On 01/28/2014 10:39 AM, Geoffrey Oltmans wrote:
I think most new machines you can boot from a USB
flash drive.
True, also from USB optical drive. With the demise of net neutrality,
one could see the day when you could no longer download operating
systems. I have Linux distros optical media going back years. What if I
want to install on a very old machine. The old distro may not be
available. Depending on a thumbdrive over 4GB is iffy. Storing lots of
stuff on thumb drives is cost prohibitive. You can get about 1 distro on
each one. Multiply that by a hundred! Life span of electronic drives is
short as well.
I find the "Demise of the PC" curious. Compared to the hand held
devices, they have a very long life, so the demand for new PC's and
Laptops is lagging. It is not that people do not desire PC's or Laptops,
so much as they do not need to replace them very often. Anything bought
in the last 5 to seven years is very adequate for most peoples uses. Why
buy one with the latest bells and whistles when the one you have suits
you fine. The new ultra thin light weight laptops are very difficult to
work on. Like strip it completely down to do repairs. That's if it's
plastic body is not permanently welded together. Planned obsolescence
anybody? It is interesting that there is a demand for handhelds with
diminished display sizes, while at the same time the demand for larger
monitors and TV screens is increasing at the same time.
On Tue, Jan 28, 2014 at 9:25 AM, tom <thomas.w.cranston at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 01/28/2014 03:00 AM, Kevin Parker wrote:
>
>> <http://www.theage.com.au/it-pro/business-it/nine-
>> technologies-that-have-fad
>> ed-into-history-20140128-hva22.html>
>>
> Dot matrix printers still get a lot of use by folks that require carbon
> copies. Used a lot by auto parts dealers.
>
> *7. The CD-Rom bundle*
>
> Remember when a new PC or console came with a pile of CDs you had to store
> somewhere safe, in case the operating system ever had to be re-installed?
> Downloadable software and the rise of iTunes has seen these CD-Rom bundles
> go the way of the dodo.
>
> Better hope your new computer comes with optical media, especially if its
> Microsoft. Better hope it has an optical drive so you can fix it.
>
> Hardware vendors began phasing out the optical drive as standard around
> five years ago and today few new machines come with one. Much needed if you
> plan to install Linux.
>
>
>