This thread got me to thinking about that idiotic claim by the left of the "digital divide" between higher and lower income persons. Computers are dirt-cheap now. I saw an HP computer in Wal Mart for $600. My internet service is $21 per month. I don't believe for a second that there are people out there who are being shut out of the advantages of the digital age.
Computers are dirt-cheap now. I saw an HP computer in Wal Mart for $600.The market is saturated. Most people have what they need.
For instance, I'm getting by on an "antiquated" 233 MHz MMX Pentium, 64 Mb Ram, 8 Mb video, 2 Mb hard drive, 17" monitor, cable modem. Although much "bigger, better, faster" systems are available and affordable, I see no reason to upgrade until something I already have actually disintegrates. Then, when I'm forced to buy something new, whatever is available that's cheap will be more powerful than whatever is cheap right now.
It would only take a couple of hours' searching on the public library's computer to find out how to build a cheap machine. For an ISP, NetZero charges less than 10 bucks a month for internet access. (Unfortunately, the poor people who choose to use an extra phone line have to pay the Al Gore tax for being rich enough to afford network access.)
I still have to hear a bunch of liberal BS from some guy at work about the poor people who don't know how to use computers. If they can't learn how to type relevant words into a search engine, why are we paying so much money for their education in the first place?