the champ: a reflection of the ever-increasing gap

so sometimes i like to play this little game with myself. it definitely puts me in my place and reminds me about who i am and what i can afford. the game is called, "go onto apple.com and see how much the most expensive computer can be."

the last time i played was about a year and a half ago. the reigning champion clocked in at just over 5k. needless to say, the new heavyweight champ is well over this.

this is the current price for a power pc with all of the frills, and i do mean ALL of them. of course, this gives us a bit of a skewed image of just how expensive this computer really is, but i think it does provide a meaningful message. we are seeing computer companies cater more and more to the higher end.

but perhaps this is just the embittered rantings of an avid apple user who feels that the company is making super high end products and super low end products. is there still a computing middle class out there?