Gates: Hardware Will Be Free
DOOManiac
Worst. Critic. Ever. Join Date: 2002-04-17 Member: 462Members, NS1 Playtester
Worst. Critic. Ever. Join Date: 2002-04-17 Member: 462Members, NS1 Playtester
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">rest of industry says "duh" ?</div>Saw <a href='http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,62867,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_7' target='_blank'>this</a> on Wired:
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Hardware costs will fall sharply within a decade to the point where widespread computing with speech and handwriting won't be limited by expensive technology, Bill Gates said Monday.
"Ten years out, in terms of actual hardware costs you can almost think of hardware as being free -- I'm not saying it will be absolutely free -- but in terms of the power of the servers, the power of the network will not be a limiting factor," Microsoft's chairman said.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Really this one is kind of a no brainer. Look at the cost of a computer today against one 10 years ago. $500 vs $2,000. And in a broader scale, think of how expensive the old corporate mainframes used to cost. They're still quite expensive, but nowhere near what they were. Its always been the software that was the most expensive part of the system. :P
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Hardware costs will fall sharply within a decade to the point where widespread computing with speech and handwriting won't be limited by expensive technology, Bill Gates said Monday.
"Ten years out, in terms of actual hardware costs you can almost think of hardware as being free -- I'm not saying it will be absolutely free -- but in terms of the power of the servers, the power of the network will not be a limiting factor," Microsoft's chairman said.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Really this one is kind of a no brainer. Look at the cost of a computer today against one 10 years ago. $500 vs $2,000. And in a broader scale, think of how expensive the old corporate mainframes used to cost. They're still quite expensive, but nowhere near what they were. Its always been the software that was the most expensive part of the system. :P
Comments
On another note, does this mean I should hold out on my next system upgrade for the next decade?
I wouldn't mind though. I'm eagerly waiting for the day when humans have sockets in their temples and they just plug in to the computer <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Meh, the eternal daydreamer = me.
Heh.
then: diskettes
presently: CD's and spam
future: free laptops (or PDA's) with a RO memory so you can see the ad's right away
I'm sure that's how it's going to happen
No matter how good the hardware gets, software guys will make full use of em and ask for seconds.
Cheap processor: 30 bucks (Duron 1.2)
Some slightly sufficient amount of ram: 40 bucks
Cheap HDD: probably around 30 bucks for a small 20 gig one if you find one.
Cheap case (alim included): 25ish bucks
Mouse + keyboard: 15-20 bucks
CD-RW/DVD combo: $40
-> $210. Needs a screen and some solution to the graphic card (integrated chipset or cheap gfx, I couldn't decide on the cheaper one)
Edit: Typos cuz im typing with my toes
What, and right now we only have 45 year old English Majors playing CS and screaming "I POWNED JOOO SMACKTARD" into the mic with a voice high enough to shatter glass?
Cshank says that now (as opposed to already) we will have illiterate 12 year olds playing games. Tycho makes fun of him.
<span style='font-size:7pt;line-height:100%'>for those who do not understand the bleeding obvious, you cannot pirate hardware making the above post nonfactual while attempting to draw humor from p2p software piracy, therefore the above text should not be taken seriously</span>
I think the more exciting thing (over being able to build a new computer every other week) is what this means for computerization in other areas. Things that were too expensive or unreasonable before become possible, and I think that will open up some impressive technology all over the place.
*presses button and a shiny new Raedon Card comes out of a hole in the wall* More Cards! *clap clap*
EDIT: I'm probably using the Free (as in beer) term incorrectly... what I mean is that any information relating to the hardware would be Free (as in beer).
<img src='http://www.imageshack.us/img2/4492/duhaward1.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
...Among other, possibly more important, things (who here knows how to work a loom or a pnuematic press?).
Or just a day like Fallout, where we got computerized stuff, but it doesn't correlate well and is only applicable in specific areas that don't really help with day to day basic needs.