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."
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
Yes, abillion served
by
Ass-Gas-Istan
·
· 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.
Disco records up 80%
by
mckwant
·
· 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:One billion computer..
by
ch-chuck
·
· 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!!
This number is misleading...Still work to be done.
by
Navius+Eurisko
·
· 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.
Re:Stop the press!
by
cperciva
·
· 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%.
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.
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!
> 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.
Shoes. And Hand bags.
by
mekkab
·
· 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.
Re:What happens when
by
morgajel
·
· 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:)
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.
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
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.
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.
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!!
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
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.
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%.
Tarsnap: Online backups for the truly paranoid
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.
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!
> 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.
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.
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:)
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