brave new world
The first computer I ever got was a Packard Bell 486 DX2. 33Mhz processor, 4MB of RAM and a 400MB hard drive. It ran Windows 3.11 and came with a newfangled CD drive which was pretty high tech. It also had a port to connect a 56k modem to a phone line that I never actually used, because.. Interwhat?
I also paid about $1700 in 1995 for it, which was a whole lot of money even if they did throw in a free bubblejet printer. Hell, that's still a lot of money.
So.. it's 15 years later, and I just bought a new computer. It's got 1000 times more RAM, and almost 1000 times more hard disk space. The processor runs more than a thousand times faster. The CD drive not only reads CDs, but DVDs, and can *write* its own DVDs. No printer, but why print something when you can email it over the Interwhat with the wireless modem? I can pick up the whole machine with one hand instead of making two trips with the desktop and the ginormous CRT monitor. The only thing that's similar is the screen size.
The new computer can kick the Packard's ass many times over. 1995 Kar3n would never in a million years be able to afford such a machine, but 2009 Kar3n paid about half a 486 for it. Crazy.
edit: When my grandparents talk about the good old days, stuff was cheaper. We could go to the movies for a nickel! etc etc. I guess I'll be telling my grandchildren about how everything was so expensive in the good old days.
I also paid about $1700 in 1995 for it, which was a whole lot of money even if they did throw in a free bubblejet printer. Hell, that's still a lot of money.
So.. it's 15 years later, and I just bought a new computer. It's got 1000 times more RAM, and almost 1000 times more hard disk space. The processor runs more than a thousand times faster. The CD drive not only reads CDs, but DVDs, and can *write* its own DVDs. No printer, but why print something when you can email it over the Interwhat with the wireless modem? I can pick up the whole machine with one hand instead of making two trips with the desktop and the ginormous CRT monitor. The only thing that's similar is the screen size.
The new computer can kick the Packard's ass many times over. 1995 Kar3n would never in a million years be able to afford such a machine, but 2009 Kar3n paid about half a 486 for it. Crazy.
edit: When my grandparents talk about the good old days, stuff was cheaper. We could go to the movies for a nickel! etc etc. I guess I'll be telling my grandchildren about how everything was so expensive in the good old days.