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How Cheap Can A PC Be?
geoff lane writes "Ballmer wants a $100 computer. OK, can we build a reasonable PC for just $100 and a copy of Linux? The rules are: It's assumed that a monitor, keyboard and mouse are already available. Ethernet connectivity must be provided. All components must already have Linux support. All components must be new and currently available. The result must be electrically safe for the home. Is it possible?"
That's expensive. I hope it comes with support.
is at 149$... no dice with that suggestion I guess.
errr, doesn't windows itself cost more than $100?
Does that mean Microsoft will start giving away PC hardware free?
(heh, I wish)
Yes, and the rat you find living inside the case can become a new family pet!
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Ahh yes. Word processing, better get a top of the line box for that. Maybe set up a striped array, dual displays, and a couple of gigs of RAM minimum. Oh and you'll need to buy the latest version of M$ Office, oh and make sure you get the 'professional' version, cause the other versions don't have the advanced features you'll need, like 'undo'. Oh and did I mention there is a manufacturers rebate included in the price, so you'll have to pay $500 at the checkout today but if you fill out the forms immaculately you should get a rebate for the remaining $400 sometime next year. Thanks for shopping with us!
-- Bored? Check out my Portfolio
Cases are for whimps! ;)
She's built like a steak house, but she handles like a bistro....
Balmer wants a $100 computer.
;-)
You would think he would be able to afford something better then that...Microsoft having problems?
Yes, and the rat you find living inside the case can become a new family pet!
Or use it to operate your flight simulator
It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
Or that rat could actually become a *really* bad mouse problem :-p
My first computer was a .00001Khz Royal Typewriter. It had two keys, a one and a zero. If you wanted to reformat the disk, you dipped the paper in white-out =P
Why should the hardware profits be sacrificed to support high software prices?
You clearly don't understand economics. Hardware is like a public good -- you have to pay a certain amount upfront to design and build the hardware, but then the cost for helping each user becomes trivial. The marginal cost of hardware marketing is so low that the hardware makers are really price-gouging by charging us $1000 for a PC.
By contrast, software (like MS Windows) has to be carefully customized for your hardware. Adding a 128mb DIMM? Well, then Bill Gates is gonna have to recompile the user interface. Want to move the mouse across the screen? Bill will have to manually edit the binary codes in your kernel. Of course, no two users have the same amount of memory. And all these things like moving the mouse or typing or sending an IP packet... this is what makes the user experience unique. So Bill's work for one user doesn't help any of the other users. That's a lot of stress for Bill, and it naturally keeps the marginal cost of software very high.
So, I ask: why are PC's so expensive? How can we reduce the cost and get PC's to poor people? The software cost reflects a labor-intensive process, and it can't be reduced. Hardware is a public good, so the expense must come from price-gouging by the hardware makers. Therefore, to enable the poor people of the world to catch up with current technolgy, we must tell those over-priced Taiwanese hardware makers to stop ripping us off. (Why, I even heard that FIC makes more than $1 profit off each motherboard. That's outrageous!)
Maybe you should read an economics textbook.
NOOOOO put him back in his wheel, the rat is actually the power supply.
D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
* My first computer was a .00001Khz Royal Typewriter.*
man, you were a slow typist!
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
You've got it all wrong.
Windows is a great bargain, at only 99$
Just ask Steve Ballmer.
What are you complaining about? You get a lot of programs, like Write and Paint, not to mention Control Panel... but unbelievably also Reversi! (Though I am *extremely* puzzled by his closing words)
Ok, I'm gonna take a karma hit on this one for tooting my own horn, astroturfing, or whatever the hell you might want to call it
Masturbation?
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
But Office 2003 comes with a spellchecker. Could be the best investment you've ever made.
You wouldn't happen to wear a green jacket with a bunch of question marks on it would you?
D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
$21 Rosewill 184-Pin 128MB DDR PC-3200, Model RW400/128 - Retail
$26 PCChips "M811LU" KT266A Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU -RETAIL
$10.75 POWMAX 320W Power Supply for Intel and AMD systems Model "VP-320ATX" -RETAIL
$41 AMD Athlon 1.33 GHz, 266MHz FSB, 256K Cache Processor - OEM
Total: $98.75
Quick notes, I didn't buy a case so don't step on it. Also, I didn't buy a heatsink or fan so it'll only run for about 12 seconds. Also, you need to boot off the lan. Also, you won't be able to see anything, and not because the processor poofed, but also it has no video card.
For full good system, I did it once for about 220 bucks. Harddrives and cases pah! Who needs them. My system will turn on for $98.75!
It is no longer uncommon to be uncommon.
Unless you are willing to suck your male manager's dick for an assistant manager position...
As opposed to his female manager's dick?
My first computer was a rock. To partition, you dropped it from a cliff.
>What about using components from manufacturers,
>that they would normally throw away because it
>doesn't exactly meet their lowest standards...
No those components are already reserved for Dell machines.
*internet cafe's don't need CD players on every machine.
;-)
They dont processors either, apparently.
Now to find the $2 CPU.
That sounds like a great idea!
We could make it boot right up into BASIC with a soothing blue coloured screen if there's no disk there.
2005, the year of LOAD *,8,1
Advanced users are users too!
Ridiculous + Redmond = Rediculous
Mod me down, and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!
Pfff! I don't need no stinking RAM. I mentally memorize the one and zeros.
Typing this on a 21 inch monitor
I tend to find that monitors are better off as displays, rather than input devices..
I have the same set up (P3-450), bought at roughly the same time. I have more memory and recently added a DVD burner. Runs XP fine. I get 10fps on a lot of games. Gmail suffers from some 'lag'.
I keep meaning to upgrade but can never justify the expense... it burns DVDs in 12-15 minutes - the same speed as my friend's P4.
This post contains benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
Obviously you work at the same place I do.
OK, can we build a reasonable PC for just $100 and a copy of Linux?
The cheapest reasonably modern (Athlon XP 2000) barebones system on Pricewatch goes for $76.
Now you'll have to excuse me, I think I'll spend the rest of the morning finding a cure for cancer, and after that, on to the really hard problems, like deciding what to cook for supper.
I remember going to Target and entering these two lines on all the commodore, atari, and adam computers:
10 print" Target Sucks";
20 goto 10
Ready.
Run
Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks Target Sucks
Science is the Real TRUTH!