Slashdot Mirror


One Billion Computers Sold Worldwide

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."

3 of 218 comments (clear)

  1. rubbish by dirvish · · Score: 4, Interesting

    How many of those billion are sitting in land fills?

  2. The last Billion computers... by MsGeek · · 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.
  3. Re:Old Computers / Disposal by dattaway · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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!