...it seems that back in 1982, James Fallows paid $4,000 for his computer featuring 64k of RAM plus another $800 for a floppy disk drive. According to the handy CPI calculator on the BLS website, $4,800 in 1982 is equivalent to a bit over $10,000 in today's money.Naturally, I had no choice but to scroll over to the Apple Store and see how much computer I could get for $10,000. Well, I got myself a Mac Pro with two 3.0 GHz quad-core Intel Xeon processors, 8 gigs of RAM, four 750 gig hard drives, two Super Drives capable of reading and writing CDs and DVDs, a 30 inch Apple HD Cinema Display, a wireless keyboard and a wireless mouse. That comes to $9,449. I believe that's a 128,000-fold in RAM. The improvement in storage capacity is, in some ways, even more impressive.
Friday, July 13, 2007
The Tyranny of Moore's Law
Matthew Yglesias does the math on what a quarter-century of computer technology has brought us:
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1 comment:
Fine. Nice comparison.
My first computer was a Commodore Vic-20. I bought it to help me design a spaceship to save the world. (I was young and stupid then, not realizing the world didn't want to be saved.)
Regardless of MY folly, the question still remains: "What are you buying this stuff FOR?"
What is your Net Creativity going to be with it? What FUTURE usefulness will be created in exchange for consuming those resources?
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