Re: Cost of tape drives

John B. writes:

> Is it just me, or is there something wrong when the tape drive you buy is
> a substantial part of the cost of the new e series?

Depends on how you look at it: A tape drive is filled with moving parts
that are much more likely to break or jam under warranty than silicon
(once the silicon has been used long enough to get up to cause any
SIDS failures), and motors cost more than microchips.

Another thing to think about is that you'll probably own the tape drive
longer than that paticular AS/400. Once a tape drive is purchased, there's
seldom any reason to upgrade to a newer model. In a couple of years, the
600 will probably be replaced with a new machine, but the tape drive will
hang around. The amortized annual cost for the drive is lower than for the
box.

It's a trend reflected on a lot of platforms: a good monitor for a PC costs
75% of what a low-end CPU does these days, and ten years ago that figure was
about 20%. The CPU price has just dropped that far.

Peter H. Coffin
phcoffin@us.ibm.com
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