SEO

Any idea when the prices of the above units will become "reasonable"
Hopefully like the depreciation we saw in the Ultra 5 and 10 market? I
was asked last night and I had no idea so I said I'd check here with you
guys for your opinions. I don't see them coming down soon but I'm no
economist.

Respects and have a good weekend,

Rob

"Rob Fraser" <FraserRacing"AT"RobFraser.Net> writes:
>Any idea when the prices of the above units will become "reasonable"
>Hopefully like the depreciation we saw in the Ultra 5 and 10 market? I
>was asked last night and I had no idea so I said I'd check here with you
>guys for your opinions. I don't see them coming down soon but I'm no
>economist.


The Ultra 5/10 are generations apart from the Ultra 20/24/40?
(if not all that far apart in numbering schemes).

I'd say the Ultra20 is pretty reasonable right now. One going for $250
right now on eBay? But Sun does still sell it new currently.

The Ultra 24/40 are their current Sun x64 workstation offerings?

Gear comes down in price after its been EOL'd from the manufactorer
and everybody is dumping it to get the next greatest thing.

Then it comes down again after it is ancient history (like Ultra 5/10)
and isn't too usable for the majority of the users compared to other offerings.

Rob Fraser wrote:
> Any idea when the prices of the above units will become "reasonable"
> Hopefully like the depreciation we saw in the Ultra 5 and 10 market? I
> was asked last night and I had no idea so I said I'd check here with you
> guys for your opinions. I don't see them coming down soon but I'm no
> economist.
>
> Respects and have a good weekend,
>
> Rob
>
>

When I had a few beers one night, I decided to estimate the future
prices of X1195A CPUs, based on past prices, and an exponential fit
(which seemed the most logical).

That seemed to work pretty accurately for some years,


http://groups.google.co.uk/group/com...9927ddf4fcd4eb


http://groups.google.com/group/comp....4a454c1e043268

Basically, it is based on the following equation:


price_now = price_t_months_ago * exp(- k t)


k=0.08

Assuming the price at now is 1.0, then the price over the next 120
months (10 years), is estimated to be as below. Hence about half their
current cost in 8-9 months, and about a quarter of there current cost in
17-18 months.


First column is months from now. Second column is the fraction of the
current cost.

Flames to /dev/null!!!


In[8]:= TableForm[ Table[{t,Exp[-0.08 t]},{t,0,120}]]

Out[8]//TableForm= 0 1

1 0.923116

2 0.852144

3 0.786628

4 0.726149

5 0.67032

6 0.618783

7 0.571209

8 0.527292

9 0.486752

10 0.449329

11 0.414783

12 0.382893

13 0.353455

14 0.32628

15 0.301194

16 0.278037

17 0.256661

18 0.236928

19 0.218712

20 0.201897

21 0.186374

22 0.172045

23 0.158817

24 0.146607

25 0.135335

26 0.12493

27 0.115325

28 0.106459

29 0.0982736

30 0.090718

31 0.0837432

32 0.0773047

33 0.0713613

34 0.0658748

35 0.0608101

36 0.0561348

37 0.0518189

38 0.0478349

39 0.0441572

40 0.0407622

41 0.0376283

42 0.0347353

43 0.0320647

44 0.0295994

45 0.0273237

46 0.025223

47 0.0232837

48 0.0214936

49 0.0198411

50 0.0183156

51 0.0169075

52 0.0156076

53 0.0144076

54 0.0132999

55 0.0122773

56 0.0113334

57 0.0104621

58 0.0096577

59 0.00891518

60 0.00822975

61 0.00759701

62 0.00701293

63 0.00647375

64 0.00597602

65 0.00551656

66 0.00509243

67 0.00470091

68 0.00433948

69 0.00400585

70 0.00369786

71 0.00341356

72 0.00315111

73 0.00290884

74 0.0026852

75 0.00247875

76 0.00228818

77 0.00211225

78 0.00194986

79 0.00179994

80 0.00166156

81 0.00153381

82 0.00141589

83 0.00130703

84 0.00120654

85 0.00111378

86 0.00102814

87 0.000949097

88 0.000876127

89 0.000808767

90 0.000746586

91 0.000689186

92 0.000636198

93 0.000587285

94 0.000542133

95 0.000500451

96 0.000461975

97 0.000426457

98 0.000393669

99 0.000363402

100 0.000335463

101 0.000309671

102 0.000285862

103 0.000263884

104 0.000243596

105 0.000224867

106 0.000207579

107 0.000191619

108 0.000176887

109 0.000163287

110 0.000150733

111 0.000139144

112 0.000128446

113 0.000118571

114 0.000109455

115 0.000101039

116 0.0000932711

117 0.0000861001

118 0.0000794804

119 0.0000733697

120 0.0000677287

"Doug McIntyre" <merlyn@geeks.org> wrote in message
news:47f647eb$0$93289$8046368a@newsreader.iphouse. net...
> "Rob Fraser" <FraserRacing"AT"RobFraser.Net> writes:
>>Any idea when the prices of the above units will become "reasonable"
>>Hopefully like the depreciation we saw in the Ultra 5 and 10 market? I
>>was asked last night and I had no idea so I said I'd check here with you
>>guys for your opinions. I don't see them coming down soon but I'm no
>>economist.
>
>
> The Ultra 5/10 are generations apart from the Ultra 20/24/40?
> (if not all that far apart in numbering schemes).
>
> I'd say the Ultra20 is pretty reasonable right now. One going for $250
> right now on eBay? But Sun does still sell it new currently.
>
> The Ultra 24/40 are their current Sun x64 workstation offerings?
>

I just looked at those on the SUN web site. They look a horrendous price
when compared with the equivalent Lenovo(IBM) tower. The IBM comes with
three years warrenty, but three years silver support for SUN is as much as
the IBM. Niceley made as well...

> Gear comes down in price after its been EOL'd from the manufactorer
> and everybody is dumping it to get the next greatest thing.
>
> Then it comes down again after it is ancient history (like Ultra 5/10)
> and isn't too usable for the majority of the users compared to other
> offerings.
>

Well some one gave me an Ultra-60 and its just about usable, and fun!.
However why one would buy SUN AMD based workstations is beyond me. I know
the hardware compatibility list for Solaris is not as comprehensive as Linux
but

On Apr 5, 4:16 am, "Dave Wade" <g8...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> "Doug McIntyre" <mer...@geeks.org> wrote in message
>
> news:47f647eb$0$93289$8046368a@newsreader.iphouse. net...
>
>
>
> > "Rob Fraser" <FraserRacing"AT"RobFraser.Net> writes:
> >>Any idea when the prices of the above units will become "reasonable"
> >>Hopefully like the depreciation we saw in the Ultra 5 and 10 market? I
> >>was asked last night and I had no idea so I said I'd check here with you
> >>guys for your opinions. I don't see them coming down soon but I'm no
> >>economist.
>
> > The Ultra 5/10 are generations apart from the Ultra 20/24/40?
> > (if not all that far apart in numbering schemes).
>
> > I'd say the Ultra20 is pretty reasonable right now. One going for $250
> > right now on eBay? But Sun does still sell it new currently.
>
> > The Ultra 24/40 are their current Sun x64 workstation offerings?
>
> I just looked at those on the SUN web site. They look a horrendous price
> when compared with the equivalent Lenovo(IBM) tower. The IBM comes with
> three years warrenty, but three years silver support for SUN is as much as
> the IBM. Niceley made as well...
>
> > Gear comes down in price after its been EOL'd from the manufactorer
> > and everybody is dumping it to get the next greatest thing.
>
> > Then it comes down again after it is ancient history (like Ultra 5/10)
> > and isn't too usable for the majority of the users compared to other
> > offerings.
>
> Well some one gave me an Ultra-60 and its just about usable, and fun!.
> However why one would buy SUN AMD based workstations is beyond me. I know
> the hardware compatibility list for Solaris is not as comprehensive as Linux
> but

While I agree that the Ultrasparc is a far better choice than the X86,
until the next generation of Sparc's come on line Sun has little
choice but too offer the X86. As far as Sun versus anything else,
consider the build quality. THe IBM/Leveno is cheaper because it is
cheaply made compared to the Sun. I have 4 very low serial number
Ultra-24's and compared to the Dell's sitting net to the Ultra-24's
the Sun's have orders of magnitude better build quality. The Dell's
with our discount are about 20% more than the equivalent Sun's

<mommycalled@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:217fafe7-e37d-4b1d-a877-5099ab53ccfd@d1g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
> On Apr 5, 4:16 am, "Dave Wade" <g8...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> "Doug McIntyre" <mer...@geeks.org> wrote in message
>>
>> news:47f647eb$0$93289$8046368a@newsreader.iphouse. net...
>>
>>
>>
>> > "Rob Fraser" <FraserRacing"AT"RobFraser.Net> writes:
>> >>Any idea when the prices of the above units will become "reasonable"
>> >>Hopefully like the depreciation we saw in the Ultra 5 and 10 market?
>> >>I
>> >>was asked last night and I had no idea so I said I'd check here with
>> >>you
>> >>guys for your opinions. I don't see them coming down soon but I'm no
>> >>economist.
>>
>> > The Ultra 5/10 are generations apart from the Ultra 20/24/40?
>> > (if not all that far apart in numbering schemes).
>>
>> > I'd say the Ultra20 is pretty reasonable right now. One going for $250
>> > right now on eBay? But Sun does still sell it new currently.
>>
>> > The Ultra 24/40 are their current Sun x64 workstation offerings?
>>
>> I just looked at those on the SUN web site. They look a horrendous price
>> when compared with the equivalent Lenovo(IBM) tower. The IBM comes with
>> three years warrenty, but three years silver support for SUN is as much
>> as
>> the IBM. Niceley made as well...
>>
>> > Gear comes down in price after its been EOL'd from the manufactorer
>> > and everybody is dumping it to get the next greatest thing.
>>
>> > Then it comes down again after it is ancient history (like Ultra 5/10)
>> > and isn't too usable for the majority of the users compared to other
>> > offerings.
>>
>> Well some one gave me an Ultra-60 and its just about usable, and fun!.
>> However why one would buy SUN AMD based workstations is beyond me. I know
>> the hardware compatibility list for Solaris is not as comprehensive as
>> Linux
>> but
>
> While I agree that the Ultrasparc is a far better choice than the X86,
> until the next generation of Sparc's come on line Sun has little
> choice but too offer the X86. As far as Sun versus anything else,
> consider the build quality. THe IBM/Leveno is cheaper because it is
> cheaply made compared to the Sun. I have 4 very low serial number
> Ultra-24's and compared to the Dell's sitting net to the Ultra-24's
> the Sun's have orders of magnitude better build quality. The Dell's
> with our discount are about 20% more than the equivalent Sun's

I guess as the Lenovo is made in China its "cheaply made" but that does not
mean the quality is poor. The build quality of the ones we get at work seems
excellant, compare to the DELLs and HP boxes that were submitted to our last
round of invation to tender. In fact the Dells seem to be "consumer grade"
boxes .....

Whilst they are not as solid as the Ultra-60 I would say thats over
engineered. For goodness sake you can only get two hard drives in the thing
and its huge. Certainly in the UK the Lenovo/IBM service is still good. On
the odd occasion we do get a faulty one its usually fixed promptly and
expertley...

And as for "dealer discount" well it must be hige looking at the list on the
Sun site.....

On Apr 6, 5:07 pm, "Dave Wade" <g8...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> <mommycal...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:217fafe7-e37d-4b1d-a877-5099ab53ccfd@d1g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
> > On Apr 5, 4:16 am, "Dave Wade" <g8...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >> "Doug McIntyre" <mer...@geeks.org> wrote in message
>
> >>news:47f647eb$0$93289$8046368a@newsreader.iphous e.net...
>
> >> > "Rob Fraser" <FraserRacing"AT"RobFraser.Net> writes:
> >> >>Any idea when the prices of the above units will become "reasonable"
> >> >>Hopefully like the depreciation we saw in the Ultra 5 and 10 market?
> >> >>I
> >> >>was asked last night and I had no idea so I said I'd check here with
> >> >>you
> >> >>guys for your opinions. I don't see them coming down soon but I'm no
> >> >>economist.
>
> >> > The Ultra 5/10 are generations apart from the Ultra 20/24/40?
> >> > (if not all that far apart in numbering schemes).
>
> >> > I'd say the Ultra20 is pretty reasonable right now. One going for $250
> >> > right now on eBay? But Sun does still sell it new currently.
>
> >> > The Ultra 24/40 are their current Sun x64 workstation offerings?
>
> >> I just looked at those on the SUN web site. They look a horrendous price
> >> when compared with the equivalent Lenovo(IBM) tower. The IBM comes with
> >> three years warrenty, but three years silver support for SUN is as much
> >> as
> >> the IBM. Niceley made as well...
>
> >> > Gear comes down in price after its been EOL'd from the manufactorer
> >> > and everybody is dumping it to get the next greatest thing.
>
> >> > Then it comes down again after it is ancient history (like Ultra 5/10)
> >> > and isn't too usable for the majority of the users compared to other
> >> > offerings.
>
> >> Well some one gave me an Ultra-60 and its just about usable, and fun!.
> >> However why one would buy SUN AMD based workstations is beyond me. I know
> >> the hardware compatibility list for Solaris is not as comprehensive as
> >> Linux
> >> but
>
> > While I agree that the Ultrasparc is a far better choice than the X86,
> > until the next generation of Sparc's come on line Sun has little
> > choice but too offer the X86. As far as Sun versus anything else,
> > consider the build quality. THe IBM/Leveno is cheaper because it is
> > cheaply made compared to the Sun. I have 4 very low serial number
> > Ultra-24's and compared to the Dell's sitting net to the Ultra-24's
> > the Sun's have orders of magnitude better build quality. The Dell's
> > with our discount are about 20% more than the equivalent Sun's
>
> I guess as the Lenovo is made in China its "cheaply made" but that does not
> mean the quality is poor. The build quality of the ones we get at work seems
> excellant, compare to the DELLs and HP boxes that were submitted to our last
> round of invation to tender. In fact the Dells seem to be "consumer grade"
> boxes .....
>
> Whilst they are not as solid as the Ultra-60 I would say thats over
> engineered. For goodness sake you can only get two hard drives in the thing
> and its huge. Certainly in the UK the Lenovo/IBM service is still good. On
> the odd occasion we do get a faulty one its usually fixed promptly and
> expertley...
>
> And as for "dealer discount" well it must be hige looking at the list on the
> Sun site.....

A sun Ultra-60 is designed for Ultrasparc-II. That makes the machine
over 10 years old. The size is simply a function of the age of
machine. Compare the capabilities of an Ultra-60 to a Pentium-I or
Pentium-II machine. If you think that an Ultra-60 is over-engineered
you must intend to replace your Dell/HP/Levono/IBM every year or two
as they are so under-engineered it is a wonder they work at all let
alone last more than a year or two. My son is a EE major working as a
desktop support technician for the Business school. They buy 50% more
desktops than they need because they know they will have just about
50% of their desktops out for repairs. The repairs are done quickly by
the dealer, but in reality the cost is 50% higher simply because you
need replacement machines I just paid $1250 for an Ultra-24 with a
quad-core 2.4ghz Intel, 8gb of ECC memory, 500gb of disk and a dual-
layer DVD-RW. The equivalent Dell was $500 more expensive and the
build quality is crap. Yes Dell would replace the machine in 24 hours,
but the Sun would have to be replaced as it wouldn't collapse due to
poor engineering and build quality

<mommycalled@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:0457b20e-9d93-478f-acc2-b552a194a74b@b64g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
> On Apr 6, 5:07 pm, "Dave Wade" <g8...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> <mommycal...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>>
>> news:217fafe7-e37d-4b1d-a877-5099ab53ccfd@d1g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
>>
>>
>>
>> > On Apr 5, 4:16 am, "Dave Wade" <g8...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> >> "Doug McIntyre" <mer...@geeks.org> wrote in message
>>
>> >>news:47f647eb$0$93289$8046368a@newsreader.iphous e.net...
>>
>> >> > "Rob Fraser" <FraserRacing"AT"RobFraser.Net> writes:
>> >> >>Any idea when the prices of the above units will become "reasonable"
>> >> >>Hopefully like the depreciation we saw in the Ultra 5 and 10 market?
>> >> >>I
>> >> >>was asked last night and I had no idea so I said I'd check here with
>> >> >>you
>> >> >>guys for your opinions. I don't see them coming down soon but I'm
>> >> >>no
>> >> >>economist.
>>
>> >> > The Ultra 5/10 are generations apart from the Ultra 20/24/40?
>> >> > (if not all that far apart in numbering schemes).
>>
>> >> > I'd say the Ultra20 is pretty reasonable right now. One going for
>> >> > $250
>> >> > right now on eBay? But Sun does still sell it new currently.
>>
>> >> > The Ultra 24/40 are their current Sun x64 workstation offerings?
>>
>> >> I just looked at those on the SUN web site. They look a horrendous
>> >> price
>> >> when compared with the equivalent Lenovo(IBM) tower. The IBM comes
>> >> with
>> >> three years warrenty, but three years silver support for SUN is as
>> >> much
>> >> as
>> >> the IBM. Niceley made as well...
>>
>> >> > Gear comes down in price after its been EOL'd from the manufactorer
>> >> > and everybody is dumping it to get the next greatest thing.
>>
>> >> > Then it comes down again after it is ancient history (like Ultra
>> >> > 5/10)
>> >> > and isn't too usable for the majority of the users compared to other
>> >> > offerings.
>>
>> >> Well some one gave me an Ultra-60 and its just about usable, and fun!.
>> >> However why one would buy SUN AMD based workstations is beyond me. I
>> >> know
>> >> the hardware compatibility list for Solaris is not as comprehensive as
>> >> Linux
>> >> but
>>
>> > While I agree that the Ultrasparc is a far better choice than the X86,
>> > until the next generation of Sparc's come on line Sun has little
>> > choice but too offer the X86. As far as Sun versus anything else,
>> > consider the build quality. THe IBM/Leveno is cheaper because it is
>> > cheaply made compared to the Sun. I have 4 very low serial number
>> > Ultra-24's and compared to the Dell's sitting net to the Ultra-24's
>> > the Sun's have orders of magnitude better build quality. The Dell's
>> > with our discount are about 20% more than the equivalent Sun's
>>
>> I guess as the Lenovo is made in China its "cheaply made" but that does
>> not
>> mean the quality is poor. The build quality of the ones we get at work
>> seems
>> excellant, compare to the DELLs and HP boxes that were submitted to our
>> last
>> round of invation to tender. In fact the Dells seem to be "consumer
>> grade"
>> boxes .....
>>
>> Whilst they are not as solid as the Ultra-60 I would say thats over
>> engineered. For goodness sake you can only get two hard drives in the
>> thing
>> and its huge. Certainly in the UK the Lenovo/IBM service is still good.
>> On
>> the odd occasion we do get a faulty one its usually fixed promptly and
>> expertley...
>>
>> And as for "dealer discount" well it must be hige looking at the list on
>> the
>> Sun site.....
>
> A sun Ultra-60 is designed for Ultrasparc-II. That makes the machine
> over 10 years old. The size is simply a function of the age of
> machine. Compare the capabilities of an Ultra-60 to a Pentium-I or
> Pentium-II machine. If you think that an Ultra-60 is over-engineered
> you must intend to replace your Dell/HP/Levono/IBM every year or two
> as they are so under-engineered it is a wonder they work at all let
> alone last more than a year or two. My son is a EE major working as a
> desktop support technician for the Business school. They buy 50% more
> desktops than they need because they know they will have just about
> 50% of their desktops out for repairs. The repairs are done quickly by
> the dealer, but in reality the cost is 50% higher simply because you
> need replacement machines I just paid $1250 for an Ultra-24 with a
> quad-core 2.4ghz Intel, 8gb of ECC memory, 500gb of disk and a dual-
> layer DVD-RW. The equivalent Dell was $500 more expensive and the
> build quality is crap. Yes Dell would replace the machine in 24 hours,
> but the Sun would have to be replaced as it wouldn't collapse due to
> poor engineering and build quality

I think you jest. If we had to buy 50% more we wouldn't get any work done.
Mind you as I say we rejected the DELL submitted to our ITT as it don't pass
the tests. I don't know the exact numbers of PCs we have but its around 4000
IBM/Lenovos in a mix of desktop/tower, "standard laptop" e.g. T series, and
small footprint/tablet "XSeries", ranging from brand new to about 4 years
old. The failure rate is very low. We don't buy high spec so I am not going
to compare price, but there is no way we could get a sun for under twice
what we pay...

On Apr 8, 4:32 pm, "Dave Wade" <g8...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> <mommycal...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:0457b20e-9d93-478f-acc2-b552a194a74b@b64g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
> > On Apr 6, 5:07 pm, "Dave Wade" <g8...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >> <mommycal...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> >>news:217fafe7-e37d-4b1d-a877-5099ab53ccfd@d1g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
>
> >> > On Apr 5, 4:16 am, "Dave Wade" <g8...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >> >> "Doug McIntyre" <mer...@geeks.org> wrote in message
>
> >> >>news:47f647eb$0$93289$8046368a@newsreader.iphous e.net...
>
> >> >> > "Rob Fraser" <FraserRacing"AT"RobFraser.Net> writes:
> >> >> >>Any idea when the prices of the above units will become "reasonable"
> >> >> >>Hopefully like the depreciation we saw in the Ultra 5 and 10 market?
> >> >> >>I
> >> >> >>was asked last night and I had no idea so I said I'd check here with
> >> >> >>you
> >> >> >>guys for your opinions. I don't see them coming down soon but I'm
> >> >> >>no
> >> >> >>economist.
>
> >> >> > The Ultra 5/10 are generations apart from the Ultra 20/24/40?
> >> >> > (if not all that far apart in numbering schemes).
>
> >> >> > I'd say the Ultra20 is pretty reasonable right now. One going for
> >> >> > $250
> >> >> > right now on eBay? But Sun does still sell it new currently.
>
> >> >> > The Ultra 24/40 are their current Sun x64 workstation offerings?
>
> >> >> I just looked at those on the SUN web site. They look a horrendous
> >> >> price
> >> >> when compared with the equivalent Lenovo(IBM) tower. The IBM comes
> >> >> with
> >> >> three years warrenty, but three years silver support for SUN is as
> >> >> much
> >> >> as
> >> >> the IBM. Niceley made as well...
>
> >> >> > Gear comes down in price after its been EOL'd from the manufactorer
> >> >> > and everybody is dumping it to get the next greatest thing.
>
> >> >> > Then it comes down again after it is ancient history (like Ultra
> >> >> > 5/10)
> >> >> > and isn't too usable for the majority of the users compared to other
> >> >> > offerings.
>
> >> >> Well some one gave me an Ultra-60 and its just about usable, and fun!.
> >> >> However why one would buy SUN AMD based workstations is beyond me. I
> >> >> know
> >> >> the hardware compatibility list for Solaris is not as comprehensive as
> >> >> Linux
> >> >> but
>
> >> > While I agree that the Ultrasparc is a far better choice than the X86,
> >> > until the next generation of Sparc's come on line Sun has little
> >> > choice but too offer the X86. As far as Sun versus anything else,
> >> > consider the build quality. THe IBM/Leveno is cheaper because it is
> >> > cheaply made compared to the Sun. I have 4 very low serial number
> >> > Ultra-24's and compared to the Dell's sitting net to the Ultra-24's
> >> > the Sun's have orders of magnitude better build quality. The Dell's
> >> > with our discount are about 20% more than the equivalent Sun's
>
> >> I guess as the Lenovo is made in China its "cheaply made" but that does
> >> not
> >> mean the quality is poor. The build quality of the ones we get at work
> >> seems
> >> excellant, compare to the DELLs and HP boxes that were submitted to our
> >> last
> >> round of invation to tender. In fact the Dells seem to be "consumer
> >> grade"
> >> boxes .....
>
> >> Whilst they are not as solid as the Ultra-60 I would say thats over
> >> engineered. For goodness sake you can only get two hard drives in the
> >> thing
> >> and its huge. Certainly in the UK the Lenovo/IBM service is still good.
> >> On
> >> the odd occasion we do get a faulty one its usually fixed promptly and
> >> expertley...
>
> >> And as for "dealer discount" well it must be hige looking at the list on
> >> the
> >> Sun site.....
>
> > A sun Ultra-60 is designed for Ultrasparc-II. That makes the machine
> > over 10 years old. The size is simply a function of the age of
> > machine. Compare the capabilities of an Ultra-60 to a Pentium-I or
> > Pentium-II machine. If you think that an Ultra-60 is over-engineered
> > you must intend to replace your Dell/HP/Levono/IBM every year or two
> > as they are so under-engineered it is a wonder they work at all let
> > alone last more than a year or two. My son is a EE major working as a
> > desktop support technician for the Business school. They buy 50% more
> > desktops than they need because they know they will have just about
> > 50% of their desktops out for repairs. The repairs are done quickly by
> > the dealer, but in reality the cost is 50% higher simply because you
> > need replacement machines I just paid $1250 for an Ultra-24 with a
> > quad-core 2.4ghz Intel, 8gb of ECC memory, 500gb of disk and a dual-
> > layer DVD-RW. The equivalent Dell was $500 more expensive and the
> > build quality is crap. Yes Dell would replace the machine in 24 hours,
> > but the Sun would have to be replaced as it wouldn't collapse due to
> > poor engineering and build quality
>
> I think you jest. If we had to buy 50% more we wouldn't get any work done.
> Mind you as I say we rejected the DELL submitted to our ITT as it don't pass
> the tests. I don't know the exact numbers of PCs we have but its around 4000
> IBM/Lenovos in a mix of desktop/tower, "standard laptop" e.g. T series, and
> small footprint/tablet "XSeries", ranging from brand new to about 4 years
> old. The failure rate is very low. We don't buy high spec so I am not going
> to compare price, but there is no way we could get a sun for under twice
> what we pay...

No I don't jest. Even though computers on Business School faculty
member desks are not considered mission critical, they are necessary
for faculty to teach their courses. In order to insure that all 142
faculty members have a computer they can use 225 Dell's were
purchased. Machines are swapped out when they fail and transfered to
the EE department where students replace the failed components and
ghost the disk. The machine is then placed in the pool of replacement
machines.