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And I even had mod points for today... But I couldn't resist. This one just deserves a bit more analysis..

Let's really look at company A (the GNULinux company) in a real world example, because like always, when people cite Windowze development-office stuff, they only present part of the picture.

Real world - okay - I can go along with this...

First off, let's use a office with 50 people, of which there are 2 full time developers and 3 full time IS people. The below are current prices from MicroWarehouse at their non-discounted prices.

3 full time IS people in a 50 person company? We're shifting into an alternate dimension as we speak. A 50 person company is going to be lucky to have 1 full time IS person, little more 3. More likely they'd outsource that task or it'd be one very harried desktop/server guy. But let's continue...

Now, for office B, first, the Windoze office (I'll leave hardware out of this cuz, especially with Exchange, that's a whole other cost issue):

* 50 copies of XP Pro: $21,747.50
* 1 Win2k file and print server with 50 CALS: $3018.72
* 1 Win2k with Exchange Ent. with 50 CALS: $12,107.44
* 2 copies of VS .NET Ent 2003: $4657.86
* 50 copies of Office XP Pro: $21,747.50

This doesn't assume any consulting fees, whatever, since we'll assume the 3 IS guys are Windoze experts and know how to set up everything.

Total just to get office B up and running so that said developers can develop code: approx. $63,279.02


Okay, for licensing, you are already off. You got your 50 CALs for File and Print services when you purchased XP Pro. You also got your Exchange CALs when you purchased 50 copies of Office XP Pro.

50 copies of XP pro at retail at Micro Warehouse is $275. 50 Copies come to $13750 U.S. -- unless you pay $435/copy of Windows XP.

A 50 person office isn't going to purchase Enterprise Edition of Exchange - just the regular one. (Does the same thing - only limit is a pesky 16GB database storage)

Copy of Windows 2k server is $835. You'll need 3 (one file, one print and one box doing exchangy stuff) - so total of $2505 there.

Copy of Exchange is $1115. $3330 to purchase 45 additional licenses (I'm not sure if they changed the rule on licensing for Outlook in Office - give you the benefit of the doubt here...)

So totals now come to a more realistic (I won't argue with your Office XP Pro price) $33500. But back to your world..


Now, let's look at office A, the GNULinux office. For basic comparisons, we'll use Redhat 9 deployed.

* 50 copies of RH 9: $0 (cost of 3 cd-r's: approx. $1.50)
* Samba for file and print for all 50 users: $0
* Kroupware (I know, not the best Exchange equiv, but the only free thing really avail strongly for GNU/Linux that delivers scheduling that works) for 50 users: $0
* 2 copies of development environment for GTK-Java-whatever: $0
* Ximian XD2 with Ximian Open Office: $0

Cost (not including hardware or labor) to deploy office B to make snazzy app: $1.50


Won't argue here... at least not for the moment

Cost diff between office A & B: B: $63277.52

More like $33498.50...


Now, plugging in your formula of $1154 for two weeks of development which supposedly pay for VS .NET & Windows server ACLs and Windows Clients, we come up with this:


Office A has no deficit, since their software didn't cost them anything. In fact, they probably had one less sysadmin, so they might have already saved $60k.

$30k - being generous and not talking about an office that has to run other things besides

I'll believe it when I see it on the peg at Wal*Mart.

Wonder which we'll see on the shelves first: this thing or Serial ATA? Which, by the way, has been on backorder for the last 6 months or so.

If anything deserves an award in the "Promises, promises" category (excepting Duke Nukem Whenever; that's earned several), it's Serial ATA.

Has anyone out there actually got their hands on a Serial ATA drive, PURCHASED from a retail source? I mean, several online shops LIST them, but nobody seems to actually HAVE them.

I take that back. In researching for this post, I actually DID find a place that lists them in stock. Let's hope they are telling the truth! Also, let's hope their order system can survive a slashdotting, since they seem to be the only place in the world that has them. I'm sure they'll be backordered by tomorrow.

Well I did. here is the link. Ms Office Professional. $519.00 from warehouse.com. It does not include project, nor project server, no visio, no MapPoint, or Publisher. All of those cost extra.

Let's do a quick calculation shall we.

Office Pro $519.00
Visio Professional $439.95
Publisher Deluxe 139.95

And sorry warehouse does not sell mappoint and insight does not publish their prices on it so let's presume that mappoint is actually free. What have totaled so far? Why it's over $1098.00.

I am glad you Mr Anonymous Coward posted that message. I now feel proud to have educated not only you but all other slashdot users on where they can get quality Ms products and how much they should expect to pay for it.

For those users who are interested in getting most of the functionality of Office for free or a fraction of the cost may I reccomend the following links.

Open office
KDE/Koffice
The Kompany
602 Office
IBM/Lotus
Corel

Please people don't get ripped off voluntarily it makes you look stupid. I am sure you can put that thousand dollars to better use right? Don't you kids need dentures or a collage education?

Well I did. here is the link. Ms Office Professional. $519.00 from warehouse.com. It does not include project, nor project server, no visio, no MapPoint, or Publisher. All of those cost extra.

Let's do a quick calculation shall we.

Office Pro $519.00
Visio Professional $439.95
Publisher Deluxe 139.95

And sorry warehouse does not sell mappoint and insight does not publish their prices on it so let's presume that mappoint is actually free. What have totaled so far? Why it's over $1098.00.

I am glad you Mr Anonymous Coward posted that message. I now feel proud to have educated not only you but all other slashdot users on where they can get quality Ms products and how much they should expect to pay for it.

For those users who are interested in getting most of the functionality of Office for free or a fraction of the cost may I reccomend the following links.

Open office
KDE/Koffice
The Kompany
602 Office
IBM/Lotus
Corel

Please people don't get ripped off voluntarily it makes you look stupid. I am sure you can put that thousand dollars to better use right? Don't you kids need dentures or a collage education?

Well I did. here is the link. Ms Office Professional. $519.00 from warehouse.com. It does not include project, nor project server, no visio, no MapPoint, or Publisher. All of those cost extra.

Let's do a quick calculation shall we.

Office Pro $519.00
Visio Professional $439.95
Publisher Deluxe 139.95

And sorry warehouse does not sell mappoint and insight does not publish their prices on it so let's presume that mappoint is actually free. What have totaled so far? Why it's over $1098.00.

I am glad you Mr Anonymous Coward posted that message. I now feel proud to have educated not only you but all other slashdot users on where they can get quality Ms products and how much they should expect to pay for it.

For those users who are interested in getting most of the functionality of Office for free or a fraction of the cost may I reccomend the following links.

Open office
KDE/Koffice
The Kompany
602 Office
IBM/Lotus
Corel

Please people don't get ripped off voluntarily it makes you look stupid. I am sure you can put that thousand dollars to better use right? Don't you kids need dentures or a collage education?

here

Here
And
Here

I think all of these would suit your aunty very well. If you have customers you probably could spring for the more expensive models as well.

here

Here
And
Here

I think all of these would suit your aunty very well. If you have customers you probably could spring for the more expensive models as well.

here

Here
And
Here

I think all of these would suit your aunty very well. If you have customers you probably could spring for the more expensive models as well.

• http://www2.warehouse.com/product.asp?pf%5Fid=DEB3 743&cat=pc
• http://www2.warehouse.com/product.asp?pf%5Fid=DEB5 356&cat=pc

• http://www2.warehouse.com/product.asp?pf%5Fid=DEB3 743&cat=pc
• http://www2.warehouse.com/product.asp?pf%5Fid=DEB5 356&cat=pc

Yeah...apparently too cheap:

http://www2.warehouse.com/product.asp?pf%5Fid=DEB3 743&cat=pc&blind=

"The product you requested is currently not available."

http://www2.warehouse.com/product.asp?pf%5Fid=DEC5 356&cat=pc&blind=

"The product you requested is currently not available."

Price mistake or did they sell out due to Slashdotters feverishly picking them up? :)

Yeah...apparently too cheap:

http://www2.warehouse.com/product.asp?pf%5Fid=DEB3 743&cat=pc&blind=

"The product you requested is currently not available."

http://www2.warehouse.com/product.asp?pf%5Fid=DEC5 356&cat=pc&blind=

"The product you requested is currently not available."

Price mistake or did they sell out due to Slashdotters feverishly picking them up? :)

yup, yup, yup

Long answer: It's more of a software driver issue than anything else. If you're concerned with the price then check out the orinoco silver card here which supposedly works fine with os 9 and you can get a driver for it for use with os x here. That site has a lot of other info for you. You could also look on ebay for a used airport card as your case works fine with airport. I am also not even using an apple access point but a Linksys 4 port router with access point. Hope this helps. -peel

--
Of course you don't know! You don't know because only I know. If you knew and I didn't know, then you'd be teaching me instead of me teaching you--and for a student to be teaching his teacher is presumptuous and rude. Do I make myself clear? -Mr. Turkentine

Of course you could always do this for a little more.

I use an IOGEAR MiniView USB KVM 2-port switch at work to switch between a PC and Mac. I've been real pleased with it so far. It can be had for $110 (including all cables) at Data Comm Warehouse. Of course, if you need PS2 ports, this model won't do you much good...

iMac prices here

Sure you can buy iMac for 800 bucks if you don't mind 128 megs of ram, only a 500mhz cpu, and crappy ati rage 128 video, but if you want a *decent* iMac with a half ass video card (nvidia gf2 mx :P), 800mhz cpu, still only 256 megs of ram, it'll be $1800 since that's the only way to get the top cpu, that does include a flatpanel, but still that's quite a difference pricewise.

Sure you can upgrade some things yourself, but most mac people can't, and won't. And you can't easily put in a new video card/faster cpu in an iMac. Whatever happened to the mac "flashship" line anyway?

I'm going to stick to my solid, name brand x86 hardware for the time being until Apple can compete again pricewise, or give me something extra that a PC can't do (other than pretty).

And on a side note, I've been doing without an office suite for almost a year now at work, running Debian linux, mozilla and staroffice (which is slow, yes, but it works for those few word documents I receive, and the p3-850 is pretty snappy). I haven't had one yet that it couldn't open. I don't think what I'm running for my OS is really all that complicated, sure some of the software is under par compared to things certain multi billion dollar corporations put out, but I get along. That's the price my cheap ass pays for free. :)

I'm a web developer so mostly all I do is programming, but do I get my share of spec word docs to look over and follow. And I still do have find a windows pc every now and then to make sure a web page works in IE's "jscript/activex scripting". :)

Ok. As irritating as it is, I am going to have to do a point by point rebuttal here. Sorry in advance.

Point One half of Apple's current lineup of computers, the iMac and the iBook (2 computers that I bet make up the bulk of their sales) have NO expansion slots. No PCI slots on the iMac, and no PCMCIA slots on the laptops.

Rebuttal And this is bad why? The vast majority of people in the world out there DO NOT upgrade their computers. EVER. I worked at a computer repair firm for two years, and I would guess that not more than a quarter of PC users actually get new cards installed into their computers. This, contrary to what most people on slashdot feel, is not a limitation for the vast majority of users. Here, think of it like this. Most PC users, when they're adding new stuff to their computers, will get things that can be plugged into serial, parallel, and usb ports. Not PCI. Not AGP. Not (god forbid) ISA.

Point This is nothing more than a stupid, short-sighted attempt by Apple to make the computer not last as long. In essence, your choices become: 1: buy the much more expensive TiBook or G4 tower, or 2: buy the cheap one and it's obsolete, FAST.

RebuttalAnd this is different from those microtower Dells, Compaq iPaqs, etc, in what way exactly? Furthermore, with laptops, what the hell is the point of a PC card slot on a laptop that has video out, firewire, usb, 10/100 ethernet, AirPort (802.11b), and a 56k modem built-in? I actually just bought a TiBook 3-4 days ago (it's still on its way), and I don't have any notion of what I'll actually use the PC card slot on it for. I've been using an indigo iBook for the last 14 months, and I am currently replacing it only because I am starting to find the screen size limiting (it's a pain to use Project Builder and Interface Builder in 800x600 pixels).

Point Apple has end-of-lifed the video cards used in the first generation iMac - users of those computers are never going to get accelerated video drivers in OS X. If those were cheapo PCs with slots, you could at least throw a nicer video card in there and solve the problem.

Rebuttal Ok. OS X is big. It's a dog on anything less than a 366 MHz G3 with at least 128MB RAM. The original iMac (the bondi blue variety) has a 233MHz G3 processor, and came with 32 mb RAM. The average person is NOT going to run OS X on that thing. They'd be absolutely nuts to do it. Apple knows this. That's a big reason why they will not bother writing accelerated video card drivers for the bondi iMac. No one would use them (or at least they shouldn't). If these people really want to run OS X, they should sell their Bondi iMac off for $350 or $400, or whatever they go for, and pick up the $799 iMac.

PointAnd don't bother posting that it doesn't matter that there aren't any expansion slots because "everything comes built in". Tell that to first generation iBook or iMac owners who like to use the iPod - "sorry, FireWire only". Those computers are less than two years old, and already becoming obsolete.

Rebuttal Ha. Yeah right. I hate to break it to you, but if you can't afford to pick up a new computer every two or three years (the iMac will be 4 next August, and the iBook came out ~one year after the iMac) there is no way in hell you could afford an iPod. The iPod is a toy for those with too much money. Don't get me wrong on this, I'd love to have one, but there's no way in hell I can afford one until I'm out of college (I bought the TiBook because it'll serve a definite purpose. besides, I bought an AVC Soul Player a year ago). These people aren't going to go out and spend $400 on the iPod unless they could afford a new computer anyway. Besides, it doesn't matter, since everything comes built-in anyways, right? ;-)

Point Would you like to have USB 2.0? I will, and I can add it to my 3 year old Dell notebook via a card and it will work fine. The Apple iBook you buy TODAY can't be expanded with a single new tech. beyond what it ships with. Now which comp. is aging faster, the Apple, or the Dell? Even crummy $700 PCs and $1100 laptops have PCI/PCMCIA.

Rebuttal Yet people continue buying iBooks, with their 400 Mbit firewire ports that have devices available for the port today. What idiots! Can you even buy a USB 2.0 card yet? By the way, take a look at your P.S. statement. Hell, I'll quote it here. P.S. I don't want to hear about how you can add all sorts of nifty expansion option via FireWire. I don't want 5 boxes hanging off my computer. But wait, you still want 5 USB 2.0 devices hanging off your computer? I'm confused. It must be because I'm one of those gullible anti-windows mac users (I'm typing this on my self-built coppermine-core system running XP pro right now.).

Point PCI and PCMCIA slots let you add all sorts of stuff to your computer, in effect, "future-proofing" it by allowing you to expand rather than buy a new computer. A computer without expansion options hardly qualifies as "a computer that ages slower than PCs."

Point I just did a search on Micro Warehouse for pc card, and as you can see, basically everything listed is a wireless ethernet card, an ethernet card, a modem, or a usb controller. I HAVE ALL OF THOSE THINGS BUILT INTO MY IBOOK. Jeez. About the only thing I would find useful to buy for a pc card slot would be one of those pc card hard drives (that ibm makes). Even then, I'd rather just burn a cd with the built-in burner. More people have cd-rom drives than pc card slots. Furthermore, let's take a look at the cards I have in my PC right now. 1. An ATI Xpert 2000 (AGP 4x). 2. An SB Live (PCI). 3. A Linksys 10/100BaseT Ethernet card (PCI). 4. A firewire card. There is really nothing else that I am planning on ever adding to this computer. Sure, there are a lot of people out there who need second monitors, but none of them would buy an iMac anyways. They wouldn't be served well by a 15" monitor. The iMac is a consumer machine. The iBook (supposedly) is too (although most business types would probably be fine having one). The Power Mac G4 is a professional machine. Same thing goes for the Powerbook G4. You don't hear people complaining that their Dell Dimension 2100's won't let them install a burner inside the case. If you did, you'd probably ridicule them for not buying a higher-end machine.

You know what, I will go on using my Apple laptop, my Intel/Microsoft desktop, and the god-awful Sun Blade 100 I get stuck using at school, and you can go on using whatever you want to. We'll just call it even.

The big boss of the heavy equip. comp I work for is already grumbling about the spirialing cost of software, it was his son (my boss) who got the office updated, computerized and committed to Msft. Yesterday a new girl with MSOffice Small Biz edition asks for PowerPoint - imagine my suprise to see the cost of the full version!

For some reason, nobody with the authority to do anything is concerned about monopoly price gouging. If the QuickE mart tries to charge $2.5 / gal of gas we can laugh and go to a competitor. But once the evil Msft get's you business by the testicles you just have to pay, pay, and pay all you can afford and then some - no choices allowed.

Do more than think about it, try researching it first dingdong.

You can get it at microwarehouse...

So, yes, it is shipping now... contrary to popular belief...

Good question. Especially since Apple has their own office suite, AppleWorks, which I myself use because it does the basic stuff I need and only costs $79 (compared to $429.95 for MS Office 2001). And AppleWorks has already been ported to OSX.

A quick romp across the net for similarly configured and priced machines yields the following results:

• Apple iBook DVD $1499
  1024x768 LCD
  128 MB RAM
  10 GB HD
  DVD-ROM
  built-in ehternet
  RGB-video out
  firewire
  
• DELL Inspiron 8000 $1549
  1400x1050 LCD
  64 MB RAM
  10 GB HD
  DVD-ROM
  built-in ethernet
  IEEE 1394
  
• Gateway Solo 5300 $1624
  800x600 LCD
  128 MB RAM
  10 GB HD
  DVD-ROM
  ethernet (optional PC-card)
  TV-out
  no fireware/IEEE 1394
  
• IBM A22e $1699
  1024x768
  64 MB RAM
  15 GB HD
  CD-ROM
  built-in ethernet
  unspecified external display port
  no firewire/IEEE 1394
  
• Toshiba 2800 $1469
  800x600 LCD
  128 MB RAM
  10 GB HD
  DVD-ROM
  built-in ethernet
  TV-out
  no firewire/IEEE 1394

(I have omitted some features either becuase we all know how the contents turns out -- i.e. the CPU on the iBook is much slower than the competition -- or becuase the specs were substantially the same -- everyone has USB ports and modems, so why mention it?)

The Apple offering seems to stand up to the competition pretty well, with the notable exception being the DELL Inspiron 8000 which just kicks butt up and down (1400x1050 LCD! profanity, blasphemy, and disrespect! that is some nice hardware! I wonder how well it does with Linux). Most of the stuff I saw that was significantly cheaper than the Apple system didn't come with built-in ethernet and had only SVGA resolution on the LCD, which are two features near and dear to me.

While you can't get a new Apple laptop for the $900 that some models from some manufacturers are going for at the moment, you are certainly not getting ripped off. I'd say that the old saw about overpriced-underpowered Apple hardware is clearly more myth than reality.

Disclaimer: I'm an old Apple hand (my first real computer -- the kind that didn't store its data on cassette tapes -- was a Lisa 2 running MacWorks back in 1984) who has drifted far into the Linux camp of late (though I do own some Apple stock). I went into this comparisson intending to show that Apple was a clearly better value for the price than PC laptops with similar features, but the truth has bested me.

P.S. what I wouldn't give to have support for the TABLE tag on Slashdot.

A quick romp across the net for similarly configured and priced machines yields the following results:

• Apple iBook DVD $1499
  1024x768 LCD
  128 MB RAM
  10 GB HD
  DVD-ROM
  built-in ehternet
  RGB-video out
  firewire
  
• DELL Inspiron 8000 $1549
  1400x1050 LCD
  64 MB RAM
  10 GB HD
  DVD-ROM
  built-in ethernet
  IEEE 1394
  
• Gateway Solo 5300 $1624
  800x600 LCD
  128 MB RAM
  10 GB HD
  DVD-ROM
  ethernet (optional PC-card)
  TV-out
  no fireware/IEEE 1394
  
• IBM A22e $1699
  1024x768
  64 MB RAM
  15 GB HD
  CD-ROM
  built-in ethernet
  unspecified external display port
  no firewire/IEEE 1394
  
• Toshiba 2800 $1469
  800x600 LCD
  128 MB RAM
  10 GB HD
  DVD-ROM
  built-in ethernet
  TV-out
  no firewire/IEEE 1394

(I have omitted some features either becuase we all know how the contents turns out -- i.e. the CPU on the iBook is much slower than the competition -- or becuase the specs were substantially the same -- everyone has USB ports and modems, so why mention it?)

The Apple offering seems to stand up to the competition pretty well, with the notable exception being the DELL Inspiron 8000 which just kicks butt up and down (1400x1050 LCD! profanity, blasphemy, and disrespect! that is some nice hardware! I wonder how well it does with Linux). Most of the stuff I saw that was significantly cheaper than the Apple system didn't come with built-in ethernet and had only SVGA resolution on the LCD, which are two features near and dear to me.

While you can't get a new Apple laptop for the $900 that some models from some manufacturers are going for at the moment, you are certainly not getting ripped off. I'd say that the old saw about overpriced-underpowered Apple hardware is clearly more myth than reality.

Disclaimer: I'm an old Apple hand (my first real computer -- the kind that didn't store its data on cassette tapes -- was a Lisa 2 running MacWorks back in 1984) who has drifted far into the Linux camp of late (though I do own some Apple stock). I went into this comparisson intending to show that Apple was a clearly better value for the price than PC laptops with similar features, but the truth has bested me.

P.S. what I wouldn't give to have support for the TABLE tag on Slashdot.

Compaq iPaq 3670 which "street" wise is listing for $650, can not be in too high a demand (other than people electronically rubber-necked to see a PDA with 64MB). Yet, the Compaq Direct site is choking.It is one thing for the small fries to get slashdot smashed. I think is it poor planning/design/whatever on the part of a company the size of Compaq to choke and sputter. RedHat with its new release of 7.1 is probably getting hammered harder, but atleast they are cleanly surviving it from what I can see (no I have not gotten a copy from any of the mirrors, even though I am watching them religiously for the images to appear).Companies, such as Compaq, should have a better idea of what kind of traffic they should be able to handle and should plan accordingly. Right now their web presence shows them to be a less than solid player.

Compaq ipaq 3670 206MHZ 64MB Pocket PC Color

I spec'ed out with the Emperor with an 850 chip and a DVD drive -- nothing else. Just over $2900 out the door.

Perusing the web to see what comparable buys were out there, first thing that I note (and probably obvious) I see nothing from IBM/Sony that spec out close for under $3500.

Toshiba has a Wi-Fi unit that's lacking the DVD, but has wireless and is comparable in price

Compaq has some units that are probably the most comparable (lacking in video capabilites) but are a bit less expensive.

Overall though, prices on these are great! -- right on the money -- and I put through an order for the Emperor!

I spec'ed out with the Emperor with an 850 chip and a DVD drive -- nothing else. Just over $2900 out the door.

Perusing the web to see what comparable buys were out there, first thing that I note (and probably obvious) I see nothing from IBM/Sony that spec out close for under $3500.

Toshiba has a Wi-Fi unit that's lacking the DVD, but has wireless and is comparable in price

Compaq has some units that are probably the most comparable (lacking in video capabilites) but are a bit less expensive.

Overall though, prices on these are great! -- right on the money -- and I put through an order for the Emperor!

Mail ordering one of these babies from far away would be expensive, and I suspect the UPS man would stop talking to me.

I live in mid-coast Maine. Portland, Maine is about an hour and a half drive away, Boston a little less than three. There's a lot of industry and some high-tech in South Portland, so maybe I can rent a truck or a van and get a rack there.

Advice on rackmount uninterruptible power supplies would be helpful too.

I do cross-platform development and I'd like to set up a build and test farm of lots of twisty little 1U machines all running different Linux and *BSD distros, QNX, Solaris x86, UltraSparc Solaris at some point, BeOS and of course Mr. Bill's operating systems. I do Mac OS too but probably won't rackmount those, as it would mess up the nice Flower Power look.

BTW, I'm finally about to break down and by a Belkin Omniview 4-port KVM Switch with a Mac video/ADB keyboard adapter. Maybe if I save up I can get the 8 port with On-Screen Display.

While the Belkin may be expensive, the switching is electronic. I've worn out a Manhattan mechanical VGA switch in about four months sharing a monitor between a Mac and a PC - I have to fiddle with the knob each time I switch it to get the connection right or the colors are all wonky. Also I'm sure to start shooting from the rooftops the next time I type into the wrong keyboard!

Mike

Mail ordering one of these babies from far away would be expensive, and I suspect the UPS man would stop talking to me.

I live in mid-coast Maine. Portland, Maine is about an hour and a half drive away, Boston a little less than three. There's a lot of industry and some high-tech in South Portland, so maybe I can rent a truck or a van and get a rack there.

Advice on rackmount uninterruptible power supplies would be helpful too.

I do cross-platform development and I'd like to set up a build and test farm of lots of twisty little 1U machines all running different Linux and *BSD distros, QNX, Solaris x86, UltraSparc Solaris at some point, BeOS and of course Mr. Bill's operating systems. I do Mac OS too but probably won't rackmount those, as it would mess up the nice Flower Power look.

BTW, I'm finally about to break down and by a Belkin Omniview 4-port KVM Switch with a Mac video/ADB keyboard adapter. Maybe if I save up I can get the 8 port with On-Screen Display.

While the Belkin may be expensive, the switching is electronic. I've worn out a Manhattan mechanical VGA switch in about four months sharing a monitor between a Mac and a PC - I have to fiddle with the knob each time I switch it to get the connection right or the colors are all wonky. Also I'm sure to start shooting from the rooftops the next time I type into the wrong keyboard!

Mike

Mail ordering one of these babies from far away would be expensive, and I suspect the UPS man would stop talking to me.

I live in mid-coast Maine. Portland, Maine is about an hour and a half drive away, Boston a little less than three. There's a lot of industry and some high-tech in South Portland, so maybe I can rent a truck or a van and get a rack there.

Advice on rackmount uninterruptible power supplies would be helpful too.

I do cross-platform development and I'd like to set up a build and test farm of lots of twisty little 1U machines all running different Linux and *BSD distros, QNX, Solaris x86, UltraSparc Solaris at some point, BeOS and of course Mr. Bill's operating systems. I do Mac OS too but probably won't rackmount those, as it would mess up the nice Flower Power look.

BTW, I'm finally about to break down and by a Belkin Omniview 4-port KVM Switch with a Mac video/ADB keyboard adapter. Maybe if I save up I can get the 8 port with On-Screen Display.

While the Belkin may be expensive, the switching is electronic. I've worn out a Manhattan mechanical VGA switch in about four months sharing a monitor between a Mac and a PC - I have to fiddle with the knob each time I switch it to get the connection right or the colors are all wonky. Also I'm sure to start shooting from the rooftops the next time I type into the wrong keyboard!

Mike

This IBM laptop is nearly the same price and specs (no S-video out but so what and neither comes with a NIC) as the Nano. So if small, cheap, portable is the mission than I think I'd rather go with something that has batteries. Otherwise if you're trying to impress a client than this tiny box might be the ticket.

a few calls to select U.S. retailers to buy a "thin-and-light 14"TFT linux notebook",
2000.dec.19 - dec.23

dell seems to offer some redhat models on their website, but the links fail if you try to buy.
dell sales-people (on the phone) say linux is not available.
dell's Inspiron 4000 comes very close to how i'd like to see my machine, at $2350.

compaq 1.800.888.0220: (don't have any linux notebooks at this time)
compaq is the reason why i want the manufacturer to install the OS for me -
i spent 2 days in 2000-may failing to become friends with compaq's graphics chip.

fujitsupc.com 877-372-3473 (don't sell linux.)

gateway.com 800-846-4208 (we don't offer that operating system)

toshiba.com 1-800-316-0920 (runs on eastern time or something?) no linux

ibm-direct: yes they have linux pre-installed but the price seems to be about 60% higher
than dell+windowsMe

--- some lesser-known retailers and re-sellers:
tuxtops: don't have "thin-and-light" models
enpower: "thin-and-light" model coming soon - that may be worth the wait.
here in LA, some PC Club employees said they would put linux on there for me.

necxdirect.com (failed - no phone number listed)
microwarehouse 1-800-397-8508 "sorry, we don't carry any."
elinux has some 20 models of older yet pricey notebooks, nothing juicy.
--- places that I didn't get through ---
nec 888-632-8701 just rings and rings
sony 1 800 352-7669 (will try next week)
CDW 800 850 4239 (closes early?)

I don't have time to look, but you might want to check out Belkin, they have just about every cable and accessory known to man.

Good luck

I don't have time to look, but you might want to check out Belkin, they have just about every cable and accessory known to man.

Good luck

I don't have time to look, but you might want to check out Belkin, they have just about every cable and accessory known to man.

Good luck

Sure it would be might be a bit cheaper to build one up yourself, but to have a one off MB made would cost a hefty premium over mass production units. I have actually been looking at maybe trying to grab an iMac used for running YellowDog, or maybe even a couple of them.

FUD!!! No way is Apple going to sell osx for $99. Where in the world did you get THAT idea? Do you think Steve Jobs would undercut Micros**t Windows 2000 on price?

Look at what they're selling OSX 'Server' for... $439.95. The desktop version maybe might be a bit cheaper, but it sure as hell won't be $99. Sheesh....

blessings,

Lots of folks feel a need to spend hoards (think: $1,500) on enclosed racks with fans and fancy power taps and the like. Yes, they are nice but I don't think they are worth the extra cash.

What you need is a simple tapped, extruded aluminum rack. A 19"x84" rack runs $140-$200 at DataComm Warehouse. A 21" rack runs a bit more.

These aluminum racks don't have fans or electrical connections. Get a few tie-wraps and attach a power strip to the back and you will be living large. Since the rack is not enclosed, there is no need for additional fans.

Spend some money on rack-mount cases for your servers. I can't tell you how much easier this will make your life and how much more professional your data center will look. A rack mount case may add a couple hundred dollars to an order. It is worth it.

If your boss needs a justification to spend the extra money, ask him how much your office costs per square foot. With a rack, you should be able to stuff six to a dozen servers where one server once sat on the ground. Do the math for him. That alone should show him that building up is the way to go.

InitZero

I started having some minor pain, and got an Adesso <http://www.adessoinc.com/> keyboard (the MCK-208 Tru-Form sans touchpad [picture]). It's great, and I've since gotten one for home as well. It cost me all of $40 US at http://www.warehouse.com/

The great thing is that is has all the keys in the normal places (the 6 is on the left side, BTW), and none of those stupid internet keys like the MS keyboards.

--
Dave <drr@chpc.utah.edu>

I've been using a Belkin Omniview SE 2 port KVM Switch (here or here) for the past few months with no problems at all. I run it at 1600x1200 resolution on a 21 inch monitor and have noticed no video degradation at all. However, it will do you no good if your KVM switch supports very high resolution if you hook up cheap cables between it and your monitor and computer. Get triple-shielded VGA cables and you shouldn't have any worrys. Yes, they cost a bit more, but you don't have to worry about moire patters all over your screen.

One other nice thing about the Belkin switches is that they have something called "integrated mouse conversion technology." What that means, simply, is that one of my computers hooked to the KVM switch uses a PS/2 mouse and one uses a serial mouse, but both are controlled by one PS/2 mouse connected to the switch. The only thing it doesn't convert is the Microsoft Mouse Wheel. Also, if you want to expand in the future, you can daisy chain it with other KVM Switches and switch more computers.

Several online retailers have stock of the G4s including:
Outpost.com
MacMall.com
MacWarehou se.com
-- and there are others I'm sure . . .