There's not much to add to what James wrote, however, for
people/companies who use computers for business, a few
points of his message could be filtered and emphasized:
 
James B. Byrne wrote:
>
[snip]
>
> I run HP3000's, an HP9000/8xx server, a number of WinNT 3.51 WS
> and a clutch of Win95 WS (don't ask).  Of the four groups of
> machines my time in support breaks down roughly like this
> (10%,%60,%10,%20).  Notice who gets the biggest chunk?
>
        ...and accumulates costs in the log run ?
 
> Now, the 3000 is by far the most important machine of the group.
> It runs the entire company.  The thing is, it just doesn't need
> me.
        ...and saves personnel costs
 
>
> Of course, free in this context is a relative term.  It is sort of
> like a free kitten, you don't pay up front, but you do pay. It
> just doesn't seem to warrent a separate line item on a budget.  I
> mean just how do you put "pissing around trying to find out why it
> doesn't work" in a departmental budget?  On the other hand, you
> can get software to do almost anything you can imagine, and you
> don't have to crawl over broken glass to the controller to get the
> funds either.
>
        ...and spend a lot of time (and money) playing around to
        get it working (I know: it's fun and keeps you busy -- so
        you look like an IMPORTANT computer guru that the
        company can't afford to lose!)
 
> And that is, in my opinion humble or not, why unix is much more
> popular than anything else.  It is simply more accessible and more
> affordable to more people.
 
        ..and more people you do need to hack around
 
 
It's really funny how application and O/S crashes are much more
forgivable in the Un*x world than in the MPE/iX.  If our HP3000
applications would crash as often as the Un*x one's, our company
would be out of business.
 
Anyway,
back to work (HP3000 & Powerhouse) and hacking (HP9000 & Oracle).
 
Esko.
 
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