Sure, $2995 is a good price, but you can get a pretty skukum system for under $1000 (see Computer Shopper). That is still 3X the price. I realize that the SUN has at least SCSI which is at least twice as fast as EIDE, but also more costly. You realize that there is an edge of techonology in front of the leading edge. It is called the 'bleeding' edge. This is where nothing but the fastest will do. It doesn't always work the best, but it can make mistakes at the speed of light! I have been at conventions where the MIS managers conversations revolve around the technology they have at their disposal, not what they can produce. You know, something like "Well, Joe, I just got the new xyz-whizbang system, and it really rips with it's 3Ghz clock, yada-yada-yada .... ", never mind that the only use is word processing. ( how fast is keyboarding anyway? ) Industry, and especially the govt, doesn't always get the biggest bang for the buck. After all, they don't really pay for it! (The consumer in one case, the tax-payor in the other.) Intel has the rights to the 500Mhz Digital Alpha chip, so hardware will continue to improve.
As for software stability, time will resolve that. If the software doesn't stabilize, it will perish! You know that, I know that and you can bet the farm that Bill Gates knows that.
There is the story around here that Bill goes to work one day and sees that MSFT is not moving along as fast a Bill would like. MSFT is currently spending $2B on R&D. Bill goes into his office, and calls in the 'boys'. He says that since we need to move along a little faster, I will increase the R&D budget from $2B to $4B! So, get to work. And out they go to hire all of the Computer Science top of the class graduates! ( Do you think that $2B can fix the stability problem? I,do! )
Any other company would have to have at least a board meeting, maybe a shareholder vote, and MAYBE get it moving sometime next century. |
