Will we ever be fast enough

My first windows era computer was a Acer Aspire Windows 95 1.2 Gig HD 8 MG ram. cost me $2400.00. I bought it in 95 just after windows 95 was released. It was one of the fastest computers on the market for about 3 months. Since then I haven't been able to keep up no matter how much I tried. Over the past 14 years I have to had spent $50,000.00 on computers and accessories. If I had invested that much I could have retired by now. I have been chasing that dream of speed and just when I think I'm close I get left in the dust. I guess I should have kept up with my needs instead of trying to keep up with the in crowd. I'm fast now just enough to keep me in the race for about a year but I know somewhere along the line I'll have to get the latest machine. Maybe I'll wait for the Intel p5. If I start saving now like they do in Christmas clubs at work it won't hurt as much.
Do I get new tires for the car or a new cpu.
What about a new pair of shoes or a pair of 2g ram...

 

I think it started with marketing but it's progressed into our own little obsession. I bought a 19 inch wide screen monitor about 2 years ago. Last year just because it was out there I just bought a 24 inch wide screen. I love it but didn't need one at all. I only wanted one because I seen it on a desk at work and thought WOW that would be nice on my desk at home.
but here is the worst part now I want one for my desk at work. This is work, why do I need it there I can see fine, i have a 19 inch one already. I just can't seem to stop myself. I've been materialisticalized ( yeah not a word but it fits)

 

The cell phone is the only thing I will not try to upgrade. I'm use to my flip phone that is now turning 3 and works great. I can't do the touch screen or the keyboard thing. My wife and son on the otherhand need a new phone every year. Which means if I want to get a good price I have to sign another 2 year contract. At this rate I'll never be able to switch companies.

 

I have the 3 year old car a 4 year old truck. I've never found the need to get an Ipod. I use to have a sony walkman when I was in school (the original walkman) Thats probably why I'm on the verg of a hearing aid now. I like to hear whats around me.
I guess my only electronic vice is computer stuff. Which wouldn't you know is the stuff thats expensive...

 

Oh this I agree. I do not NEED email or web on my phone and I am not with the correct carrier, nor have the desire to spend $80 per month on an iPhone. Since I could not hear on my phone and since my wife's phone was where others could not hear, we did upgrade. We bought End Of Life phones that were only $40- no rebate and no gimmick.

Laura, I have dibs on the old Kindle!

 

Fast enough buggabear? Never!!! Just look at my rig in the sig. That is total overkill for anyone just doing simple browsing, e-mail or making a letter. It's been this way since the start, programmers see new hardware or OS and they tax the normal systems leaving folk wanting for more, then that forces the hardware gurus to push the tech. etc. etc.

I mean I started out with a 286 with phone earmuff 1200 BAUD modem to connect to a BBS. It was really all I needed except for all the graphics intensive apps these days and speed. At least with all the power that I currently have I at least do folding@home which I enjoy, my excuse for building a faster machine.

Otherwise, my old and long gone 1GHz Celeron with 512MB RAM would still be as good today as I don't game or use enormous spreadsheets etc.

Like Laura said, it's all marketing. I mean, %99.9 of folk don't really need anything faster. LOL, who even needs a dual core for simple things but there they are.

Is it really progress or just development?

 

Its really only progress to those that follow the developments and that care about it. my last computer was a p4 with hyper threading. 2gb ram 512 mb vid card, and i still bought myself a new gateway with a core i7 920(quad core with HT! 8 threads anyone?), upping the ram to 9GB, almost a TB of hdd space and a nice 512mb vid card. i game, but i really only like the lower end games FPS games like counter strike source and battlefield 2. so did i need it? hell no. does it look sexy on my desk? ooh yeah.

 

Same here. I do have a newer phone (almost two years) because the one I had before this one was almost eight years old and no longer worked with the upgraded digital networks. My laptop is almost five years old, and my desktop hasn't been upgraded since...shoot...I'm not even sure. My car is nine years old, and the only reason I have an iPod is I was given one in lieu of pay for working for a rival tech site. LOL

I tend to only upgrade computers due to speed when I can type faster than they can. It happens. :-D

 

LOL Steve @ sexy. Can you take the side off and give us a pic?:-D:drool

 

geek porn anyone? this is a family website augie!

 

I hit "thanks" instead of "quote", so thank you! LOL

Just came across this while posting news for another site:
Amazon Kindle 2: 10 Things You Should Know

 

roflmao

 

I remember my first Windows computer. 75MHZ of Intel processing power! Cost a little over a grand if I remember right.

You can never be fast enough. Especially if you add in gaming, benchmarking or Folding. Oh jeez, I do all 3... Upgrading my router this week! And getting more RAM for one of my borgs...

:-D

 

"Will we ever be fast enough?" In a word - Nope!

In the early nineties, (which wasn't that long ago, even for some of our younger members), I thought I was the cat's whiskers with a SX-25. Yep, all of 25MHz CPU, and 3MB, (Not GB) of RAM at $100 bux a meg, and a CD player, (DVD's and burners were unheard of) and basic sound card for an extra $500.00. I had a tape backup drive, (no such thing as burners, remember), which cost me another $700.00, and was a real P.I.T.A., trust me.

No doubt, in 5-7 years time we will be laughing at our pitiful 3-4GHz P.C.s. At least by then everything P.C. -wise should be solid state, apart from the human interface devices.

Re: Marketing:- We all pay for the essentials, such as food, clothing and shelter, but after that, it's all a matter of wants to varying degrees. Guess if you're lucky enough to be really well off, financially you can have the latest in everything. But experience has taught me that the last isn't always the greatest.

 

The basic reality of it is, I'm going to half to upgrade whether I want to or not because when one thing changes everything changes. Half the programs out today wouldn't work with w95. So my excuse is I'm forced to upgrade ( story i tell my wife). A few months ago just because I installed vista ultimate for no other reason then because it was new. Now I have to upgrade my scanner because it's not vista compatible. My excuse to get a better scanner,wasn't so lucky with the printer (kids shoes or printer, I say printer wife says shoes I lost) Now in a year of so I'll probably make up an excuse to go to windows 7, Why? because, I'm glad I have time to work on a better answer than that, I'll come up with something by then.
who knows, maybe the printer won't be compatible and I have to get a new one.

 

resistance to speed is futile?