U.S. Notebook PC Sales Surpass Desktop PC Sales in May -- For the first time in U.S. history, retail sales of notebook computers surpassed those of desktops in May, according to research firm Current Analysis. Notebook sales grew from 45.9 percent of the total PC retail market in May 2004 to 53.3 percent of last month. "The past few months have seen an increase in the number of retail notebook players, with lesser-known value players Acer and Medion gaining shelf space at major retailers such as Best Buy, Circuit City and CompUSA," said analyst Sam Bhavnani. "In addition, notebook pricing has dropped considerably." Prices, in fact, have fallen an average of 17 percent over the past year. The firm said that notebooks nearly topped desktops in August 2004, on the strength of intense back�to-school advertising by Toshiba.
What was once a simple, unidirectional flow of electricity from centralized power plants to passive consumers is evolving into a complex, intelligent network where millions of distributed resources actively participate in grid operations. This transformation, powered by smart grid technologies, represents one of the most significant infrastructure shifts of our time. It promises to reshape how we generate, distribute, and consume energy. At its core, the smart grid represents far more than mere digitization of existing infrastructure. This bi-directional capability is fundamental to understanding why smart grids are becoming the backbone of modern energy systems, facilitating everything from real-time demand response to the integration of renewable energy sources. Smart Grid Market Development By 2030, smart grid technologies are projected to cover nearly half of the global electrical grid, up dramatically from just 24 percent in 2025. This expansion is underpinned by explosive gr...