[Leica] Re: Cheap computers and software

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

On Sep 27, 2006, at 8:58 AM, David wrote:

> The most interesting thing I read in Dave's blog was that he might  
> buy a
> Mac just to use Apple's software. Is computer hardware becoming so
> inexpensive that it makes sense to buy a system simply for an
> application? Or can an application be so good that it justifies the  
> cost
> of a different system?

David,

The answer to both questions is YES. Computers are now expendable  
tools. US Income tax law amortizes them over a three year period. The  
price of computer hardware has plummeted in the last 20 years. So  
much so that for equivalent capability systems, current prices are  
only about 5% of those of two decades ago. I'm writing this on a Mac  
iBook with a 2 Gz chip, a gigabyte of RAM, an 80 Gb disc and an  
excellent color screen that cost about $1000 new. The iBook came with  
a full suite of included software including an excellent operating  
system, the full iLife package, Appleworks, GraphicConverter and a  
lot of other stuff. In 1985 I bought a Mac with 128kb RAM, a 16 Mz  
processor, floppy disc storage and a 9" B&W screen for $2500. And  
that's when dollars were real dollars. The included software was  
MacWrite and MacDraw. My handheld pocket calculator has more and  
faster capabilities than that old Mac. In that same period of time  
Leica film camera prices rose 300%. The new M8 body costs twice as  
much as the blazing new four core Mac Pro fitted out with all the  
bells and whistles.

In the same sense, the prices of software have declined. First there  
is a huge stock of downloadable freeware and shareware for any  
function. Some of it is trash but some is of exceptional quality. You  
can duplicate almost any function of the high priced software like MS  
Office or Photoshop by software which is free or almost free. For  
image processors using the Mac, GraphicConverter is unsurpassed and  
is available for pennies.

So if you find a computer or a package that will do what you want,  
the cost burden of switching to new hardware and software is small  
compared with the utility.

Larry Z