Revenue in the computing market is down. It is no secret. Recent reports further emphasize the fact, pointing to the rise of Netbooks sales (courtesy of [H]ardOCP) as a contributing factor. Netbooks are cheap. The fact that they are selling like hotcakes is making manufacturers drop prices across the computing strata in order to not have all of thier sales cannibalized by netbooks. There is a good possibility that this ship will eventually right itself with an increasing number of unit sales as those in lower income strata cross the digital divide and exit the ranks of the Luddites. I hope this is the case for several reasons, not all of which are philanthropic.

I have done my share to bring people across the digital divide in the last ten years. As I have upgraded to the next big thing, I have given over superseded technology to family mambers and friends. Sometimes at discounted prices. Sometimes even for free. I have donated PCs to schools and churches. It is one of my hopes that we will soon reach a day when no one has to live across the digital divide. In a picture that is concurrent with Roddenberry visions, I see a time when everyone has access to the same level of at least minimum computing resources.

In the time leading up to the current fiscal environment, I had already begun moving my own budgetary lines for technology with each generational refresh. Up until 2004, I paid north of two grand for my primary gaming laptops. Since then, however, I have basically refused to pay more than $1300. The price of technology and the capabilities of lower-priced units have simply crept to a point where nothing more is necessary. The Alienware's and Voodoo's just do not do so much more these days than lower priced models that the $2000+ price tags can be justified. The same has also become true of virtually every component that is involved in making up my computing ecosystem. Video cards, hard drives, monitors, smartphones...everything has crept downwards in price to the point where maintaining a hobby in computing no longer takes thousands of dollars a year.

A good thing, too. While I want everyone else to benefit from lower prices, the person I am most concerned about benefiting from them is me. In the ensuing years, it is likely I will not be able to keep up with the financial burden of always being an early adopter. So I need those prices to continue decreasing while entry level product capabilities continue to increase. These days I check woot.com every day. Same for the sales page of Newegg.com; hunting and searching for every major deal that pops onto the scene.

I am not bothered by the lower revenues in the computing industry. Eventually, like every other economic dynamic in a free market economy, it will balance itself out. I hope that the result of the balancing will be a market that allows me to continue gaming, creating, writing, and leading a digital life****for pennies. I reckon everyone else is up for that, too.
- Vr/Zeux..>>