Since its release in early May 2008, there has been plenty of press concerning the issues with Microsoft's XP Service Pack 3. Common sense would tell us that such negative press would drastically slow the rate that folks would update to the release. PC Pitstop analyzed the percentage of XP users that have updated their systems to SP3 during the first three months since its release and compared them to the adoption rates of SP2 during its roll out.

THE SHAPE OF COMPUTING

Strewn across the floor and stacked in my closet are 100’s of lifeless parts. Processors, cords, connectors and fans, dead and lifeless now, they were once proud warriors of the desktop era. Striving to be faster in a technical world consumed by speed, I greeted new processors and motherboards like a lion greets wildebeasts. Today those dark ages are gone, replaced by the Renaissance of Mobility, or as the techies would say, “let me grab my portable”.

I just finished doing the math. I began computing in 1983 and during that time, I have owned exactly 10 different computers. That means, the average life of one of my PC's is 2.5 years. That certainly is an eye opener. 2.5 years is not that long a time in PC years. When I purchased each one, my anticipation was a lot more than a couple of years, so why is that?