Computer spending slowing along with economy

People are still buying computers, but the number of those planning to do so has fallen to the lowest level it's been in over a year (at least). The economy seems to be hurting everyone: Both consumers and businesses are buying fewer computers than they have in months.

The news is part of research from ChangeWave, an investment and technology research group, and it shows the outlook for technology spending looking pretty grim for the foreseeable future. Even the number of those planning to purchase Apple computers, which have shown an incredible rise over the last three years as the Mac has seized market share, is slightly softening for the first time since 2005 (though Apple still outpaces the rest of the consumer buying market considerably and purchase plans remain near their record high).

What's behind the fall? It's easy to blame the economy, but one need look no further than ChangeWave's telling graph measuring satisfaction ratings from corporate computer users to figure out one big reason for what's happening. While Mac OS, Linux, and Windows XP all merit 40 percent-plus on the "very satisfied" scale, Microsoft's latest, Windows Vista, managed to merit just 8 percent of users saying they were very satisfied with the system. I don't find it a stretch to believe that corporate computer buyers, greatly disappointed with Vista, are simply waiting it out with XP and biding their time while Microsoft develops Windows 7. Makes sense to me.

Computer spending slowing along with economy