On Thu, 28 Apr 2016, benjamin barber wrote:
I remember computer bits, those were the days.
On Thu, Apr 28, 2016 at 9:58 AM, Michael Dexter <[email protected]>
wrote:
On 4/27/16 4:26 PM, Dick Steffens wrote:
Sad to see them go, if this is true. Their website is no longer
available.
Computer Bits was sure filled with quite a few independent shops
back in the day. Then came Fry's and Amazon.
It's always nice when someone remembers Computer Bits, which I edited
from late 1995 to early 1999.
It's true that small computer retailers have largely disappeared, but
I don't think that Fry's and Amazon are the main culprits. There are a
several interwoven issues:
First and foremost, computers are useful out of the box for a much
longer period of time than in the 90s. Advancing technology made
hardware obsolete so much faster back then. Video standards, hard
drive capacity, CPU speeds, RAM capacity, modem speeds -- they all
advanced so quickly that hardware needed upgrading just to keep up
with mainstream software releases (which were quick to take advantage
of that new hardware). A good local shop would provide the parts and
know-how. These days, a decent computer will last several years in
normal use. Even laptops have begun to have longer useful lifetimes.
Second, computer hardware is usually more reliable. A name-brand
computer can still be a lemon -- but it's much less likely than it was
in 1998. I have far less need to replace gear than I did 20 years ago.
Third, many computer functions that required unusual or bleeding-edge
hardware are now done by appliances or in a professionally maintained
service (e.g., cloud services). For many folks, an Xbox or PS4 will
run the games that formerly required us to upgrade video hardware,
controllers, memory, and CPUs.
Fourth, I think the 80s and 90s were the heyday of a class of users I
think of as "computer enthusiasts." While PCs were new and exotic,
these folks took them apart and reassembled them, helped friends get
started, and worked to integrate often flaky new services (dial-up
modems, drivers du jour, and anything related to Windows). As PCs and
their operating systems have become more reliable, the enthusiast
community -- a main customer of local computer shops -- has dwindled.
Fifth, web sites like Newgg and Amazon that provide customer reviews
provide some of the social interaction and learning that we formerly
had to get in face-to-face conversations. If I'm looking for a new
hard drive, I'm more likely these days to turn to online reviews than
the guy manning the desk at MicroTech in Oak Grove.
The businesses that have borne the brunt of those changes are the
retailers. Their customers need fewer upgrades and less of their
know-how with each passing year.
I'll leave it to others to assess the good and the bad in those
changes, but I don't think the Fry's and Amazon are the main drivers.
--
Paul Heinlein
[email protected]
45°38' N, 122°6' W
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