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Poll: How old is your work computer?

The Wall Street Journal's Ben Worthen asked his audience that question on the paper's biztech blog, and I thought to ask the same of you, ZDNet readers.Not long ago, employees used to expect that every few years, brand new computers would be distributed like Halloween candy.
Written by Andrew Nusca, Contributor

The Wall Street Journal's Ben Worthen asked his audience that question on the paper's biztech blog, and I thought to ask the same of you, ZDNet readers.

Not long ago, employees used to expect that every few years, brand new computers would be distributed like Halloween candy.

But not anymore. Why? Because delaying office-wide computer upgrades is an easy way for the tech department to cut its budget. CIOs nationwide have professed to have asked workers to keep using dusty-old ThinkPads (so old they say "IBM"!)  so some dollars could be saved or redirected to another pet project.

"If it ain’t broke don’t replace it." Let's just throw GTD out the window altogether, really.

Since the economy has done a nosedive, the occasional PC upgrade has been put on hold, according to WSJ.

"In fact, 46% of businesses have either already or plan to postpone purchasing new computers, according to a survey of information-technology execs by CIO Magazine."

And according to research company IDC, it's therefore no surprise that PC shipments in the U.S. will drop 1 percent in the Q4 of this year compared to a year ago. Notice all those PC makers scraping the bottom of the price barrel? Yep -- that's no coincidence.

Sure, we're nearing a consumer-happy holiday season, but corporate computer customers don't need to see tinsel and gingerbread to forget about their tightening budgets.

So, readers: How old is your work computer? What's the most outdated software or hardware you use on a regular basis?

(And for those of you in IT: Are you feeling the pinch?)

I'll throw my hat into the ring first: I'm working on a Lenovo ThinkPad that can't be more than six months old.

How about you? Give us the dirt in TalkBack.

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