Well, do you know what you are saying to me? That everything is a matter of marketing! How may owners of laptop computers use the TV out? Not so many, as you said, but it's there. How many average users use RS232 today that we have USB and Firewire? Even fewer, so we remove the DB9 connector (and we are going to remove the DB25 connector for the LPT), because we want to promote the USB and Firewire products and generally new technology that comes up every year. Plus we will sell some USB-to-RS232 converters or some PCI (now PCI-Express) cards that have RS232 for those that need it desperately. As Kai said above: "...money you will only get, if you sell new computers every two years..."

Fortunately, I have the same PC for the last 2,5 years and I am not intended to upgrade it or even worse buy a new one for the next year. I am not the kind of guy that wants to have the latest technology inside of the case of his PC or is interested in 3D games... I am doing my job perfectly well with my 1,2GHz Duron :) The next computer I will buy will be for my postgraduate studies abroad. Until then no problem Mr. Gates and others of IT industry!

George