CHAPTER 1 The World of Computers
Trends in Personal Computing Sales of desktop personal computers have been sluggish this past year at only 1.6% growth. However, notebook PC sales are up 21%. Sales for handheld computers during 2000 are up more than 250% over 1999. The trend in personal computing is definitely toward portability. Portability has always been a plus in personal computing, but until recently notebook PCs and handheld computers lacked the power of desktop PCs. For several years during the mid-90s it was common for businesspeople to have a notebook and a desktop PC, one to enable mobility and one for speed/power. Of course, consumers pay a premium for mobility in computing, but being able to take a computer along to a meeting or a class makes the extra cost worthwhile to many PC users.