How Obsolete Are You?

How Obsolete Are You?
By: Scott Hendison � Published: August 1998

Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who are still happily running their 286 or 386 computers. I know this to be the case because they come into my store looking for software every day. They have no desire to create greeting cards, play any newer games, get on the Internet, or deal with the aggravation and expense of upgrading to a newer machine with Windows 95 or 98.
I remember having an IBM 286 computer 5 years ago, in 1993. I kept our checkbook account on Quicken, and we had a Word Perfect program. It did everything we wanted to do, and that was all we ever used it for. That computer cost $2263.00. We never replaced it until 1993 when we wanted to get on the Internet. When we opened the store last July, I sold that computer for only $49.99.

In July of 1993 we bought great machine. A 486. The salesman told me this was all we'd ever need. With the printer and monitor, we paid over $2850.00 for this machine that would last a lifetime. When I sold it for $500 only 2 1/2 years later, I was lucky to only lose $2350. Now we sell 486 computers with monitors for 200 to 300 dollars.

"Who asked for it, anyway?"
What drives this ridiculous cycle of obsolescence? The truth is that we do. As the public demands better software, the hardware manufacturers must build chips that will do whatever the software developers can imagine. As the machines become even more powerful, the software developers can create stuff that they couldn't even imagine before. The cycle will not stop in our lifetimes.

"Beat 'em at their own game"
Technology advances have been released in the last 6 months have driven the prices down more drastically than anyone in the industry can remember. I think it has become clear to the public that whatever you buy, no matter how good, there will be things invented, or software developed, that you will not be able to use.

My recommendation is to stay a jump behind them, and benefit from their research. For example, the Intel Pentium II 266 chip. In February of this year, one cost about $1500. In the spring, Intel released the Pentium II 350 and 400 chips. Now, within only 5 months, Intel P-II 266 systems start at about $900.

While a 400 is faster, the difference between a 266 and a 400 is certainly not worth over $600 to the average home user. There is no software developed yet that will only run on a 400, and by the time there is, there will be all new machines! By buying only a 266 now, you can run any software possibly for sale for the next few years, you save quite a bit of money, and the next time you do it, in 3 to 5 years, you've practically gotten a free computer!

Don't waste your hard earned money. By the time Friday comes, Tuesday's computer is no better than Monday's.

note 2007:

Scott Hendison is the CEO of Search Commander. He is a former Portland computer store retailer that built a local on-site service business through Pay Per click and organic search engine optimization. In 2003, he started focusing exclusively on search marketing.

Today he is a search engine marketing consultant that serves clients in 5 countries, who find him on the front page of most search engines for "internet consultant" and related phrases.