For those of you that keep saying 'It makes no sense because you spend the difference of cost on the adapter', here is some help with very simple math:
If you consider that the adapter costs about $100 (MSRP, so you'll probably pay less) then it's still worth it by a long shot for large capacity drives.
Also note that those SCSI drive prices seem a little low. They're usually a _LOT_ more.
Of course, if you buy a new system and decide to get a scsi card, this adapter and ide drives, you deserve to get kicked in the head, BUT if you are for example trying to gain cheap extra storage (for not mission-critical data) to add onto existing scsi systems, then this can shave of half the cost or more.
The way our small company does it, depending on project size we either divide the total estimate costs by 2, and ask for the first part at contract signing and the rest on completion, or split in 3 parts and ask for the first part at contract signing, the next part at about halfway through the project and the rest on completion. That splits the risk about evenly between yourself and your customer.
By the way contracts with oversee partners are virtually impossible to enforce (unless you have huge financial resources), so don't waste too much money on it, and make it just simple and clear. They're more intended to point out some rules between the two parties and point out copyright issues etc, but I highly doubt you'd be able to enforce anything with it.
I think you missed the point again. Of course prices fluctuate. They go up and down, for reason you mentioned in your earlier post. However the point here is (ie the topic of this discussion is) to find instances where the supply chain of electronics is easily disrupted because there are just a very few suppliers for certain materials or products, NOT because of the reasons you listed above, but because of reasons of this supply chain being interrupted. And as such your example of the Kobe earthquake is fully valid, but the reasons you posted earlier don't really pertain to this. And of course all this has happened before, but remember we are looking for examples of these things that already happened as opposed to making things up. And secondly, just because something happened already doesn't in any way make less worthy to discuss.
Although you're right, I think the original poster was referring to the incident a year or two back where a rather serious earthquake in Taiwan took out one of the factorys that produce the wafers which are used to make most kinds of memory chips. If I remember right there are very, very few factorys that produce them... you can probably count them on one hand. But I don't think it really caused an actual shortage in ram chips, the market always over-reacts and prices fluctuate wildly (in this case they went up significatnly for 5 or 6 months, until the factory was repaired).
With 8 nodes, I don't think you even need a switch. Just put a couple intel 4 port 100 mbit cards in there and link each node with each node. That should give you lots more bandwidth and eliminate an expensive switch, and a few nanoseconds of latency.
Monitors have their own power cord no? Why not just get a regular LCD or CRT and get an extra UPS? That way your choices aren't limited and you can buy the right size UPS so that you have the backup time you wanted. It's most likely cheaper that way anyway.
I'm no scientist, but what about building up some some really strong electromagnetic field? Wouldn't that at least slow down radiation if not stop it? You could maybe put it in the living quarters and leave the lab exposed for experiments and whatnot. Electricity shouldn't be too hard to come by with a few more solar panels... but I don't know the magnitudes here.. can someone with some technical background on this give some insight?
Another advantage could be walking like with gravity with metal/magnetic boots...
While the idea may technically be feasible, I'm sure a device like this would cost thousands, maybe tens of thousands of dollars. Next they would have to convince *EVERY* movie theater to use it, else this whole thing is defeated to begin with. I wonder how they plan on convincing movie theater operators in Asia to spend that kind of money..
And even if all that happened, it'd still be at least 5 to 10 years down the road, by then there will be camcorders that can maybe record several hundred pictures a second.
But to go to a party school and be surprised you're really not learning anything & it's basically a club med... well, let's just say perhaps it's best you didn't go to a higher caliber school after all.
I don't care what school you go to, if you want to learn and have the time (don't underestimate that factor) any school will do. You have the internet if you need to discuss things and need help and examples.
There are quite a few schools, however, that challenge you. Raise your critical thinking skills. Teach you how to learn. Interact with experts. Help you grow.
Except for the last part, I tend to disagree again. Sure they'll help you, but in the end it all comes down to your own motivations. Most of the time college involves procedures, bureaucracy, teachers who don't care about students thinking differently etc, etc. I guess you could learn to roll with the punches from that, but I have yet to see a class that actually teaches you how to learn. I'd sign up for it in a blink of an eye.
And yes, books are basically collections of (mostly) facts. Thinking and writing about it, and implementing ideas and seeing how they work is how you really learn. But I still don't see how you need a college for that unless you're in a field like nano-technology, and even then you can write yourself a little emulator..
And lastly, if you hire people for an IT department, yes, it is important that they can communicate, learn quickly and adapt, write essays/documentation etc, but if you tell me you don't care if they even know the language they are going to write in, I'd say you're really bad at hiring good people.
(And yes, of course I'm biased too.. I took all the CS classes at college for credit only. I didn't learn anything there... and eventually I got so fed up with it that I left [that and I ran out of money]. I'm still planning on going back and finishing [yeah, yeah you've heard that a thousand times] but I really disagree with the assertion that you HAVE to go to college to learn.)
And to you moderators, tangents are not offtopic. This is a direct response.
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ummm... from the article:
This work will happen in early 2001.
am i missing something?
For those of you that keep saying 'It makes no sense because you spend the difference of cost on the adapter', here is some help with very simple math:
From pricewatch.com as of today:
180GB IDE: $257
181.6GB SCSI: $894
160GB IDE: $223
146GB SCSI: $890
If you consider that the adapter costs about $100 (MSRP, so you'll probably pay less) then it's still worth it by a long shot for large capacity drives.
Also note that those SCSI drive prices seem a little low. They're usually a _LOT_ more.
Of course, if you buy a new system and decide to get a scsi card, this adapter and ide drives, you deserve to get kicked in the head, BUT if you are for example trying to gain cheap extra storage (for not mission-critical data) to add onto existing scsi systems, then this can shave of half the cost or more.
The way our small company does it, depending on project size we either divide the total estimate costs by 2, and ask for the first part at contract signing and the rest on completion, or split in 3 parts and ask for the first part at contract signing, the next part at about halfway through the project and the rest on completion. That splits the risk about evenly between yourself and your customer.
By the way contracts with oversee partners are virtually impossible to enforce (unless you have huge financial resources), so don't waste too much money on it, and make it just simple and clear. They're more intended to point out some rules between the two parties and point out copyright issues etc, but I highly doubt you'd be able to enforce anything with it.
I think you missed the point again. Of course prices fluctuate. They go up and down, for reason you mentioned in your earlier post. However the point here is (ie the topic of this discussion is) to find instances where the supply chain of electronics is easily disrupted because there are just a very few suppliers for certain materials or products, NOT because of the reasons you listed above, but because of reasons of this supply chain being interrupted. And as such your example of the Kobe earthquake is fully valid, but the reasons you posted earlier don't really pertain to this. And of course all this has happened before, but remember we are looking for examples of these things that already happened as opposed to making things up. And secondly, just because something happened already doesn't in any way make less worthy to discuss.
Although you're right, I think the original poster was referring to the incident a year or two back where a rather serious earthquake in Taiwan took out one of the factorys that produce the wafers which are used to make most kinds of memory chips. If I remember right there are very, very few factorys that produce them... you can probably count them on one hand. But I don't think it really caused an actual shortage in ram chips, the market always over-reacts and prices fluctuate wildly (in this case they went up significatnly for 5 or 6 months, until the factory was repaired).
With 8 nodes, I don't think you even need a switch. Just put a couple intel 4 port 100 mbit cards in there and link each node with each node.
That should give you lots more bandwidth and eliminate an expensive switch, and a few nanoseconds of latency.
Monitors have their own power cord no? Why not just get a regular LCD or CRT and get an extra UPS? That way your choices aren't limited and you can buy the right size UPS so that you have the backup time you wanted. It's most likely cheaper that way anyway.
I'm no scientist, but what about building up some some really strong electromagnetic field? Wouldn't that at least slow down radiation if not stop it? You could maybe put it in the living quarters and leave the lab exposed for experiments and whatnot. Electricity shouldn't be too hard to come by with a few more solar panels... but I don't know the magnitudes here.. can someone with some technical background on this give some insight?
Another advantage could be walking like with gravity with metal/magnetic boots...
While the idea may technically be feasible, I'm sure a device like this would cost thousands, maybe tens of thousands of dollars. Next they would have to convince *EVERY* movie theater to use it, else this whole thing is defeated to begin with. I wonder how they plan on convincing movie theater operators in Asia to spend that kind of money..
And even if all that happened, it'd still be at least 5 to 10 years down the road, by then there will be camcorders that can maybe record several hundred pictures a second.
Nothing to worry about...
I'd have to disagree in part here..
But to go to a party school and be surprised you're really not learning anything & it's basically a club med... well, let's just say perhaps it's best you didn't go to a higher caliber school after all.
I don't care what school you go to, if you want to learn and have the time (don't underestimate that factor) any school will do. You have the internet if you need to discuss things and need help and examples.
There are quite a few schools, however, that challenge you. Raise your critical thinking skills. Teach you how to learn. Interact with experts. Help you grow.
Except for the last part, I tend to disagree again. Sure they'll help you, but in the end it all comes down to your own motivations. Most of the time college involves procedures, bureaucracy, teachers who don't care about students thinking differently etc, etc. I guess you could learn to roll with the punches from that, but I have yet to see a class that actually teaches you how to learn. I'd sign up for it in a blink of an eye.
And yes, books are basically collections of (mostly) facts. Thinking and writing about it, and implementing ideas and seeing how they work is how you really learn. But I still don't see how you need a college for that unless you're in a field like nano-technology, and even then you can write yourself a little emulator..
And lastly, if you hire people for an IT department, yes, it is important that they can communicate, learn quickly and adapt, write essays/documentation etc, but if you tell me you don't care if they even know the language they are going to write in, I'd say you're really bad at hiring good people.
(And yes, of course I'm biased too.. I took all the CS classes at college for credit only. I didn't learn anything there... and eventually I got so fed up with it that I left [that and I ran out of money]. I'm still planning on going back and finishing [yeah, yeah you've heard that a thousand times] but I really disagree with the assertion that you HAVE to go to college to learn.)
And to you moderators, tangents are not offtopic. This is a direct response.
Heh. I tried your calculater. Try putting something like
5 * 8 / PI
and then hit = or 'Popup Calculator'
in it, and watch it crash and burn.
(respectively, Javascript error on line 71 and 541)
Using IE 5.5 on Win...