[WinMac] No, because it's because MY ass is on the line [WAS:Don't you ever get enough of this? (was: Email Choices)]

Daniel L. Schwartz(expresso[at]snip.net)
Tue, 23 Mar 1999 11:37:26 -0500

        Dear Pascal:

        Right now, I'm assembling an IBM PC Server 325 for a customer; and I have
another one that will be used as a RIP station for a color proofer. They
run as cool as a cucumber with 7200 and 10,000 RPM disk arrays, 24/365.

        Yeah, Apple's stuff LOOKS cool... But looks can be deceiving. Shit, the
G3's don't even have built-in SCSI... And if you knew anything about SCSI's
command queuing (versus the crummy ATAPI used in the new Macs) and how that
interacts with a multithreaded, multitasking operating system you wouldn't
even CONSIDER using a G3 for an enterprise server.

        Ironically, Apple was way ahead of the industry for years with SCSI, even
though they didn't have the OS to exploit it. Now, the reverse is true:
OS-X (which is a flavor of unix), which CAN exploit SCSI, ONLY RUNS ON
HARDWARE THAT CAN'T SUPPORT IT! [And if you think that you can simply plug
an adapcrap card into a G3, click on:
<http://www.macintouch.com/bg3scsi.html>.

        [Besides all these other points, how do YOU hook up an uninterruptible
power supply (UPS) to YOUR shiny, new blue G3, so when the power fails it
shuts down gracefully when the batteries go down? Or is the power grid in
The Netherlands much better than the average of 4 hours per year downtime
here in the United States?]

 -------

        When I install a system for a business, I can't afford to be on the
"bleeding edge" just to impress their eyes... I have to look at the whole
package, including the company that backs ME up. I don't have the luxury of
storming offstage and hiding when something crashes. And I sure didn't take
off MY microphone and run away when Bruce Francis interviewed ME 3 years
ago for CNBC - Something your favorite "iCEO" DID do when asked (in August
1997) in a LIVE interview if he would take the helm permanently.

        Like it or not, I have to consider these factors because if a system I
recommend and install fails, it's MY ass on the line, not Steve Jobs.'

> Apple? Just because he axed something (clones) you had just advised to
> some of your customers. C'mon, everyone saw that one coming a wile
> away.

        Yeah, and besides all the people he screwed when he killed the clones, he
f**ked another customer of mine when he killed the Apple Network Server...
Remember those 500's and 700's running AIX 4.1.4? You can't even RUN AIX
4.3, or even AIX 4.2, on these machines.

        So, a G3 isn't too bad if someone wants to hitch their new DV camcorder to
it to edit their home "bedroom" movies... But not much else.
         

        I'm glad YOUR employer is forgiving of the way Steve Jobs has cost it
thousands of dollars in the last 2 years... Since I work for myself I don't
have that luxury.

        Yours truly,
        Daniel L. Schwartz,
        Electrical Engineer.

        Dan's Macintosh Consulting
        239 Great Road
        Maple Shade, NJ 08052

        609-642-7666

 -------

At 04:27 PM 3/23/99 +0100, Pascal wrote:
> Well Dan,
>
> It seems you have a very hard time looking past the 'cool package'.
> What do you mean by 'rugged & reliable' anyway, do you wanna take it
> out to the ballpark? I'd like some arguments on this, so we can have a
> fruitful discussion, rather then some semi-juvenile prejudices.
>
> Do you really need to use every opportunity you can (or can't) get to
> rant & and rave off topic towards Steve Jobs and where he's steering
> Apple? Just because he axed something (clones) you had just advised to
> some of your customers. C'mon, everyone saw that one coming a wile
> away.
>
> Apart from that, thanks for all the useful comments.
> Regards,
>
> Pascal Nieuwland
> Macintosh systems administrator
> Packaging Technology, World-wide
> Cordis, Johnson & Johnson
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> "You think it's a conspiracy by the networks to put bad shows on TV.
> But the shows are bad because that's what people want. It's not like
> Windows users don't have any power. I think they are happy with
> Windows, and that's an incredibly depressing thought."
>
> Steve Jobs, Apple iCEO
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>______________________________ Reply Separator
>_________________________________
>Subject: [WinMac] Re: Email Choices
>Author: ,Daniel L. Schwartz [SMTP:expresso@snip.net] at NCSBEEXT01
>Date: 1999/03/23 14:56
>
> <snip>
>
> However, I kind of agree with your Novell jock about ASIP 6.x [and
>OS-X],
>but for another reason: The lack of robust hardware. The Mac evangelists
>will be screaming and jumping up & down, but there is NO COMPARISON between
>a toy plastic blue & white Mac and a ProLiant. Say what you want about x86,
>but the commercial servers from IBM and Compaq ARE rugged and reliable...
>Something that Apple's industrial design staff seems to have overlooked to
>produce a "cool looking" package. [I say this as I'm looking at my IBM
>IntelliStation Z Pro workstation and making a mental comparison to the guts
>of a blue & white G3 Mac...]
>
> Yours truly,
>Dan Schwartz
>
>
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>
>

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