Re: Building a rackmount looping computer as an alternative to theReceptor for Mobius

[Jeff Larson <Jeffrey.Larson@Sun.COM>]

Travis Hartnett wrote:
 > Oh, they're both software solutions--one just has a dedicated hardware
 > platform to run it on.  Dedicated hardware tends to be more stable,
 > and computers depreciate at a furious rate.  What are the odds that
 > your laptop will be running in ten years?

I can appreciate the advantages of dedicated hardware, but this is a
specious argument.  I agree that dedicated hardware tends to be more
stable, but the reason computers deprecate is because we keep trying
to do more with them every year.  I have a ten year old laptop that
runs Windows 95 as well as the day it was born.  No one uses these any
more simply because they don't have to.  I gave mine to my kids and
they abuse the crap out of it.  The only problem I've ever had with
old computers is a broken CD ROM drive after having a hunk of Laffy
Taffy and a few Polly Pocket shoes crammed into it.  Something which
is no more difficult to replace than the rotary encoders on a Vortex :-)

Jeff