On the discretionary income thing, that's why I pointed out that the fad in 1973 was to pay $10,000 (or more...calculated in 1998 $) on a stereo. Prices always come down, also. It's a matter of shifting to a new way of watching TV/using a computer...I certainly don't know what will occur but I don't think money is a huge barrier, given the technology available today. What will cost people, as usual, is the programming itself, not the box.
A lot of people drive around in $20,000 cars. If they switched to a $12,000 car, bingo, there's enough money for a whole bunch of electronic gizmos. Not for everyone, of course, but eventually the boxes would come down in price. The first Commodore 64 computer sold for $1,000 (the monitor was a TV screen, incidentally) but was selling for $200 not long after. |
