Roy Schestowitz wrote:
> Windows Vista - Innovation or *another* /expensive/ Knock-Off?
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | XGL, Compiz, AIXGL (sp?).
> |
> | Hardware-rendered desktops popping up all over the place in the Linux
> | world (they use OpenGL).
> |
> | Machines running the Window Managers smoothly have been boasting
> | excellent hardware capabilities including sub 1GHz processors and
> | onboard Video cards with 32MB RAM, many of them using Shared
> | Video memory.
This is important because many of the earliest Linux customers started
out using "throw-away" Windows 3.1 machines, later they used "throw
away" Windows 9x machines.
These days, XP has created the "disposable" computer. The cost of the
computer is now so low, and the cost in "down-time" and professional
support staff to re-image a computer has now made the cost of "reimage"
more expensive than getting a new desktop machine. A new desktop
machine, purchased in quantity, can be as low as $300. The cost of
reimaging an existing machine using on-site support, complete with full
back-up and recovery - typically an entire day, at $100/hour for the
deskside support person, and $100/hour for the disabled user, for 8
hours, comes to about $1600, assuming all of the user's data is stored
in only one directory. And if the personal data is infested with
undetected Viruses, it will only come back and infest the new machine.
Add another 8 hours for recovery or reconfiguration of user
preferences, and up to 40 hours to install corporate and personal
applications. Total cost, over $5,000 to "re-image".
So much for the Microsoft "support" program.
This is why 99% of the machines are sold with Windows, and 15% end up
running some form of Linux.
> | One has to wonder what Microsoft has done to
> | increase the Windows system requirements exponentially in comparison
> | to these efforts.
> `----
Keep in mind that for years, this was considered a good thing to OEMs,
who wanted to sell more hardware. Unfortunately, for the last 2 years,
it has been Microsoft dragging it's feet in supporting 64 bit and
multicore processors, and Linux who is providing the ability to have "2
machines in one". And the good news, is that you can back up about 5
weekly back-ups of you Windows VM to a single 300 Gigabyte hard drive.
This makes it much easier to "recover" if your Windows system decides
to host the newest and hottests spambot.
> http://groups.google.com/group/borland.public.delphi.non-technical/msg/41d10384fbe952a6
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