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May 16, 2006
$200 comp
A friend pointed me to "How To: A Complete Terabyte File Server For About $500" a couple weeks ago. You got to love how cheap the standard parts of a computer are getting. This article actually inspired me to build a low cost PC to use as a file server for backing up media here at the house. What I decided on is a $200 box that contains a Celeron CPU + 512 MB RAM + a 160 GB hard drive. In a year or two I'll buy another hard drive. Here is how the costs break down:
1) Barebones Kit with CPU - $110
2) 512 MB RAM - $35
3) Seagate 160 GB Hard Drive - $30 (plus you get some security software)
Add shipping costs and you are right around $200... for a fairly decent piece of hardware! Note in the specs above that disk space can now be purchased for ~19 cents/GB. That is CHEAP! The fun part of course will be putting it all together! :-) The not so fun part? The 35 rebates (actually about 7 our 8) I need to complete to actually get these prices!
Note: not sure how long these links will last at TD.
Posted by harris at 10:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Men In Black go to the GYM
Two or three years ago Microsoft, IBM, and BEA (MIB) were all the rage in the software world when the frenzy of web services and "SOAs" seemed to reach its peak. During those days the MIB were pumping out specs at an unprecendented rate and created a lot of buzz among developers. It is interesting how there has been a tectonic shift since then so that the GYM players (Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft) seem to be getting most of the [large company] attention.
There are a few interesting observations about this:
1) IBM and BEA are not in danger of going out of business, but they aren't interesting anymore. Web services, yawn, fulfill a useful purpose in the enterprise, but don't really capture many (any? :-) people's imagination these days.
2) Microsoft always finds a way to stay in the game; and despite losing some talent to Google, they have retained and recruited engineering talent
3) It is ironic that in each acronym that the players are listed in descending order in terms of strength in the market. Microsoft was clearly the leader during the brief web services era, with IBM and BEA playing respective supporting roles. In the new "Web 2.0" world, Google seems to be leading with Yahoo running a close second and MS also staying close to the pack.
4) GOOG
Posted by harris at 09:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 05, 2006
Geeks in Business
I studied both Business and Computer Science in school and have a good appreciation for both. Why Business Needs More Geeks, highlights why geeks (like those who studied CS) can also be successful in business, assuming, of course, that they also have the skill of dealing with people. I have seen many of the items described in the article at work in some of the large corporations I have worked in. Instead of using the term geeks though, I might insert "Hardcore Employees"! People who are really interested in succeeding and objectivity and not just surviving and defending turf.
Spock out.
Posted by harris at 07:56 AM | Comments (0)