IDC report says rise of home offices means a growing PC market for U.S. households -- The portable computer market may be growing faster than the market for desktops, in part because of the rising number of home offices in the United States, according to a report by IDC. The number of home offices in the U.S. will grow from 33.1 million at the end of 2004 to 37.7 million by 2009, meaning an increase of customers likely to purchase advanced, portable, or multiple PCs, analyst Merle Sandler said on Monday. IDC defines home offices as those used by telecommuters or employees working after-hours as well as income-generating offices. Household PC penetration is near 90 percent. Within those households, at the end of 2004 portable computers were at 43.4 percent and growing. At the end of 2003, that number was 42 percent. �Households with home offices are less likely to let the kids near the computers, because of the important information in them. So they�re more likely to buy computers for students to do their homework on,� said Ms. Sandler, lead author of the June 8 report. �Home offices continue to upgrade or add additional PCs, especially higher-margin portable PCs.�
Try to imagine this scenario, that General Motors and Ford were given exclusive franchises to build America's interstate highway system, and also all the highways that connect local communities. Now imagine that, based upon a financial crisis, these troubled companies decided to convert all "their" local arteries into toll-roads -- they then use incremental toll fees to severely limit all travel to and from small businesses. Why? This handicapping process reduced the need to invest in building better new roads, or repairing the dilapidated ones. But, wouldn't that short-sighted decision have a detrimental impact on the overall national economy? It's a moot point -- pure fantasy -- you say. The U.S. political leadership would never knowingly risk the nation's social and economic future on the financial viability of a restrictive duopoly. Or, would they? The 21st century Global Networked Economy travels across essential broadband infrastructure. The forced intro...