[rescue] Re: Help IDing Old Drive

[Dave McGuire]

On Mar 19, 2004, at 11:32 PM, Bob Keyes wrote:
>> Mechanicsburg, PA. It's a company that repairs car radios for Ford 
>> and GM
>> (warrantee and repair work). It runs their accounting/payroll 
>> software and
>> tracks repair tickets and inventory. Companies outside the Metro 
>> areas often
>> stick to what works, especially since many of these companies can't 
>> afford
>> to keep reinvesting in data systems. I'm talking about very pragmatic 
>> people
>> who ask the simple questions like "what does this thing do 
>> different?" The
>> answer is usually "it lines your vendor's pockets with cash". The PC
>> revolution got bogged down in skepticism in cow country.
>
> But how long will it continue to do so?
>
> A lot of money was made on systems like that when the y2k bug reared 
> its
> ugly head. People that didn't know what was going to happen...simply
> upgraded their systems. I think it added a lot to the Boom Times of the
> Roaring 90s.
>
> But what will happen with the pr1me is that eventually no one will be
> available to do any maintenance for it. Parts will become difficult to
> find. The benefit of 'COTS' hardware is that there's a lot of parts
> around, and lots of expertise.

   The difference, of course, is that the Pr1me machine will probably 
run for another 5-10 years without a burp.  You don't need "parts" for 
a machine that isn't broken.

   PCs aren't reliable in production; this is a well-known fact...but 
that has people in the mindset that *computers* aren't reliable in 
production...which is simply not so.  I know you of all people know 
this, Bob. ;)

          -Dave

--
Dave McGuire          "PC users only know two 'solutions'...
Cape Coral, FL          reboot and upgrade."    -Jonathan Patschke