I have a feeling that this vendor push of open source drivers combined with falling prices of hardware (because of increased penetration around the world) will lead to the end of MS as a leading OS supplier for desktops. If more open source drivers are available, this will lead to cheap commodity boxes that run Linux, and these boxes will target users that use a computer only for the Internet and Word Processing (this is already happening with Wal-Mart computers). The base for the Internet/Word processor computer is growing so fast that it is inevitable that MS will falter.
Once the base of household Linux computers becomes big enough (I'm guesstimating 3%), commodity application developers (low cost applications first) will see Linux as a market, the prices of these boxes will fall further, and both these factors will contribute to further increased market share for Linux. More drivers for external peripherals will also become an industry practice (many leading companies already have Linux drivers for peripherals like printers and all-in-ones).
At some point, premium application developers for Apple and MS platforms will see that it worth their time to make a Linux port (it may happen quicker because of how relatively simple it would be to make the port from Apple to Linux). Again, this will be followed by increased market share for Linux.
Once the Linux market share becomes substantial (I don't know how much, say 10%?) the corporate world will realize the gazillion dollars in savings, and make the switch, and MS's fall will be complete. I don't know what will happen to Apple, I think they will be around with the largest desktop share if Jobs is around, considering how well he's boosting market share for Apple (with his history, he might even buy MS out of spite).
Bill Gates charities look a little smaller now, a pity actually, but Buffet will remain strong, so Gates will still have a good job.
Resellerratings allows you to search for specific products with S&H costs and vendor rating if you enter your zip. No registration required, and they list a large number of vendors including newegg, zipzoomfly and monarchcomputer. They also have a neat hot deals feature on their home page (e.g. they featured a 200GB ATA Maxtor dive for $69.99 including S&H from outpost.com a few days ago).
For the main post:
The forums on anandtech can also give you pointers on good deals; the site also has pretty good reviews for computer hardware.
If you like modding and overclocking, check this discussion and list at xtremesystems.org. xtemesystems also has a wealth of information on modding and overclocking, and the people there are very friendly and helpful.
Amazon is good for movies and bestselling books, but not for much else.
Bookpool has great prices for tech books. Also, ebay sellers sell international editions of tech books for a fraction of the price of US editions.
Finally, if you are not in a hurry to buy stuff, wait until Thanksgiving; nothing can beat Thanksgiving Day deals (both online and retail).
Yep, it has a JPEG for the base image and the clock digits are GIF's; images are switched with JavaScript (All you have to do is view the source!). Apple does not use Flash because they are beginning to position Quicktime against it.
That is probably because Wal-Mart, number one on the fortune 500 with $220 Billion (with a B) in annual revenue (compared to Microsoft which is 72nd with $25 Billion), has successfully used predatory pricing to drive out of business all of the small mom-n-pop businesses and most of their larger competitors.
It is interesting to note that No.1 Wal-Mart made profits of $6.671 Billion (with a B!), against No. 72 Microsoft profits of $7.346 Billion. This shows that Wal-Mart's revenue model is based on reach (likely obtained by driving out small mom-n-pop businesses as you pointed out), while Microsoft is a monopoly milking profits from its market share. I wonder why they are so admired?
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I have a feeling that this vendor push of open source drivers combined with falling prices of hardware (because of increased penetration around the world) will lead to the end of MS as a leading OS supplier for desktops. If more open source drivers are available, this will lead to cheap commodity boxes that run Linux, and these boxes will target users that use a computer only for the Internet and Word Processing (this is already happening with Wal-Mart computers). The base for the Internet/Word processor computer is growing so fast that it is inevitable that MS will falter.
Once the base of household Linux computers becomes big enough (I'm guesstimating 3%), commodity application developers (low cost applications first) will see Linux as a market, the prices of these boxes will fall further, and both these factors will contribute to further increased market share for Linux. More drivers for external peripherals will also become an industry practice (many leading companies already have Linux drivers for peripherals like printers and all-in-ones).
At some point, premium application developers for Apple and MS platforms will see that it worth their time to make a Linux port (it may happen quicker because of how relatively simple it would be to make the port from Apple to Linux). Again, this will be followed by increased market share for Linux.
Once the Linux market share becomes substantial (I don't know how much, say 10%?) the corporate world will realize the gazillion dollars in savings, and make the switch, and MS's fall will be complete. I don't know what will happen to Apple, I think they will be around with the largest desktop share if Jobs is around, considering how well he's boosting market share for Apple (with his history, he might even buy MS out of spite).
Bill Gates charities look a little smaller now, a pity actually, but Buffet will remain strong, so Gates will still have a good job.
The poster makes us go through 13 ad-filled pages and then concludes that all the power supplies are great.
Check http://silentpcreview.com/; it has a lot more information about silencing a PC and less ads.
Resellerratings allows you to search for specific products with S&H costs and vendor rating
if you enter your zip. No registration required, and they list a large number
of vendors including newegg, zipzoomfly and monarchcomputer. They also have a
neat hot deals feature on their home page (e.g. they featured a 200GB ATA Maxtor
dive for $69.99 including S&H from outpost.com a few days ago).
For the main post:
The forums on anandtech can also give you pointers on good deals; the site also has pretty good reviews for computer hardware.
If you like modding and overclocking, check this discussion and list at xtremesystems.org. xtemesystems also has a wealth of information on modding and overclocking, and the people there are very friendly and helpful.
Amazon is good for movies and bestselling books, but not for much else.
Bookpool has great prices for tech books. Also, ebay sellers sell international editions of tech books for a fraction of the price of US editions.
Finally, if you are not in a hurry to buy stuff, wait until Thanksgiving; nothing can beat Thanksgiving Day deals (both online and retail).
Yep, it has a JPEG for the base image and the clock digits are GIF's; images are switched with JavaScript (All you have to do is view the source!).
Apple does not use Flash because they are beginning to position Quicktime against it.
That is probably because Wal-Mart, number one on the fortune 500 with $220
Billion (with a B) in annual revenue (compared to Microsoft which is 72nd with
$25 Billion), has successfully used predatory pricing to drive out of business
all of the small mom-n-pop businesses and most of their larger competitors.
It is interesting to note that No.1 Wal-Mart made profits
of $6.671 Billion (with a B!), against No. 72 Microsoft profits of
$7.346 Billion. This shows that Wal-Mart's revenue model is based on reach
(likely obtained by driving out small mom-n-pop businesses as you pointed out), while Microsoft is a monopoly milking profits from its market share. I wonder why they are so admired?