Re: News on HST2


Roland Perry wrote:
In message <1141730331.251277.9170@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, at
03:18:51 on Tue, 7 Mar 2006, John B <spam@xxxxxxxxxxxx> remarked:
Roland Perry wrote:
Moores law on IT kit says what you get for your money doubles every 18
months.

Although we are discussing consumer electronics, which doesn't fit as
sharp a curve. And the suppliers tend to fit more features into
something of approximately the same price, rather than halving the price
every 18 months. I paid perhaps £400 for an entry level digital camera
in Feb 1998 (5 x 18 months ago), I doubt I could get its modern
equivalent for £12 today. The same sort of thing is true of laptops,
where in 1992 you'd pay £1500 for an entry level machine, such as sells
today at about £499. But your curve would predict a price of £2.75 !

Not quite.If you tried to sell a machine that had identical spec to an
entry-level laptop in 1992 today, you'd be laughed out of the shop.

Unless you were selling it as an upmarket toy.

£2.75 might be its value as a paperweight...

Although the battery would cost £20 at least.

Meanwhile, your £499 basic laptop today would have been unimaginable in
1992. Some of the features contained within hadn't been invented,
others were used only in insanely high-end research systems.

I can't actually think of anything that comes into that category. More
RAM, more MIPS, more Hard Drive, bigger screen. All of these are easily
imaginable. Wireless networking is the only real innovation, and my 1992
laptop was networked (Ethernet adapter on the parallel printer port,
iirc). 9600 external modem, state of the art at the time, about the size
of a packet of cigarettes.

There is clearly a point somewhere between £10-250 retail price
(depending on the components) where the -mechanical- components of a
particular consumer electronics product make it economically unviable
to cut prices further.

Although the suppliers are also more inclined to keep the ticket prices
high, as the market is happy to pay.

A CD player is the former,

You can get a desktop DVD player for about £30, admittedly.

a laptop is the latter, hence the absence of ultra-low-spec £5 laptops.
The big issue for mobile video players here is how low the cost of a
small-ish TFT can get - my guess is Low.

There's new technology in the pipeline, so TFT costs may drop quite a
bit.

See here for a £14 digital camera:
http://www.misco.co.uk/productinformation/~Q59236~/product.htm?affiliate=2004

Nice try (as they say), but that's got no internal memory or battery
power. Not much good for slipping in your pocket and going train
spotting.
--
Roland Perry



Is everyone here taking bollocks or am I in the wrong group?


FFS, keep on topic PLEASE.

Thank you.

.

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