9 Apr
2013
9 Apr
'13
12:06 a.m.
On 04/08/2013 05:42 PM, Dave wrote:
I don't remember it being hard to obtain. I think the "overpriced"
argument only appeared when they produced the cheaper "windows only"
servers.
Poor software library was also an issue, so whilst you could get the
Microsoft Exchange server on Alpha, you need an Intel box to run the
Lotus Notes and Profs/SNADS connectors.
Alphas were never hard to obtain. Pick up the phone and order one,
and it shows up. I did it myself, time and time again, through the 90s.
From tiny desktops to several-hundred-kilobuck AltaVista-class
machines with 8GB of RAM (in 1994!), they were all just a phone call away.
As far as software...you got UNIX and a C compiler, and the net
provided the rest. Life was good. Nobody in their right mind ran
Windows on Alphas, and the "getting work done" part of the networking
world never wanted to play in that dirt.
They were expensive, but no more so than their peers. (which did not
include cheap PC hardware, but then, we didn't run that stuff in that world)
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
In my opinion the biggest mistake DEC made was to try
and take the
Alpha chip down market. It spoilt the brand image.
That's the first time I heard anyone say this before... Most people
complain that it was overpriced and (still) to hard to obtain, along
with (of course) a poor software library (e.g. under AXP versions of
Windows).