“You’ll never own another computer cheaper than $500”
Chinese tech firms produce high end computers for less than $500
“SANCTION! TARIFF! EMBARGO!”
The prices for tech on Taobao in China and in the US are nearly identical for the vast majority of tech items. So much is excluded from the tariffs that it’s silly they even exist on paper. There are indeed some newer items only available there, but they’re rarely on the affordable end of pricing.
Laptops and computer hardware in particular surprise me. I was hoping to get a new Huawei or Xiaomi laptop the last time I was in China since I got my parents a Huawei I’ve been jealous of in the US several years before they were banned. Absolutely nothing I could find on Taobao or in store was comparable value even to computers from Dell/HP/Lenovo.
I have a Huawei watch, and I think it’s great, especially for the price. I guess you can make quality, affordable products when you’re subsidised by the state.
Now do cars, lol
You will never own an EV for under $80k
if you buy slightly used, you are doing something wrong paying more than 15-20k.
The used car market imploded when vehicle production dried up after 2008
Access to the information superhighway will be relegated to only those who can afford a yacht. /s
Full circle back to the first days of the internet that only universities and the rich could use. Also high storage prices again when we’ve had it dirt cheap for decades.
Nothing new.
the majority of people access the internet on their phones or smart devices. almost exclusively.
desktop computer internet is going the way of the doh doh in terms of traffic. it’s for nerds.
Crazy isn’t it!
I stand by, phones are for consuming, computers are for creation. Of course humans thirst for consuming is unending, like an insatiable Godzilla.
Yeah well i’m a social pariah for not being a phone person. I’m over here like it’s 2002 consuming most of my internet on a desktop, not even a laptop! I spend maybe 15m a day on my phone.
Awesome. I do much as I can to live in 2003 (mostly using CRTs, watching my vhs tapes, playing dreamcast, ha!)
I do like my phone for on the go, but I’ve done all I can do de crapify it. Excited to get a pixel and graphene next year.
Saving for my kids college went out the window.
Saving for my kids computers now
Only due to basically one reason - oligopolies.
The new entry-level PC will be a cloud-based thin client subsidized by collecting every bit of data it can about you directly on a Microslop server where you will have zero user choice.
I’m this close to just quitting society and becoming Amish or something. Technology is just getting worse and worse. Maybe I could be Amish but instead of being locked in the 1800s I just stay in like 2007 when technology was fun
Technology keeps getting better and better; it is capitalism that keeps getting worse and worse.
Frutiger Amish
Yeah, I think one of the reasons the AI bubble hasn’t popped yet is because it’s being weaponized to remove consumer hardware from the market entirely. These companies want as much processing done on the cloud as possible so that they can control, monitor and mine data from every user.
When you say cloud… I don’t think people understand it is just a huge data centers. There are 288 in Canada, and ¼ of them are in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area).
I will go back to MB of ram from a new company that wants to fill the gap at any cost and will not be surprised if that happens.
I ain’t fuckin doin it
Does anyone know how difficult it is to swap keyboards on ThinkPads? I wanna get one used but the problem is, most of them don’t have US keyboards since I live in Japan.
If ThinkPad, easy. If IdeaPad, watch out, might not be viable.
It’s amazing how good Lenovo is about ThinkPad, and how crap they are about IdeaPad.
I did the same for realtively new Thinkpad(p14s gen 5, I think). Got original US keyboard from Aliexpress (lucky). It was pretty easy just a couple ofnscreews and had to be careful with folding the flex pcb/cable.
My old work place used to buy refurbushed ThinkPads, and they slid rather easily by sliding a switch. I have one of the more recent models (also refurbished) at home as well, I’ll try to see if it’s still the same.
That would be super helpful. I was under the impression that the recent ones aren’t swappable, it would be great if I could replace my surface with an actual laptop soon.
So, I’ve tried it with my T14 Gen1 (which, as I just found out is already 6 years old… Yeowza), and honestly… It’s pretty hard to get the keyboard out of that one already.
It’s nothing like I remember with older models, where you can take off the keyboard out by itself and slot a new one in, but now you need to pry off the mouse buttons of the trackpad, loosen screws under it and pry the keyboard forward to be able to get it out. The mouse buttons are also attached to it, which makes even more anxiety-inducing to get it out.
I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if they removed the function overall in the most recent models, seeing as how it is with this model already.
Got myself a GTX 1660 for 460$ 5 months ago and I thought I paid too much for it, but now I’m glad I bought it Edit: GTX 1660 laptop
Well you probably overpaid slightly, and refurbished are about half the price, but prices are only going up so the best time to buy anything is going to always be months ago.
I mean GTX 1660 laptop, I forgot to write that in XD
Oh damn, a new gtx 1660 costs more than the whole laptop then, great deal!
PC today sold at 1500€ will be sold at 500€ in 2028, so… yeah, I don’t know what people is thinking.
One could say “you’re missing the whole picture, Alessando: in 2028 people would want to buy shiny new 2028 PCs capable of 2028-tripleA-gaming”
But this is also not the whole picture: if a brand new in 2028 that cost 501€ (500+1) doesn’t, at very least, match a 1500€ from the 2025 PC… it simply mean that only rich idiot will buy brand new PC in 2028 (aka: OEM won’t simply sell new stuff)
Snapdragon platform is already tailing PC gaming… if OEM won’t sell new X86 PC, Snapdragon (and like) are coming to get that hole in the PC market.
(but my true hopes are in RiscV: ARM holding can easily dragged in the hardware AI hell as well as AMD and Intel were)
