spinynorman Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 Rather than software becoming commoditized, hardware will be almost free in ten years, says Microsoft chairman Bill Gates. Wishful thinking? :unsure: See The Register's story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkelve Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 (edited) I think with that he actually meant things like bandwidth and a 'super'-powerful system will be so cheap as to be virtually free in the future. Which would place the burden on companies and/or the government, of course. And, OF COURSE, this future will be dominated with 'very cheap' (*cough*) M$ servers pushing programs and content to 'virtually free' end user systems. This way, of course, you don't NEED powerful systems, so of course they'll be cheap. Like Settop boxes, digital watches, palms, ... [Ah.. the evil ploy] Sounds to me like he's spinning this to sound like ALL hardware will be (virtually) free for EVERYBODY. Well, that ain't gonna happen. I'm wonder what Intel is thinking about this statement. Edited March 31, 2004 by Darkelve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonMage Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 Hardware is already really really cheap now. In fact, it's so cheap that computer and components manufacturers are barely making any profit. I mean, I just checked Anandtech's Buyers Guide and the middle level system (with 19 inch monitor) cost less than 1000 dollars total. A few years ago, I would be dreaming if I can get a computer for that much horsepower and screen image for less than 1000 dollars. Nowadays it is software that is expensive. The cost of software can be more expensive than the hardware to run it. Thank God for Open Source. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 Interesting. Of course Bill Gates wants hardware to be "free", because only his stuff will run on it!! But what is the missing element? People! The entire tech world ignors people. So, we spend our time talking about equipement and software. People are just not part of the equation. Open source places a larger value on people. A business can buy cheap hardware, get an os for much less than imagined, but they must have real trained knowledgable techs, who can actually manpulate the software, not just go to a ms web-sight and follow the instructions. People are important in open source, and they are not mentioned in the Bill Gates economy. Open source places value back on people, which is actually where the value of anything is to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkelve Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 (edited) Ixthusdan, that is SO true! Can I quote you on that should the occassion occur? SoulSe, if you're reading this, perhaps something to consider for our brochure? Darkelve Edited March 31, 2004 by Darkelve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero0w Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 Hardware free? Will Bill Gates make X-box freely available? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 Sure he will. Here's how it goes: Xbox, and all hardware will only run ms code, due to security. Let's see now, xbox hardware costs $150 and the os costs $200. Now, we will give you the xbox, and only charge you $500 for the os. There ya' go. Free hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero0w Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 That's not free. That's forced bundling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.