TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Dataquest Says Lower PC Prices Will Lure Buyers: Only 32% of consumers who had planned to buy a personal computer within 12 months have actually purchased one, but cheaper systems will lure them to buy in the fourth quarter, market research firm Dataquest Inc. of San Jose said. According to a survey conducted late last year, 15% of U.S. households planned to buy a PC in the next 12 months, but high prices and general lack of interest stymied sales during the last nine months, the company said. That is expected to change in the next several months because of steep price declines for many components that allowed PC makers to drop prices.