Bruce comes back on my factoid:

>> .... confess I had no idea it was closing on 50 percent
>> of the NT server installed base.

> I think you have to be careful in interpreting these numbers;
> it's not at all clear that every one of those new Linux boxes
> filled a slot that would otherwise have been occupied by an
> NT box. ......

Expect Bruce is right about the above....

> ....  Linux boxes have lowered the price point for Internet
> servers so that they're extending the bottom end of the market,

In the obligatory trip to Fry's while I was at IPROF, noticed
Red Hat Linux with RSA Security *and* a bunch of other
internet utilities bundled went for a grand total of $89 I think
it was (at least it was $80-something)...  pretty amazing...

>.... The danger for MS, of course, is that the people currently
> inhabiting the bottom end of the market won't be upgrading to
> NT, but will stick with Linux as their business grows.

.... a lot of 3000 sites now running high-end 3000 systems
started at the low end...

> One nice thing about all this is that Intel has discovered that
> they don't need to be dependent on Microsoft.

...  and if that helps the "conventional wisdom" conclude that
the whole world is not going to end up running on NT anytime
soon, perhaps the masses of IT decision makers will become
more open to additional server-side alternatives..

It has been said that NT was one of the best thing to happen
to MPE within HP in a long time..  maybe in some ways Linux
is a candidate for one of the best thing to happen to MPE
*outside* of HP (and I guess now inside too, for that matter..).


Charles then added some interesting follow-on:

> .... an installed base of 100 customers all of whom use the HP
> 3000.  .... altogether it would typically cost over $25,000 to get
> started.

> .... buying used HP 3000's in order to get the price point down
> to roughly $12,000 as an entry point for hardware and software.

> .... 10 user Informix runs $990 at list price.  ....
> We're now at a server price point before of roughly $5,000 ....

> To beat this the NT server/SQL server application would have
> to match price point. ....

hmmm...:  Yes;  food for thought  ( (C) Alfredo    ;-) )....

> .... we notice that there is a class of customer for which Linux
> looks very appealing.  These people do not seem to be good
> targets for HP 3000s!

Expect Charles correct at the very low end....  but seems like
you might not have to move very far off the bottom before a 3000
is *almost* there price-wise, if you figure the total cost to get an
overall system "up and running".....

Anyway, interesting comments by both Bruce and Charles...

Ken Sletten