Affordable Laptops

Great Affordable Laptops

It's amazing how much computers and laptops are more affordable nowadays. I was looking at old receipts from computers and disk drives I bought back in the 80s. I had paid $500 for a floppy disk drive! Then I stumbled on a gem of a bill. A Tandy3000 computer which was a 286 class, yes I paid $3000. for that computer! Now it's not even worth the metal I could sell it for. 

I was reading when Nasa sent John Glen around the Earth in the early days of rocketry, they were using computers that would fill a room but were less powerful then my Tandy3000! Amazing I could have sold my Tandy 3000 for few millions dollars during a time travel of a few decades earlier, now it makes a clumsy door stop.

Proofs of more affordable desktop computers and laptops as well are everywhere. Not later then other day, I was looking through the classifieds section of the newspaper for some affordable laptops and I was shocked by how much the prices have dropped in recent times! I mean, just over a year ago, when I decided to go out shopping for a laptop, it cost me an arm and a leg. So much so that I abandoned all hope of ever finding affordable laptops (from a good brand that is) and began using the trusty old desktop at home.

But the latest news was an eye opener of sorts for me. I had never before seen such a wide range of affordable laptops ever before. But of late, the dynamics of big businesses had resulted in affordable laptops. I don’t exaggerate. If you don’t believe me, compare the process of laptops a couple of years ago with the laptops after the emergence and consolidation of companies like Dell. By eliminating the middlemen and rationalizing storage costs, they have brought about a revolution in affordablelaptops. Which is why, a basic laptop that cost upwards of a thousand dollars a couple of years ago is now available for well below the magical thousand dollar mark.

Affordable Laptops Advice

Of course the rise of affordable laptops also has a lot to do with the falling of various computer part prices. Hard disks are a lot cheaper than ever before as is memory. RAM is much more rational and today, for an earlier price that could get you barely 256 Mb of processing speed, you can get 1Gb or more. All of these have had a role to play in making affordablelaptops a reality. But if there is any one thing that has contributed the most to affordable laptops (in my estimation of course) it would be the revolution that has taken the modern enterprise by storm.

I am referring to the concept of mobile offices. Ever since large scale enterprises realized that fixed costs like infrastructure and rents have been spiraling upwards with no downturn in sight, they have been exploring ways in which to reduce the dependency on these costs. The first trend that emerged was flexible hours. But nowadays, telecommuting is the norm. And rather than look at the company for the provision of a laptop, most individuals prefer to have one well within reach to give them the kind of mobility that they seek. And this is why affordable laptops have had to become a reality.

And this only the beginning. I was born at a time when computers were in their infancy and Bill Gates was a young geek. Now the new generation have access to computers in an early age. It is a part of their lives, a commodity that is part of their work, leisure time and travel as well. So what was a million dollar beast filling a room now has become a powerhouse sitting on your desk. Indeed we can say that desktop computers and laptops are a lot more affordable.

(c) copyright Paul Zirka