RE: Green Streak

You are so right Jim. We are on a 620 at a small company and a new box is a
tough sell...

And as far as your "shopping around" comment, I would hate to see US do
that, but here is the reality - our main, and pretty much only (very
integrated package) application vendor has converted this package into pure
Java... So, changing to "cheaper" hardware is not so much a stretch anymore,
much as I would HATE to see that happen... Good thing is the technical
understanding of computers here is VERY low ;-)

Chuck

-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-admin@midrange.com
[mailto:midrange-l-admin@midrange.com]On Behalf Of Jim Damato
Sent: Friday, August 02, 2002 1:21 PM
To: 'midrange-l@midrange.com'
Subject: RE: Green Streak


I understand the business principles.

There's no upgrade path -- fine.  The server was only 2 million dollars
anyway.
Future versions of the OS will support fewer and fewer SPD attachments
(Danger, Will Robinson!).
The three year old server will not support "new" hardware features (which
were really new three or four years ago) such as fibre channel or gigabit
Ethernet.

So, you've invested gobs of money in a "scalable" server as a hedge against
growth.  It's soon to be a boat anchor.  Will you invest gobs more in the
latest model, or should you shop around?

If the business model does not take the customers' investment protection
into account IBM will lose repeat customers.  If they lose enough repeat
customers maybe the stockholders will bring in managers who can better
balance growth with obsolescence.  It's not enough to lower prices if you're
actively discouraging sales.  It's not cheap if I don't buy it.

Waah.

-Jim