@strider_mt2k: What an exciting change of pace! :) I envy you. :(

Substance_D

@dontforget: Naaa I work Saturday.

Sunday and Monday is my weekend.

strider_mt2k

The number "billion" might be misleading, as most of the people I know have multiple computers, therefore it isnt a billion people, just a few Giz readers that have a hardware fixation (and God bless you for it).

Curves

Just seems to me there should be more than 1 Billion computers out there...

Anyone know how wired (as in how many computers per # of people) places like India and China are?

I do know that in europe people are pretty happy going to a cafe for their internet/computer fix vice purchasing one.

baldingnerd

@strider_mt2k: all weekend too? well if that's true, than i hate you.

dontforget

@dontforget: Yeah but I'm OFF on Mondays! :o

@dontforget: I think the furnace is burning low over at Gizmodo HQ again.

(Someone wake up Uncle Joe in the boiler room please!)

strider_mt2k

@strider_mt2k: it's ok, it's monday (unhappy face)

dontforget

@strider_mt2k: ? that vid is doing something weird my ff3.

o, and thanks to giz and commenters to turning me on to ABP. it's the shit.

dontforget

The day I'm having. :(

+ Watch video

strider_mt2k

O dear.
Meant to link this one, sorry folks.

It's more fun to compute:

+ Watch video

strider_mt2k

It's more fun to compute!

+ Watch video

As for the waste, it's probably not the worst thing we're killing ourselves with.

strider_mt2k

i once saw a show that demonstrated the amount of toxins that are in the landfills which house old computers. disgusting. and (i'm not sure what country) but the kids working in these places were, let's just say were not living very long.

dontforget

@xint: Likely just think we were primitive and didn't know any better (like we do with the peoples that came before us).

I mean, scientists that think Pleistocene humans were a contributing factor to the extinction of megafauna don't really blame them for it.

92BuickLeSabre

@strider_mt2k: It's scary to think what future civilizations will think of us, of what we did, and why.

xint

Are cell phones calculated into this equation or is this just PCs?

Joseph

@xint: Interesting to think what future archeologists may find on the odd flash drive or computer that might've been accidentally thrown away.

I'd love to say our civilization could be defined by it, but by the time they find THAT stuff they'll most likely be completely disgusted with us already. :\

strider_mt2k

Do you think that people care that also their personal information is being dumped into landfields?

You see them cut up their credit cards and shred private documents... but they just hand off hard drives to anyone...

That 13 year old kid who did a favor for his neighbor walks straight home with what his neighbor said was a dead hard drive...

...does he A)run up the credit card bill? B)create a website on all the images recovered? C)create a fake company using stolen information? D)all of the above?

"...oh, but, that hard drive is dead! What's HE gonna do with it???"

xint

BILLIONS served! (by humans)

ANoel

@Monty: Interesting.

Any GPS unit could be considered a computer too.

strider_mt2k

I Adore my 64. So, what makes it useless? Still plays games like a champ.

Nyle

I wonder what their definition of a 'computer' is. Just desktops, or does it include laptops, iPhones, computer navigation systems, anything with a CPU? Hard to know where to draw the line these days.

Still, congratulations Gizmodo commenters. This might be the only web site with a readership responsible for a full percentage point of them.

Monty

@Curves: Exactly. I've got three computers in my home that I use, my significant other has another one, and we both have a computer at work. That's two people, one of us a geek, the other far from it, that account for 5 computers "in use." There's no way to extrapolate how many people own and use computers based on a "x number of computers are in use" type statement.

distortedloop

I've got a powerbook G4 that is practically Frankenstiened together. Does that make it two computers?

Not including the pile of old towers in my closet that I cobble more machines from.

Also don't forget the two PC's in my house that are used by other people.

So in essence, maybe 5 computers?

Oh, and there's that iPhone, bringing it to 6.

dave_1138

@Curves:

well what do you expect? 58% of a billion is 580 million. there are not 580 million people in america (not even half that).

However, i do think that this is pretty significant (which is actually proven by that 2014 statistic). they are becoming cheaper and cheaper to make. between the growing economy in many 3rd world countries and the cheapening of computers, it wont be long before basically everyone in the world has a computer of some type.

my only problem with that statistic is if it is including "computers" that arnt really computers (such as smart phones). Sure they may technically be able to do everything a computer does, but not many people will actually DO everything they would on a computer, on their smart phone.

jrghoull

1 billion computers. 900M of them spambots sending spam?

Worf

How many of them are Windows...lets say about 60%...that's 600 million. How many of those are blue-screened right this second? >50%? More? LOLz!

mjgolli

@mjgolli: You truly have the intellect of a typing dog...

Digitele