| Re: Mac OS info [message #27202 is a reply to message #27124] |
Fri, 12 October 2001 07:11  |
Dennis Boccippio
Messages: 23
Registered: July 2000
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Junior Member |
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In article <005101c15298$0db30ff0$d938a8c0@Hadfield>,
"Mark Hadfield" <m.hadfield@niwa.cri.nz> wrote:
> Thanks.
>
> NB: I wrote my message in the other thread asking you for more info about
> the financial aspects before I saw this.
>
> I just spoke to CEO Mike Scally(?) who estimated the cost of fully
> developing & supporting Mac OS X as $0.5M. Not peanuts. Several times he
> mentioned that it used a very different code base from other versions.
>
This makes the issue even more disconcerting. $500K is about 250-300
licenses at Un*x rates. I really find it hard to believe there won't be
that many converts from Un*x boxes (or new Powerbook license purchases),
and that the "review of the current MacOS user base" neglects this
factor.
It costs us a *heck* of a lot more to maintain our boutique SGIs (almost
solely for the purpose of running IDL) than our desktop machines. IT
support is higher, memory expansion is more expensive, network card
upgrades are more expensive, we can't add low-cost FireWire drives for
disk expansion (a BIG drawback), etc, and we usually also have to
maintain a desktop Mac or PC in the same office _anyway_.
In our small group of 12, we have 4 Mac owners, only one of which ponied
up for an IDL/MacOS license, primarily because IDL/MacOS was hobbled by
the non-multitasking thing. I know the other 3 would go IDL/OS-X if it
were available. The reduced maintenance costs would even justify buying
these as new licenses, rather than platform conversions, and even at
Un*x rates. That doesn't even consider new licenses for Powerbooks.
~100 similar stories would add up to $500K pretty quickly...
- Dennis Boccippio
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