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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: david_si who wrote (47244)	6/24/2000 7:13:00 PM
From: KevRupert	Respond to of 74651

PALM/MSFT Comparison: I posted this on the Palm thread without any response. The HWP uses the MSFT Operating System. I would be interested if any MSFT/HWP junkies - of which I am one too - have similar/opposing views on the Palm/MSFT PDA comparison. Disclosure: I own 3Com/MSFT stock. I'm positive on both companies. I own a Handspring Visor Deluxe, a Palm IIIC, and a HWP Jornada 545. I've also used a Palm Vx previously. (I consider the Casio E-115 to be bulky and with an ugly, square design.) I'm not a computer expert, but these are my thoughts: 1) The Palm Vx has a long lasting battery, is easy to use, and lightweight. A great tool for the basic applications! 2) The Visor is a good value for the money. If I were deciding whether to buy a Palm or a Handspring - I think overall the Visor is the better value. The Visor enclosed case is cheap looking when compared to the Palm. 3) The HWP Jornada is simply the best in all the needs that I need. The 545 lists for $499 & the Palm IIIC lists for $449. The HWP has 16 mb, with the ability to upgrade with flash memory (a 64 mb flash memory card was $150 at Circuit City). The HWP has an awesome color (& larger than the Palm IIIC) screen when compared to the IIIC, and the screen is much more clear than the Palm IIIC. The Vx costs $399, and doesn't match in value to the Jornada. The HWP has a couple of negatives: its battery only lasts 8 hours, and it weighs 9 oz. vs. 4 oz. for the Vx. The Palm products may be simplier to use (due to the Palm OS), but their functionality & storage is limited. The Palm products should be priced less to match the price-to-value that the HWP Jornada offers. Take a look at any store, and just hold the Jornada & the top of the line Palm - and the difference is obvious! I don't plan on using the MS Word or the MS Excel to a great extent. I simply love the ability to use flash memory, the awesome color, the ability to listen to music, leave voice messages, read & download books, and the 133 mhz. The HWP has a sleek design, a clamshell cover, and the best color screen that I could ever imagine! You have to take a look to see what the competition offers! Palm is way behind in offering a price-to-value product like this. I realize this is only my opinion, but I think there are plenty of others out there who will feel the same way. (Especially since the Vx is sold out everywhere. People who wanted the Vx are going to buy a PDA - and they will be looking at the HWP Jornada 540 series. The 548 offers 32 mb.) If both the HWP Jornada & Palm are progressing at the same level, Palm has a lot of work ahead of it. Take a look yourself - it's obvious. See it in person. Don't just rely on someone like me or a review in Business Week. I am shocked at how much more value the Jornada offers than the competition! Just my opinion.

To: david_si who wrote (47244)	6/24/2000 11:26:00 PM
From: ProDeath	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

David, you just don't get it. In the real world, whole system implementations need to work well, not merely pass artificial benchmarks. This includes reliability considerations. MS products suck out loud in this department. They unnecessarily cost money and time, not to mention adding to staff and user stress levels. As I discovered with MS SQL Server, it's the cheaper product for which you pay over and over again, at least until you replace it, as I did. I don't give a wet rat's ass about what Sun and Oracle claim in benchmarks. As I indicated previously, benchmarks are a minor consideration in the scheme of things, irrespective of source. I do know from firsthand experience that their products demonstrate far greater reliability than anything MS cares to offer. As I indicated before, the Sun vs. MS dialog is pretty much an artificial circle jerk, so I will chose not to add to it any further. Viewed in this light, it's not surprising that you can't seem to get enough of it. As for name-calling, just what name did I call you? If you would like me to fill in that blank, just say so, I'll send you a list from which you can chose.

To: david_si who wrote (47244)	6/25/2000 10:52:00 AM
From: SunSpot	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Benchmarks ARE important, and the TPC benchmark is a very important sales argument for Microsoft Windows. There are just two things to be aware of: The relevance and quality of a benchmark. I assume that the quality is good in the TPC benchmark. If you just need many transactions per minute with any unnamed SQL-server, the TPC gives you good advice what to buy. If you need advice on which SQL-Server you should base your investments, the TPC benchmark is only one of many parameters to use. Remember, that proper programming, database design and system design can generate a much higher transaction-per-minute figure for the entire system than you can achieve on a single SQL-server with the TPC-C specified workload. If you already have a database-server, it is likely too expensive to change the underlying database server software, and then the TPC-C is only a guideline for how high you can expect a single database system to reach.