On slash.dot they're talking about how new notebook computers will apparently come with 4GB RAM, even though 32-bit Windows (like Vista) cannot access that much memory.
One fellow says the report makes him feel old: "It's now official, new machines have more RAM than my first computers had hard drive. I'm not sure how to use such power, though you can bet it will be with an open source OS."
His first computer had a multi-gigabyte hard drive? Makes ME feel old. At 128MB, my first MP3 player (Sony's Clie) had more RAM than the hard drive on my first computer with one (30MB. In 1987, I think). Prior to that, I used a high-end personal computer, the Victor 9000, that came with TWO floppy drives for a total capacity of 2.4MB.
Of course, in those days, we dealt with ASCII text, primarily, which is a highly efficient form of information storage -- contrasted with an MP3 file of someone reading the same text.
For a while in the mid 1990s, my $2,500 laser printer had the most RAM of any device in my office: 20MB. Yesterday, I read in Canadian Tire's Christmas flyer that they're selling a small 1GB MP3 player for $19.95. My daughter asked, "How much music does that hold?" About 16 hours worth, roughly 16 CDs.
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