, I'm tired, and after hearing Ren & Stimpy will be back, nothing can top it.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Odds are good that if you're anywhere near a metropolitan area, there's a place that will recycle your old PC. Further, in many states it's illegal to just throw an old PC out on the curb. It's not only your ethical duty, it's your legal obligation to make sure this stuff doesn't wind up landfilled.
There's several good resources on the net to help locate computer recycling centers. My favorite though, by far, are the good folks at the Alameda County Computer Recycling Center. The only bad thing I can say about them is that their front page won't render under Netscape 4.7 because of bad table code.
If you're looking for a list, there's a good one buried in the shitty graphics at this site.
Even Jesus hates listening to Creed.
Tom
Oh arse
Also, Stephen Hawking doesn't speak too well, but it doesn't mean he isn't very intelligent.
[FromTheMorning]
So basically what we're saying is that the computer industry has now caught up to where McDonalds was about 20 years ago.
"We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." --The American President (20.1.2009)
I'd also like to know some results from subsets of this statistic. For example:
How many of that billion are in North America? In Europe? Japan? In landfills?
How many are 286 processors? 386? ...Pentium 4?
How many were bought from Dell, Gateway, etc., and how many were built from scratch? Also, define "PCs sold." Is a processor a sale? Is a new motherboard a sale? Or must it be a complete system?
HA- How true... I'll never understand Democrats. Not saying Bush is as intelligent as Hawking, but I don't think public speaking ability is a measure of intelligence. I would love to see all these people who dog Bush for stammering get up in front of 1 million people and speak clearing for 5 minutes (let alone an hour).
[FromTheMorning]
They will continue making resource hog apps that require faster processors, when in reality any linux/bsd user knows a 5 yo box can do all of the common tasks with the right software.
"Don't forget about those little black boxes inside old photocopiers. You know those ones that take 12 volts and have this thick insulated wire on the other end that spits out nearly 10,000 volts. There is often a few of these in each copier."
Hmmmm, i find your ideas fascinating, and i would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
Considering the underwhelming impact computing has had on productivity perhaps celebrating that ONLY 1 billion have been sold yet is in order.
Consider the billions of 'delicious' (not) and 'healthy' (not) burgers sold by the famous clown restaurant...
"I can say about them is that their front page won't render under Netscape 4.7 because of bad table code."
After version 3, Netscape became unusable, due to pervese ease-of-use design, greatly decreasing speed, and frequent crashes like this. Even MSIE is better. Upgrade to anything else!
(I'd feel more sympathy for Netscape's case against Microsoft if not for the fact that Netscape seemed to go all out to make its browser unusable as if they intended people to abandon it)
Betcha that they don't have that ratio in Africa though.
There is a point to the above... think about it...
*hint* Demographics of ownership is central to power these days. Those who do not have a PC are less empowered than those who do.
What about calculators, arn't they computers? and mobile phones, washing machines, modern cars etc.....
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
Wow! 1 billion computers sold so far, probably representing 20 years of sales. And 1 billion more in just 6 years! Wowie! Just think how many companies are going to go bankrupt, having jumped on that gravy train and found themselves with many, many competitors who also thought the same thing!
all Enron employees: $6K, each
17000 WorldCom employees: bootprint on the ass, each
1 billion more computers by 2008: $500, each
hundreds of bankrupt computer companies by 2010: priceless
Please, somebody take over, that wasn't that clever.
[also misbehaves on Kuro5hin as Peahippo]
And therein lies the rub. Disposing of the better part of 1 billion computers. We need more ways of recylcing this stuff. The only thing that approaches continuing usability is the case (case, fans, PS). Everything else has a 2 year half-life and at 6 years seems incapable of running the vast majority of sofware available. Yes, I know that Linux works great on lesser machines. Most machines end up in a trash heap after 4-6 years rather than being reincarnated.
Whoever moderated the comment above is a loser...
No. You disturb me though.
I mean. 'msgeek.org' - what's that all about? A vanity publishing weblog? Wierd!
Audrey was that Internet appliance that looked like that water tank in the back of the toilet.
Failed pretty miserably. I guess only Frank Lloyd Wright (see the Guggenheim Museum) is the only designer that can get away with making non-plumbing objects look like crappers.
Well, I'm still running every computer I have obtained since 1988. That makes my number alone 11. plus the one at work. Computers, it seems, are going the way of the TV...more than one perhousehold instead of a rare or impressive thing (like TV in the fifties). Then with VCR and Microwaves and CD players in the early eighties...it just increases the number as time goes on. Cell phones, DVD Players, and so on. it's just that the rate of proliferation of technology increases with time.
In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
Of course those figures can't really account for people who choose to build their own systems.
rm -rf sig
i thought the parent was bending the truth, but apparently not.
l ocal_3204626.shtml
http://www.wisinfo.com/postcrescent/news/archive/
(i usually post AC to prevent any whoring, but I am sick and tired of those "it's been 20 seconds since you last posted" messages)
Soon there will be so many computers in the world that humans will be a minority. You will lose your rights, computers will rule our lives, and we will be forced to sit in front of the monitor for 8 to 10 hours a day. The time to act is now. The next time you reach for a calculator, grab the abacus instead.
Since this report is from the BBC I would assume they are using the british definition of 10^12, but that seems impossibly large.
:
From WordNet (r) 1.7
billion
1: (in Britain) the number that is represented as a one
followed by 12 zeros [syn: one million million, 1000000000000]
2: (in the United States) the number that is represented as a
one followed by 9 zeros [syn: one thousand million, 1000000000]
nohup rm -rf ~/. >& zen &
I can account for 5 of those (in order of purchase)
C= 64 (Dead)
Amiga 3000 (Resold through Usenet)
Intel Pentium 133 MHz (Resold to a friend)
Intel Pentium III 1 GHz (Main Home Computer)
Intel Pentium II 433 MHz (Plays my MP3 Collection 24 by 7)
Intel Pentium II 233 MHz Laptop (Flies around my house on a wireless network... controls my music program remotely)
42 - So long and thanks for all the fish.
Ok, here's my offer.
If within two years your predictions come true, that you will only be able to run MS-approved applications on MS-approved hardware on MS-approved OS I will send you the sum of $100.
However if within two years this does not come to play, you will send me $100.
Two years too soon? How about 5 years? Hell, I'll even up it to a $1,000 wager if that will make you feel better.
I'm just curious if any of the Chicken Little's in the world are willing to put some money where their mouth is.
Game consoles only need to be upgraded every 5 years.
Considering the trouble PC makers are in right now, and that analysts now consider the PC market to be "saturated," I really can not see how they can predict a billion more machines to be sold in as little as 6 years. Also, consider that microprocessor technology has now leapfrogged ahead of software developers, and we no longer need the latest multighz processors to do what we do on a normal basis. Back when I purchased my first 100mhz pentium system, right out of the box I wished I had the smoking 166, because almost EVERY application would be more responsive run on it. Now, I have a 2 year old 700 mhz athlon, which I am every bit as happy with now as I was when I first put the system together. I forsee this system lasting much longer than my first system, since my first system at two years old was almost unbearably sluggish. I really doubt that the current "saturation point" we are at can sustain the required 166 MILLION PCS SOLD PER YEAR required to meet the next billion mark. And if this is sustainable, let me go invest in some DELL stock.
-k
Only an idiot like Bush would say j00 can improve teh economy by taxing people who have no money anyway
"Only an idiot like Bush would say j00 can improve teh economy by taxing people who have no money anyway."
So it's not part of the policy.
j00 teh? I sense a lack of coherence. The rest of the sentence was probably wrong too.
I saw the billion and one been sold just now.
------I can please only one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either.------
"Games are getting to the point where they require Pentium II"
Huh? Games are getting to the point where they require Pentiums 4s! I have a gigahertz duron and even Red Alert 2 gets a bit bogged down at the highest rez when a lot of units are onscreen, and it just a 2d sprite based game.
Smoking is an expensive, slow, and unreliable method of suicide.
The Register (U.K.) is running this article which reminds us that there are billions more people in this world who couldn't care less because they don't even have basic human needs met. BlowTheDotOutYourAss.com offers this take on it.
Extremely rough estimation of the actual number of people who own at least 1 pc.
Each person probably has had:
1 pc at work (which may have been replaced at least once or twice already)
2-3 pcs at home (probably 2-3 that have since been retired)
So let's say each person (or their place of business) has purchased about 5 pcs for them. That gives us about 200 million individuals. Still an impressive number. I would guess the actual number is higher than that.
If you really want to look at these numbers and figure out how many people use PCs, you would have to consider that probably 1/3 of those billion sold have been sold multiple times, replaced multiple times, or people own multiple pcs.
What?
"BBC News are reporting a recent Gartner Dataquest statement that over one billion PCs have been sold worldwide. What's even more impressive is that this figure is set to double by as early as 2008."
I see, very impressive. Let me lead you to the article "War, famine, disease. Never mind - 1bn PCs built" by Drew Cullen of The Register.
"So that would translate into how many thousands of tonnes of lead and hundreds of tonnes of cadmium? How many water supplies destroyed, how many tens of thousands of poisoned acres of Chinese farming land?"
"Tomorrow we will be running an appeal on behalf of ComputerAid which is looking for end-of-life PCs to refurb and set up in non-profit organisations in Africa. Unfortunately this will run only in the UK. If there are any other PC recycling-for-developing- countries charities out there, let us know and we'll add you to the list."
Looks like a fish, drives like a fish, steers like a cow.
Yep, That's what I do. I spend a bit of money on my PC every three months or so then I upgrade friends and family's boxes with the old parts. Of course you can only really do this with a clone but I think that's the best way to build PC's anyway. I can't build 'em cheap but I build them to last and perform.
PC. That was a few years before the IBM PC. In fact I'm looking at it right now. How sweet it is. Thank god my parents were rich. In todays dollars it would be around $12,000 for this sweet rig: //e
Apple
Motorola 6502 1MHz
128KB RAM
Apple ROM
Apple Green 12" Screen
80 Column Text Card (added 128KB RAM)
Apple Dot Matrix Printer
Disk ][ Drive
Joystick (serial)
External Modem (1200 Baud I think)
Apple DOS 3.3
I'm pissed I didn't pick one up at the
garage sale last year. $10 for newer one
with color monitor and dual drives.
See this if you're still confused.
Apple Advertisement (notice the Personal Computer line)
... on the 5 year 1000$ offer... if it weren't for the fact that I physically can't. I have to feel that the predictions are at least somewhat true.
...are so obscure that the average user cannot see them, or the alternatives are so much more expencive that the average individual cannot afford them, that makes me feel like I'm being forced.
i thought the parent was bending the truth, but apparently not.
l ocal_3204626.shtml
l ocal_4730076.shtml
l
m mer%20computer
http://www.wisinfo.com/postcrescent/news/archive/
Looks real all right. See these also...
http://www.wisinfo.com/postcrescent/news/archive/
Or...
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/24733.htm
Or more on Google...
http://www.google.com/search?q=gateway%20sledgeha
I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
an abacus is a adding machine, not a computer.
And a washing machine does a hell of a lot more than you may think!!!.
Dude, your posting is just a cut and paste of choice points of other posters from above! Were you attempting some sort of linguistic collage?