RE: Who is using WDSC, who is using PDM/SEU?

Well, astronomical amounts of memory are the norm nowadays. We're
pretty far beyond "never needing more than 640K RAM."

I've used B & C model AS/400s with 8MB RAM; our current iSeries has 32GB
and our System i has 48GB. My first home PC had 320KB RAM; my home
workstation now has 4GB. My first graphics card was a CGA with, IIRC,
16KB RAM. My new Radeon has 512MB and supports 2 monitors, TV out, &
HiDef decoding.

I'm pretty sure my home printer has 32MB RAM. My Treo phone/PDA has
64MB + 1GB RAM (SD card), digital camera has an 8GB SD card, and I've a
4GB thumb drive (and am giving serious thought to replacing it with a
16GB unit). How much storage does your average MP3 player have?

RAM is cheap. Buy more of it. Get used to the idea that every 18
months RAM requirements go up by something between 50 and 100%. Bemoan
the causes of RAM consumption if you want but that's the reality.

If you want to see pretty much all PC software fly, try this 'dream'
developer workstation:
- Core2Duo E6600
- 4GB RAM
- XP Pro
- 256MB Radeon
- 2 20" flat panels (not wide screen)
- 250GB hard drive
- 16X CD/DVD-RW
- 3 year "business comprehensive" warranty

The above Dell Optiplex 745 desktop runs about $2600. Not a cheap PC
but then it has dual displays, a ton of RAM, and a good warranty.
Dropping the specs a little can shave hundreds off that price if you're
in sticker shock. But consider that this is an investment in your
developer's productivity and general happiness on the job (do your
employees review their managers?).

The PC I built for myself at home has mostly better specs (quad core,
Vista Ultimate, 512MB video, mirrored 500GB disks, 18X DVD) except it
has a single 20" LCD. It ran about $2300 and the only down side besides
putting it together myself is the generally shorter warranty.

BTW a similar config can be done on a notebook if you try:
- Latitude D630
- Core2Duo T7700
- XP Pro
- 128MB NVIDIA graphics
- Hi-res LCD
- 4GB RAM
- 8X CD/DVD-RW
- Wireless
- 160GB 7200 RPM hard drive
- 3 year on-site warranty
- 20" flat panel

That runs more at around $3500 but again you end with dual-display
(internal LCD + external flat panel), dual-core CPU, and tons of RAM.