Opinion? What's that?
Published on June 23, 2008 By kryo In Personal Computing

Gartner Research announced today that the number of computers currently in use worldwide has now surpassed one billion machines. That's nearly one machine for every six people!

As computers become bigger and bigger parts of our lives, one can only wonder how the world might change with the next billion. Will things get better or worse? Will the continued proliferation of computers usher in a golden age of free knowledge and human networking, or will they isolate us from each other by allowing us to see and hear only what we wish?

On a less philosophical note, how many of us have old machines just collecting dust in the closet (I've got a few myself)?

There are all sorts of potential projects or uses for those old machines and hardware (some helpful, some less so)--any ideas to put them to good use, rather than just wasting space until they find their way to the garbage?


Comments (Page 2)
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on Jun 23, 2008
On a less philosophical note, how many of us have old machines just collecting dust in the closet (I've got a few myself)?

LOL...I have my old machine in my closet, sitting in pieces. I was going to put it together and let my mom use it, but at the moment there's nowhere to put it, so I might sell it to my friend who's interested in having a desktop system (she has a small 14.1" laptop she uses for school).

I also have my desktop machine, my laptop, and my sister has a desktop.
on Jun 23, 2008
no old machines here. i got a vista machine, linux machine and a mac.
on Jun 23, 2008
Gartner Research announced today that the number of computers currently in use worldwide has now surpassed one billion machines


Of which Nine hundred ninety nine million users are total idiots!


      
on Jun 23, 2008
Of which Nine hundred ninety nine million users are total idiots!

So say we all.
on Jun 23, 2008
Let's see...if there are more than a billion computers...somewhere around 1.1 bn or so [just estimating] and many people have more than one PC and we're not counting the junk PCs, then that'd mean that when we say there's 1 PC for every 6 people, we actaully mean that these PCs aren't equally divided. Not every house has a PC even in developing countries, and seeing that Pcs are still novelties for the normal person in extreme third world regions...I'd say that's quite an irregular distribution...meaning that maybe it's alright to say that for eery twelve people equally divided into two groups, one geek in one group has both two PCs that are supposed to be equally represented by each group....hmmm...that might as well mean that a small developed country [according to population] has more PCs than a three times larger third world country [according to population]....  



No idea what I just said....  
on Jun 23, 2008

owww... my brain...

on Jun 23, 2008
One billion computers.

And I bet you still can't find one that will run Crysis at a decent frame rate.
on Jun 23, 2008
No old machines here, gave them to charity!
on Jun 23, 2008
I've got a Commodore64 hiding in my closet, I believe. I think it only has 64K worth of memory   My other old computer is a '98 e-machine. I tried to scrap the DVD-ROM drive so I could play SOASE , but the drive didn't work and I had to buy a $90 drive because I couldn't download it off the internet because of my slow dial-up  

Ahh . . . nostalgia  
on Jun 23, 2008
I only have an old machine by today's standards. My motto if it's not broke don't fix it.
on Jun 24, 2008
.....it saddens me when I here information such as this.

This is a terrible day in mankind, one computer to ever six people.....

when will we ever learn?

You see, I guess I must educate you people in the fine art of understanding gnomes. You see, I am one of the last humans to ever have spent a long time studieing gnomes. I actully have a guide, passed down through my gnome-fighting family for hundereds of generatations, containint all of our secret knowladge about Gnomes. I have made my own contributions to this book.

You see, In the last generation or two, my family has discovered the emergance of a new type of Gnome. A sort of super-Gnome. One more viscous, tenacious, and strange than any other types of gnomes. I wont get into the mathmatics, phyusics, and phsycholigy of these gnomes, they are simply known, as computer gnomes.


The emergence of such numbers of computers has allowed the computer gnomes to thrive in vast numbers, especialy since the general populace doesn't even know they exist.

Help me, help the world.

Save humanity from the scourge of computer gnomes, and many other threats.

Save you family, save the world, SAVE YOURSELVES.

Join Rebel Genius.

http://nsskbiz.com/forumz/index.php
on Jun 24, 2008
lol Evil.

I've got 4 computers: 3 fairly new and 1 with Windows 98.
on Jun 24, 2008
Hmm I got...

A old server that used to be my regular computer...

Fairly recent new computer ( few months old )

5 year old laptop.

N years old laptop that was bought used as homework laptop. ( Approc 8 years is my best guess... )

And I'm not exactly rich... wow.
on Jun 24, 2008

How could you not want to develop PC games with a install base like that.

Mind you the amount of computers that could actually run today's modern games would probably be significantly smaller.

on Jun 24, 2008
That's a large number of people contributing to the dumbing down of society by way of chat-speak and youtube videos.
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