Geek News: Do computers really improve productivity?

A year or two ago, I was reading the letters page in one of the major computer magazines.

Someone had been complaining that the magazine seemed to continually push expensive software upgrades and hardware purchases.

It seemed, this reader complained, that every time some fancy new toy came out, or a new processor was released, the magazine advised that everyone should buy it, all in the name of “efficiency.”

In the real world, the reader continued, businesses work on limited budgets, and can’t buy everything and upgrade continuously. Sometimes you have to make do with what you have.

The magazine’s editor responded in what…