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The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy

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  • The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy

    ** This thread discusses the article: The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy **
    ** This thread discusses the Content article: The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy **
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  • #2
    The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy

    ** This thread discusses the article: The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy **
    OK - I'll bite. I've been lurking for a while; actually having opinions of my that I all too frequently enjoy sharing (with those who all too frequently couldn't care less.) Look - It goes like this Yes - Your computer was just fine when you bought it (back in 1600). We're not using TRS-80s anymore, NOR are we still using the System 36 (except for some sickos out there in the sys-36 environment of the AS/400). Personally, I buy at least one new computer every year. Primarily because I HATE trying to fix windows. I also consider this an investment. I also run my own consulting business, just me, not a huge staff or a large organization. I've only been around for 14 years, not your more venerable 20+, but I have managed to continue buying food whilst also feeding my technology adiction. I also sometimes manage to swing for support for the iSeries 270 parked in my basement. I guess my point (other than the one on my forehead) is that upgrading your hardware is just another investment. If you own your own business you invest in it. Time, space, emotion and yes, money. If you can't make the business case for investing in technology for your own business, how can you justify asking your consulting clients to do the same? Regards, Geoff

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    • #3
      The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy

      ** This thread discusses the article: The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy **
      Your first sentence is incorrect ("...all new hardware is obsolete within 30 minutes of it hitting the market."). PC's are obsolete BEFORE they hit the market, since the hardware/software vendors are already working on stuff for 2 generations down the road. What I find maddening is the adding of software "features" that may have little or no use for the average user, but which eventually result in making the pc you have virtually useless because it's too small/slow to run the stuff. But if you stay with the older versions, eventually they stop supporting them. While this is true with most everything you purchase (appliances, TV's, cars, etc.), the useful "life" of the product is much longer. I have 14-year-old appliances, 9-year old vehicles, and a couple of TV's that date back 20 years, and they all still work just fine... By the way, I used the "Check Spelling" feature and it rejected "pc" and "older". I guess you can't even MENTION anything about an older pc...

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      • #4
        The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy

        ** This thread discusses the article: The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy **
        IMO the real question is: What tasks and functions are you performing today on the bleeding edge, that you couldn't have accomplished on an older machine with older software? Indeed there is some functionality that has to be upgraded for a select application, but by and large it is rare that more than 15% of the features of a desktop application are even accessed let alone used on a regular basis. Based on personal experience, almost all of my clients made their decision to upgrade a particular desktop application based on document incompatiblity with the current version. Not on improved technology or features. Similarly release upgrades to the iseries would occur when support expired on the existing release. I have discussed this topic with user group members, and there is a majority of concurrence. Dave

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        • #5
          The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy

          ** This thread discusses the article: The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy **
          cchewning said:
          By the way, I used the "Check Spelling" feature and it rejected "pc" and "older". I guess you can't even MENTION anything about an older pc...
          I'm not surprised that the spell checker didn't accept the phrase "older PC". Try a synonym for that phrase, "boat anchor".

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          • #6
            The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy

            ** This thread discusses the article: The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy **
            David said:
            by and large it is rare that more than 15% of the features of a desktop application are even accessed let alone used on a regular basis.
            Yes, but there is always at least one new feature in the massive bloat added in a new release that you really, really want. Or, as has happened to me, that your client tells you that you absolutely have to use.

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            • #7
              The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy

              ** This thread discusses the article: The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy **
              Geoff, I'm glad that I could convince you to stop lurking and come in out of the shadows. You mean that you think that it is time for me to retire my TRS-80? Just kidding, I never owned one. I started on an Apple II clone, but that is barely even a faint memory now.

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              • #8
                The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy

                ** This thread discusses the article: The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy **
                This is probably one reason that the chip and hardware makers and the software makers liked (like?) Microsoft so much. New OS's demanded more processing power and more storage. And with each new OS release, with no forward compatibility for apps, older software versions were obsoleted immediately. Some of this has to be deliberate, methinks. Had a friend with a buddy at one of the big 3, and he said they actually send memos telling the engineers that some part lasts too long after the warranty, they have to cut it back. They invented the screw with the "narrow neck" for that reason he said. Heard once of a regular light bulb that burnt 50 years (more?) at a fire station in San Francisco.

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                • #9
                  The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy

                  ** This thread discusses the article: The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy **
                  I'll stick to my guns on this one. My own experience is that even power users are not aware of all of the features of a desktop product. A new feature is almost never the reason for the upgrade. When an upgrade occurs it is usually (in no particular order of importance) because:
                    [*]Forward incompatibility - A user receives an email with an attachment that they connaot read because the older version will not read the newer version.[*]Loss of support - The vendor no longer supports the used version.[*]Jealousy - Someone else has a copy and the user now feels inadequate.[/list]Dave

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                  • #10
                    The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy

                    ** This thread discusses the article: The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy **
                    Dave said:
                    Jealousy - Someone else has a copy and the user now feels inadequate.
                    Naw, couldn't be. Computer users are way too well-adjusted to have feelings of inadequacy. How could anyone using Windows possibly feel inadequate?

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                    • #11
                      The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy

                      ** This thread discusses the article: The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy **
                      David said: "My own experience is that even power users are not aware of all of the features of a desktop product." You can also replace "desktop product" with AS/400/iSeries/i5. There are tons of features in the iSeries that most of us don't even know exists! chuck Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of my employer.

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                      • #12
                        The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy

                        ** This thread discusses the article: The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy **
                        "light bulb that burnt 50 years (more?) " It was over 100 years..... http://www.centennialbulb.org/facts.htm

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                        • #13
                          The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy

                          ** This thread discusses the article: The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy **
                          Many people I know have up-graded their OS or applications on the supposition that the newer versions will not be as "buggy" as previous versions. Most of the "average" users that I know don't know of, need, or use for many of the features available in software applications.

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                          • #14
                            The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy

                            ** This thread discusses the article: The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy **
                            Perhaps the problem is that the PC is a consumer product, an entertainment device for playing music, DVDs, CDs etc. Things that are not really required for business functions So really when you buy a PC for business use, in most cases you only need a PC to run office suite type applications, 5250 emulation etc. No need for a high end graphics card for the staff member who churns out memos etc. You can still buy a cheap PC that will fit this use for under $500.00. I still have a few PCs deployed running Win95 and BosaNova just fine. Horses for courses. But there is nothing worse than a power user stating "I need this new feature".

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                            • #15
                              The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy

                              ** This thread discusses the article: The PC Obsolescence Conspiracy **
                              JimmyJimmy said
                              So really when you buy a PC for business use, in most cases you only need a PC to run office suite type applications, 5250 emulation etc.
                              Then again, some business people do some graphics work and need to worry about a high end graphics card ... and if you, like me, have been crazy enough to fall for the latest bloatware you still need a fair bit of horsepower to run the software even though you are only using 0.23% of its features ... and if you want to travel with your PC, you need a laptop and need to get one that is not so heavy that you will dislocate a shoulder carrying it around and that has a battery that will last longer than it takes for the flight attendant to hand out the three peanuts that you get on flights these days ... in short, sometimes you can make do with the under $500 PC, but not always. So, I'm back to shopping.

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