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"Good Enough" Computers Are the Future

An anonymous reader writes "Over on the PC World blog, Keir Thomas engages in some speculative thinking. Pretending to be writing from the year 2025, he describes a world of 'Good Enough computing,' wherein ultra-cheap PCs and notebooks (created to help end-users weather the 'Great Recession' of the early 21st century) are coupled to open source operating systems. This is possible because even the cheapest chips have all the power most people need nowadays. In what is effectively the present situation with netbooks writ large, he sees a future where Microsoft is priced out of the entire desktop operating system market and can't compete. It's a fun read that raises some interesting points."

16 of 515 comments (clear)

  1. You know... by Zarim · · Score: 1, Funny

    640K is more memory than anyone will ever need.

  2. 2025! by D+Ninja · · Score: 4, Funny

    The year of the Linux desktop!

  3. Re:"Good Enough" is now and always has been by lewiscr · · Score: 5, Funny

    How many of us have super computers?

    I own a PS3, you insensitive clod!

  4. Re:Smart enough... by thousandinone · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm level 6 you insensitive clod!

  5. Re:Compare/Contrast with Apple by ijakings · · Score: 4, Funny

    Im sorry, you seem to have failed to make any form of point.

    Please re-insert your thought process and try again.

  6. Re:What is 'good enough'? by Yvan256 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I have no idea why, but this is how it sounded when I read it:

    (Futurama)

    Pr. Farnsworth: How good is this computer?

    Fry: Good Enough.

    Pr. Farnsworth: That's not good enough!

  7. Re:What is 'good enough'? by rockNme2349 · · Score: 2, Funny

    That's what I was going for, except the actual quote goes like this:

    Fry: How soon will we get there?

    Glurmo: Soon enough.

    Fry: That's not soon enough!

    --
    Sewage Treatment Facilities - "Our duty is clear."
  8. Re:meh by Obfuscant · · Score: 5, Funny
    And even HD is overkill if you ask many older people... they can barely tell the difference.

    I AM an old person, you insensitive clod.

    I can tell the difference, I just don't care. If I want to see a high-resolution sunset, I'll go outside and watch it live. I don't need to see every nose hair on the news reporter or every pore and pimple on these damn kids who seem to be everywhere on TV these days. And get off my lawn...

  9. Re:Smart enough... by Stormwatch · · Score: 4, Funny

    Seriously, what's not to like (apart from the brown colour scheme)?

    I like the brown color scheme. It gives Ubuntu a warm, earthy feel.

  10. Re:Smart enough... by Jezza · · Score: 3, Funny

    I know - I'm an insensitive (earthy) clod.

  11. Re:Smart enough... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    You use the web sights to aim your face-knife cannon.

  12. Re:Smart enough... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's "websites/web sites", not "web-sights".

    That depends on what sort of content you are looking at.

  13. Re:Smart enough... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    run wine or gimp!

  14. Re:Smart enough... by The+Grim+Reefer2 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Pretending to be writing from the year 2025

    In the year twenty twenty-five if Intel is still alive. If Microsoft can survive they may find...

  15. Re:meh by sortius_nod · · Score: 3, Funny

    But HD is higher resolution than the real world...

  16. Re:Smart enough... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    The only reason my machine has been rebooted in the last 3 months into Windows, instead of its usual Ubuntu, is so that my mother and sister could do their taxes on Quicktax.