Wired Magazine Picks Up Our Idea

I've been complaining about computers costing too much to do too much for years, and back in 2006 our listserv got on the topic... now comes wired magazine with an article that discovers "people want simpler computers."

I've been all Mac all the time since 1984, and I would dump apple in a second if I could find a computer that did what I wanted.

I say the computer industry has not been touched by competition yet, and we can tell by the sorry state of the products it offers. So far the entire history of computers is a story of welfare queens fighting over grants and rent-seeking. The results are the mess we have today with such waste fraud and abuse. Someday, some one will approach the business from a free market point of view.

Here is the product development: open a website with countless computer functions available on the web: word processing, photo cropping and spreadsheets, video watching and garageband. On this website one performs one's normal functions with computer. After a week or two, this website has "learned what you use," and mails you a recommendation for a computer tailored to you with software you use...

Now a Mac starts about $1000, with probably $200 profit on $800 cost. A computer that needs less tech to do what you want will prolly cost $200, but since it is tailred to the owner, can easily command $750, for $550 profit. Yes it costs less nominally, but it is far more profitable.

I love the comment in the article about using flash drive as a hard drive making the computer more rugged. We also have the funny situation that the iPhone designed for the rich is helping out the poor, and these OLPC netbooks were designed for the poor and are serving the rich.

I've been complaining for years about our lousy computers, as has everyone... a 74 year old man intro'd the topic to our list a few years ago. This is another example of everyone having the idea, but no one acting on it.

Someday some one will offer a very simple computer, full sized keyboard, voice recognition, wireless, that does the 5 things I use a computer for, and makes no provision for the 75,000 other things my computer can do... I'd pay fr more per pound to get far less computer capability.

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