🚀 go-pugleaf

ritz@ritz.mordor.com (Christopher Mauritz) writes:
> 
> Future?  I don't see much of a future if the big boys start
> pricing the mail order places out of the market.  Let's face
> it, if I had a choice on two systems, one from a mail order
> company and one from IBM, and they were priced closely, I
> would buy big blue every time.
> 

Unfortunately, this may be true for many of the players currently
in the direct market.  However, I personally would always pick
a decent clone over Big Blue even if the prices were very close.
I can do just about *anything* hardware-wise with my clone, and
repairs and upgrades are very cheap.  This might not be the case
with proprietary designs such as IBM, Compaq, Dell, etc.

Once you have your cheap IBM, Dell, or Compaq, how much will 
it cost to repair once it's out of warranty?  How much to replace 
the motherboard?  The power supply?  If a serial or parallel port 
goes belly up do you have to replace an integrated MB or just an
inexpensive I/O card?  Will the case and power supply support
internal expansion options?  Can you use any standard components 
or must you go to IBM for replacement parts ($$$)?

==============================================================================
Bob Alpert : Tuna Palace Systems : Camden, NJ : alpert%rambler@kb2ear.ampr.org
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