Saturday, October 21, 2006

Juicy

I was listening to the Notorious B.I.G.'s 1994 song "Juicy" the other day and started thinking about some of the lyrics:
Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis

When I was dead broke, man I couldn't picture this

50 inch screen, money green leather sofa

Got two rides, a limousine with a chauffeur

Phone bill about two G's flat

No need to worry, my accountant handles that
So here we have Biggie rapping about how great his life is and all the cool stuff he owns, but really when you stop and think about it it's in some ways fairly unremarkable. Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis are pretty poor when compared to what's available now. You can get an XBox 360, superior in every way to the other two systems, for $300. Big deal.

A 50 inch screen. Sure, it isn't like every one has them, but they're not the rarest of commodities either. You can get a 53" TV from amazon for $800. Step up to high-def and you're talking about $1,600. That's not beyond the reach of a lot of people. And the prices keep coming down.

Perhaps most remarkable is the bit about the phone. Who would now have a phone bill of $2K a month? Spend $100 on an ueber-elaborate cell phone plan and you should have most of your needs taken care of right there. If you make international calls you can get a calling card that costs pennies a minute. Use Skype and call overseas for free to another computer.

It all just goes to show that with the forward march of technology and economic growth that even what was once considered remarkable a little of 12 years ago is now really no big deal.

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