If only we all could

Daily Green Ideas is a decent site for those who are looking for simple ways to cut back.  The other day they posted this.  The upshot for those that do not wish to follow the link is that instead of buying a new computer upgrade the old.  Ah If only I could,  You see I love Guild Wars. I have been waiting for Guild Wars 2.  I bought it early to get in on the Beta and the head start.  Except - I cannot run it.

Overlord is a blast. I loved it. Overlord II came out and  guess what?  Yep, I can't run it. Same applies to many new firewalls, virus checkers and various other software.  I have expanded the RAM as far as it will go.  The processor is the best it can be.  I have tweaked and prodded and overclocked.  Guess what, I have hit the limit.  Good thing I have a tower if this were a laptop I would have hit the limit YEARS ago.

So what to do.  Well I plan for the fun of it to build my own.  I have never built a gaming machine before, or modded a case even. But what about those who are not so adventurous or even 'gasp' dislike the idea?  They are most likely stuck buying a new machine. Why? Because the new processors need a new motherboard. The new OS's need new monitors and peripherals and all of the above need more power.

I thought maybe at least ArenaNet had 'gotten' it. They swore if we could run the present Guild Wars we would be able to run the new, probably. Alas it seems even they have bought into the hype that we all need the latest in technology.  What for? To play games? to look at Facebook? To build a personal network for all our daily needs so hackers and crackers can pluck our information out of the air - literally in some cases?

Let's get real. Businesses need computers to do work.  A handful of people in an enterprise need a higher end machine. According to Wikipedia approximately 38% of users use Windows 7,  22% are still using the now unsupported XP. It seems that 'normal' people and businesses do not NEED the latest and greatest. Why can't companies get this through their heads. People do not need touch screen operating systems and monitors to create a spreadsheet. We still use the keyboard more than the mouse to communicate and most of all we do not need to buy a bigger, faster, more expensive machine to shop at Amazon.

To the writers of Daily Green Ideas, I wish that what you suggest was possible, but the machine makers are not in agreement. Please instead of putting the pressure on your readers to try and upgrade, encourage them to pressure the software and hardware manufacturers to just STOP and look at usability and accessibility to those who do not have beaucoup bucks to spend on a tool.  Because when all is said and done that is what a computer is, something to make our lives easier, not a sinkhole for money.