$100 laptop running Linux

[Brian Kelsay]

Not the normal to large corporations.  They get rid of stuff in a scheduled manner.  A PC reaches 3 yrs and its gone.  When the warranty is up, its time to ditch it.  Typically someone pulls it from commission right before its warranty is up, checks to see if any parts need replacement and then while it's still working they get rid of it.  This all happens if they are organized and have a PC lifecycle plan in place.  Sometimes financial concerns or manpower shortages cause these schedules to slip and then all hell breaks loose at some point.  Tons of equipment failures at the same time or so many PCs to replace all at once that you must hire contractors to make the scheduled replacements.  It's all about planning.

Brian Kelsay

>>> Leo Mauler <> 04/09/05 11:53AM >>>

--- Brian Kelsay <> wrote:
> Often the problem in a corporate environment, the
> newest version  of Windows must be run (XP w/ SP1 or
> 2) along with virus scanning, big email clients,
> latest office suite and nearly all software that an
> employee might ever use since you want a
> one-size-fits-all image for the PC.  There is always
> even more software to load for specialty jobs like
> program development.

Yes, the cost of replacement is far greater than the
cost of the computer, when you're talking about
Windows.  Especially when the licenses are tied to the
hardware.

So a corporation might hold onto a low productivity
computer rather than engage in an expensive upgrade of
which only a small part is the cost of the computer.