Time Warp Computer Pricing Revealed

Agg writes "OCAU has posted an article which shows just how much computer pricing has changed over the last 20 years or so. During a 24-hour period I asked OCAU readers to scan and send me an ad page from the oldest Australian computer magazine they could find. This snapshot of historical pricing is fascinating and, quite frankly, a little scary. How does $5999 for an 8.6MB hard drive strike you? For reference, 1 Australian Dollar is worth 70 to 80 US cents."

Comments

Cost of hard drive space over time

[calvrak]

The Historical Notes about the Cost of Hard Drive Storage Space website has an incredible list of the cost per megabyte and then cost per gigabyte over the history of storage.

Someone else pointed out that the price of computers never really change, but that there is more power for the same price. In 1987 our family computer (mid-range) and printer cost around $1200. Today the same amount of money will also buy a mid-range computer (at least for gaming). However, this idea is getting less and less true as computers become commoditized and "powerful enough".

Re:Australian Dollar?

[MasterB(G)ates]

10 year performance of the Aussie dollar compared to The Yank

http://www.ela.co.nz/CurrencyGraph.class.php?ela__ relative=AUD&ela__base=USD&UmsSession=6ef5cf65e96f 39657787d73633e3de9c

Re:Australian Dollar?

[Anonymous Coward]

The Government *wants* it to fall (good for exports), but it all depends on the economy in the rest of the world. The US economy has been in a bit of a rut lately, so they have low interest rates to stimulate the economy. Much of the rest of the world is in a similar position. On the other hand, Australia's economy has been steady, so interest rates are high by international standards. As a result, investors put their money into Australia to get better returns. This drove the dollar up.

Once the interest rates elsewhere rise, money will flow out of Australia, driving the AUD down. So, I guess all you can hope for is US interest rate rises.

The current position of the AUD at 70 cents is actually pretty close to its long-term stable position, but I have a gut feeling that when rate rises occur in the US, it will dip back down to the 60 cent mark (I could be wrong though).

Re:Australian Dollar?

[tarunthegreat2]

Oh For the love of God, get an education in economics. Currencies don't really represent the strength of your economy, they're a measure of a lot of other things (of course, if your currency is tanking by more 10%, I think it's safe to say the economy is bad). Currencies that float mostly represent trade imbalances. The middle eastern currencies are almost worth 2 US$ - hint:The world depends on the middle east for a critical resource...
If you want your country to export more, you try and devalue your currency, if you want to reduce inflation, your currency may start rising, blah blah. Currency and economic strength are not always directly related.