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The PC Pro A List: 2000 vs 2010
Posted on 2 Jan 2010 at 00:00
PC Pro editor Tim Danton takes a fond look back at what the summit of technology looked like in 2000 - and how it compares to today
Technology, it turns out, moves fast. In the past techade (our new and exciting term for ten years in the tech industry) the world of technology has in some aspects changed beyond recognition. And in others, it’s hardly changed at all.
To chart everything that’s happened, this article compares the A List of today to the A List of January 2000. We’ve taken six key categories, compared specs, totted up prices and laughed in a patronising fashion about the “style” on offer back then. Read on for a taste of how life used to be. And don’t forget to load up the Number 1 of the day, Westlife’s unforgettable I Have a Dream.
Total price
If you bought all our choices from the 2000 A List your wallet would have been lighter by a princely £6,877 (that’s including VAT). Based on the rise in average earnings, that converts into just over £9,000 of today’s money. Compare that to the cost of the six equivalent products from the current A List, where you’ll pay a paltry £3,622.
In some cases, things have become significantly cheaper. The netbook revolution means you can now buy a lightweight laptop – with far more power and flexibility than our 2000 choice, note – for less than £200 if you so choose. A comparable notebook ten years ago would have cost £2,000.
And, back in 2000, if you wanted half-decent photo-editing software you had little choice but to spend £200 on Corel PhotoPaint, or struggle along with what passed for consumer-friendly in those dark days: Adobe PhotoDeluxe 3 for £35, for instance. Now you can download software such as Google Picasa and Paint.NET for free.
But it goes to prove just how dramatically things have changed that we haven’t even included those figures in our comparisons. Heck, we haven’t even included Microsoft Office: ten years ago, the cheapest version cost £382 inc VAT; now you can buy a three-licence version for home use for a meagre £65.
From around the web
Considering how much technology has improved in the last decade (look at the size of that PC and camera), I'm looking forward to the next ten years. I wonder what will be on PC Pro's A-list in 2020?
By pbryanw on 2 Jan 2010 
Printer
Didn't buy the A-listed 750, but had the previous model, the Epsom Stylus 660 - I say had - actually still have it, never replaced it to this day.
Admittedly I've not printed anything for a while and the last time I tried, the ink had dried up - but I'm sure (maybe) that if I spend far too much on new ink & waste a lot cleaning it out, it'll still work fine
By greemble on 2 Jan 2010
Loads of room in that PC of 2000! I still prefer CRT monitors, much warmer (physically and screenwise), colours more accurate and solid, much better viewing angles plus I can use any resolution I want. I find them much better for editing photos and producing artwork. To get a LCD, LED monitor anywhere close would cost me four figures so I will have to wait a while for prices to fall and put up with an inferior LCD display until then so current monitor technology is a backward step for me.
By flopsium on 8 Jan 2010
Even more uber geek
techade
should be : tekade
this gives it some old-greek mathematical facet, making it an delicious uber-geek obfuscation.
By dusanjovanovic on 9 Jan 2010
Would be great to compare real performance
For all the massive increase in power, are the systems actually that much faster. It would be really interesting to do comparisons. For example, how long from pressing the power button to having a 20 page word document open on the screen?
By Dannyt on 13 Jan 2010
misleading
"the Apple iPhone 3GS, costs around £1,000 over the course of your contract" just isn't true is it? You need to subtract the airtime part of the contract. On O2 1200 mins sim only = £30 per month. 18 months = £540.
3GS 16GB 1200 mins 18 mths £45 per month + 89.99 handset. total cost £900. handset implicit cost = 900 - 540 = £360.
£360! not "over £1000". And you keeo doing this. Stop it, it's misleading. And it's not even over £1000 total contract, it comes to £900 for the 16GB and £990 for the 32GB. Back to school chaps!
By gavmeister on 8 Feb 2010
For more details about purchasing this feature and/or images for editorial usage, please contact Jasmine Samra on pictures@dennis.co.uk
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