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PC Prices Reach $300 Milestone

Carl Bialik from the WSJ writes "Prices for fully loaded, name-brand PCs have slipped below $300 in the last few weeks, a major milestone. 'Ten or so years ago, when PCs cost five or even 10 times what they do now, it was common for analysts to say that they would never become a staple in homes until they were priced the way consumer electronics were, usually defined as costing less than $300,' Lee Gomes writes in the Wall Street Journal. 'In the days when PCs were $2,000 and even more, that target seemed to be something of a fantasy. Now, PCs cost less than some telephones--and less than a lot of TV sets--and can be found in roughly three-quarters of U.S. homes. But while they are priced like consumer electronics, the machines still aren't even remotely as easy to use, and the trend lines there aren't particularly encouraging.'"

22 of 515 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Put Linux On It by iapetus · · Score: 3, Funny

    Six months later? I think you're underestimating the efficiency of Microsoft Windows...

    --
    ++ Say to Elrond "Hello.".
    Elrond says "No.". Elrond gives you some lunch.
  2. Fully loaded? by lostwanderer147 · · Score: 5, Funny
    How can they call it a "fully-loaded" computer? It doesn't even come with speakers! Everyone knows that a fully loaded computer needs to have speakers. It's just not really functional without them.

    *Ducks*

  3. Fully loaded.... by wpiman · · Score: 3, Funny

    This must be some new definition of "fully loaded" that was previously unaware of.

  4. 300 dollars for what? by east+coast · · Score: 5, Funny

    I was just at a yard sale and got a PC called a "Commodore 64" for 10 dollars with like 50 games. I expected the graphics to be a bit better but this "Radar Rat Race" just roxorz!

    --
    Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
    1. Re:300 dollars for what? by madaxe42 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Attack of the Killer Mutant camels!!! BEST GAME EVAR!!!"£$!

      And William Wobbler. And maggotomania. Wow. Tape drives and acoustic couplers. Who could possibly need anything more?

  5. Hot off the presses! by NoMoreNicksLeft · · Score: 2, Funny

    Rocketships are cheaper than a horse and buggy was for your great-great-great-grandfather, but still not as easy to use!

  6. Yes, Steve Jobs invented it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Apple invents everything new in computers.

    ( rolls eyes )

  7. Re:I can... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Sweet! Will that include Win98 so I could play all my old DOS games again?

  8. Re:Where do you get your prices??? by loraksus · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yeah, I also bought a TV for about $5 8 years ago. The guy was muttering something about needing "crack"...

    --
    1q2w3e4r5t6y7u8i9o0pqawsedrftgthyjukilo;p'azsxdcfv gbhnjmk,l.;/
  9. Re:hardly by SeventyBang · · Score: 2, Funny


    Fully loaded means you have a CPU, Celeron or otherwise.
    For less than that you can have a computer but it doesn't have a CPU.

    It's sort of like the write-only hard drives we designed in college while sitting over cocktails (we attended a dry religious university) at a casino in Atlantic City (after ACM National Finals in Philadelphia + job fair) - and I know everyone else has created their own version as well.
    Support: "You say there's smoke coming out of your hard drive? What were you doing right before that? You were copying files from it? I'm sorry, sir, but that's not a supported feature. This is write-only hard drive. Infinite capacity. The only way we can make that feature possible is to prevent reading from the device."

  10. Re:wouldn't it be nice... by thesandtiger · · Score: 4, Funny
    Wow, your parents are pretty good at 'leet - did they study that Microsoft guide to understanding the terms?

    I'm getting a vision of my mother calling me up and going off like that - "OMFG! i gav birf 2 u! WTFXOR!!! LOL!11"

    Makes me laugh because my mom called me up the other day and, in a triumphant tone, said "Guess what I'm doing? I'm GOOGLING!"

    Five minutes later, I was still cracking up, and even now I get a smile.

    --
    Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
  11. Re:Put Linux On It by telecsan · · Score: 3, Funny

    Six months later?

    That of course, with the assumption it takes the user (6 months - 1 hour) to figure out how to turn the PC on and connect to the internet.

  12. Re:Example by MonoSynth · · Score: 2, Funny

    You mean that I can't even use a virusscanner on that box? I don't understand it. Those people always tell me to use Linux because it's more secure, but I can't even find a virusscanner or other security software for it... :(

  13. Re:But they should be by Infernal+Device · · Score: 4, Funny

    maybe we should require PC licenses for internet safety.

    Maybe we should require civility licenses before allowing people to open their pieholes.

    --
    "My God...it's full of trolls!"
  14. 5 minutes? by mosel-saar-ruwer · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've had to explain to my mother how to drag and drop a file to copy it in Windows 30 times over the past 5 years and she keeps forgetting. Sure, it's probably a convenient excuse to get me to talk to her for more than 5 minutes, but I've got other shit to do.

    C'mon dude, this is your Mom we're talking about.

    Besides, it's not like she's charging you rent to live in her basement.

  15. You can tell it's Monday..... by karnal · · Score: 3, Funny

    I read your post as "blank pages"....

    Thought to myself... "Odd. I would figure blank pages would look the same in... ohhhhhh.. BANK pages...."

    --
    Karnal
  16. Re:Uhhh.... DUH~! by Mr2cents · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Today a lot of people own cars, but they are still not easy to use. People have to train for months and have to pass exams to be able to drive on the road without being a road-hazard."

    Now I agree it would be easier to have one big button on the PC called "do what I want you to do", but unfortunately computers lack the psychic abilities to do that.

    --
    "It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
  17. Re:Put Linux On It by iapetus · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm not sure that matters any more - I understand that OEM versions of Windows XP now come with several of the more popular viruses and spyware packages pre-installed to save you time and bandwidth.

    --
    ++ Say to Elrond "Hello.".
    Elrond says "No.". Elrond gives you some lunch.
  18. Re:One problem... by NotFamous · · Score: 3, Funny

    On the other hand the "Entry level PC" of ten years ago is the handheld mobile phone of today.

    Yeah, yesterday I saw a guy holding one of those up to his head while he was driving. I noticed the caps locks key was on...

    --
    Some settling may occur during posting.
  19. Re:Put Linux On It by jp10558 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Tight VNC + you can do batch scripts in windows also.

    --
    Opera, Proxomitron-Grypen,GPG 0x0A1C6EE3
  20. Re:Put Linux On It. Take brains out. by shadowcode · · Score: 2, Funny
    Windows vs. Linux in usage... about the same. Maintenance... Linux wins.

    Take the user's brains out and everybody wins.

  21. Great write-up by espo812 · · Score: 2, Funny
    'Ten or so years ago, when PCs cost five or even 10 times what they do now
    Man, if only someone had predicted that computing power would double every 18 months. They could have been rich.
    --

    espo