I’m at the Science Museum again today taking more computer classes. As I was coming back from lunch, I noticed an Apple II E displayed in the lobby. In 1983 the Science Museum’s Computer Education Center bought ten Apple II E’s and began teaching computer education classes.
In 1983 the machine cost $1,395 and had a processor speed of 1.02 Mhz. For those of you who can’t remember what processor speed means, most machines now are in the 600-1,500 Mhz range. My machine at home (almost three years old) is an 800 Mhz. The new iMacs are 1,250 Mhz (or 1.25 Ghz, as they display it). Pretty crazy.
I do think it’s kind of funny that while the computer speed has increased over 800 fold, the price hasn’t changed too much.
You are definitely right about “most” machines. While currently the fastest processor (in clock cycles) is 3.2 GHz (3200 MHz) the core of computers falls in the 600-1500 MHz range. This is because that kind of power just isn’t necessary for most of today’s computing needs. My gaming PC is 1200, my Mac is 800, my Linux box is 450 MHz. All plenty of power for there intended functions.