Re: What to buy?

On Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:39:49 -0800, Charlie E. <edmondson@xxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:50:07 -0800, Joerg <invalid@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

Joel Koltner wrote:
"ChrisQ" <meru@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:0AdSm.50022$AD4.6758@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
From what i've heard, 7 is just vista with a nice wrapper / summer frock,
but ymmv.

I think of Win 7 as what Vista should have been... it's basically Vista after
some reasonably sane people finally took a look at what people really wanted
and what hardware they'd expect to run it on. So yeah, not really that many
new features or anything, but much better thought-out.

I expect to get 5 years from a pc before replacement and that's bought
s/hand. If the original kit still gets the job done, why would I ever want
to "upgrade" in the first place ?. If it ain't broke etc.

I figure PCs should get 2-4 years of service, but I'm also starting with PCs
that provide pretty high "bang for the buck" to begin with (e.g., today, those
would be machines in the <$1,000 range... maybe $1,500 if you need RAID or a
really good graphics card or whatever): I'd rather buy two PCs for, say,
$1,250/ea, keeping them each 2.5 years, than one PC for $2,500 and keeping it
5 years.

There's certainly nothing wrong with using a PC for 5 years prior if it's
getting the job done for you. Over time PCs do get faster, new features are
added, etc. so at some point you likely need to upgrade if you're using PCs in
a commercial venture and wish to remain competitive. Exactly what that
upgrade interval should be I don't have any hard data for, though, hence I
just go with the "2-4 years" gut feeling I mentioned. :-)

For a business, these days PCs and the OS are quite cheap when it comes to
budget expensives. (This is one thing I think some Linux advocates miss -- it
really doesn't matter that Windows costs $100 when the first thing you're
going to do with that new PC is load up a $5,000 copy of some fancy CAD
software...)


Exactly. But Microsoft doesn't seem to understand it either. If they
screw up backward compatibility people who otherwise would have plunked
down $200 to get new features stick with an old version. Because it
doesn't have the compatibility problems.

The worst that can happen in a business after a HW or SW upgrade is when
some important application no longer works. So, sometimes it's better
not to upgrade. Don't touch a running system :-)

I remember back when I first started with Microsim that Release 8 came
out. It added some very needed features, and was MORE reliable and
stable than the previous versions. The sales guys had trouble keeping
up with the upgrades and expanded orders... ;-)

Charlie

Then OrCAD, then Cadence... they not only are killing it, but
attempted neutering it as well, by removing features. But an
engineering manager at ON Semi clued me in on how to put 'em back ;-)

...Jim Thompson
--
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| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
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Relevant Pages

  • Re: What to buy?
    ... it's basically Vista after ... new features or anything, but much better thought-out. ... to "upgrade" in the first place ?. ... I figure PCs should get 2-4 years of service, but I'm also starting with PCs ...
    (sci.electronics.design)
  • Re: What to buy?
    ... it's basically Vista after some reasonably sane people finally took a look at what people really wanted and what hardware they'd expect to run it on. ... Over time PCs do get faster, new features are added, etc. so at some point you likely need to upgrade if you're using PCs in a commercial venture and wish to remain competitive. ...
    (sci.electronics.design)
  • Re: What to buy?
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    (sci.electronics.design)
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