No - I use multiple machines & O/S, so I can simply flick between.
o PC1 C1.2 + PC2-3-4 C1.7 + Laptop-C2.2 as thin-client (C = Cel)
o Seats are more important to me than absolute speed
Why Cel-1.7?
o Cheap, unpopular but adequate under Suse/Win2k-Pro
o Easy upgrade path to P4-3.06-533-HT someday
---- Cel-1.7 stops depreciating (but saleable), P4 drops continually
---- P4-2.8-533-HT once 288ukp now 135ukp for brand new with HSF
Summer-2005 may see the 2.8-533-HT down to 55-85ukp 2nd-hand.
The Cel1.7 will still be saleable at 15-20ukp, so small u/g cost per PC.
This is a short-cycle u/g, the long-cycle still involves m/b, RAM, HD etc.
That will probably be Pentium-T, DDR2, S-ATA-2 7200rpm-2.5", etc.
Like books, three approaches to IT:
o Buy every book you need until the wall collapses
---- large sunk cost forever, big hole in floor
o Buy every book you need, but sell them after use to buy the next book
---- smaller sunk cost continually recycled
o Library loan every book you need
---- 1/10th-book-price cost every time, not recycled, slower
Comes down to timing.
Amusingly, I notice laptops are hitting the commodity issue in UK:
o Base Summer-Special Dell is 549ukp
---- Warranty is 1yr, not 3yr
---- Extended Warranty is 235ukp inc VAT (!)
o Sell that base spec at 1yr gets you 349-399ukp
o Buy replacement base spec costs you 150-200ukp
---- which gets you another 1yr warranty & faster processor
Desktops have been in this situation for some time, laptops now entering it.
Projectors conversely are the least likely to do this kind of thing re the sharp
delineation between SVGA/home pricing & XGA/lumens pricing re buyers.
For laptops, it's why I moved from I7k sold at 250ukp to 1100c bought at 549ukp.
The next cost was 300ukp, for new machine, 1yr warranty, when the old machine
was 3yrs old & I'd got away with not buying the 3yr warranty at 235ukp. In delaying
that warranty purchase I essentially bought a new laptop for about 65ukp more.
--
Dorothy Bradbury
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dorothy...ry/panaflo.htm (Direct)