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Technology Stocks : Dell Technologies Inc.
DELL 133.180.0%12:59 PM EST
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To: Chuzzlewit who wrote (44588)5/23/1998 5:04:00 PM
From: rudedog  Read Replies (1) of 176387
 
There are discrete technology quanta but they do not appear discretely in the marketplace. There are still more than 10 million DOS systems which do not use Windows - those guys are about 10 years behind the curve. These are predominantly dedicated applications, not general purpose ones. But there are also nearly as many windows 3.1 and 3.11 users as there are Win95 users.
The 386 was introduced in 1986, yet 16 bit applications using the 286 segmented model STILL exist in many applications and were a direct part of the OS until Win95.
What happens is that the inertia of the installed base filters out the economic effect of the technical change, basically integrates it over the lifetime of the relevant technology. Software has a much longer lifetime than hardware, but even with hardware the period of integration is more like 4-5 years, driven by factors like the decay of book value of the capital asset. This is why 486 machines are still living useful lives in the big shops.
I am not arguing Meat's basic point around total cost of ownership, which is valid. I am disagreeing with the conclusion that somehow this will be a justification for rapid uptake of new technology. It never has been in the past. Technologists like Meat (and me) tend to see the most advanced technology users as representative of the state of the busines but the market data says different.
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