[Tfug] Cheap Memory

Wed Dec 26 16:50:25 MST 2007

Yeah, DSL is a stupid name, isn't (is not) it?

It is (it's) funny how stereotypes can lead one to avoid
good stuff.

I hated the stupid-ass name Ubuntu. After years of ignoring
the distro because of its (its) stupid name, I tried it.
That's an excellent distrubition! Too bad that it comes in
that nasty brown color scheme and Gnome desktop.

When I tried DSL, where I ran a web browser connecting to
the internet in under 16 MB of RAM, I thought, Dang!  And,
then the name made sense.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jeffry Johnston" <tfug at kidsquid.com>
To: "Tucson Free Unix Group" <tfug at tfug.org>
Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2007 10:00 AM
Subject: Re: [Tfug] Cheap Memory

> I'd probably have tried DSL, but they chose a stupid name.
> Jeff
>
> On Dec 21, 2007 10:51 PM, johngalt1 > wrote:
>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Claude Rubinson" <rubinson>
>> To: <tfug at tfug.org>
>> Sent: Monday, December 17, 2007 7:44 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Tfug] Cheap Memory
>>
>>
>> > On Mon, Dec 17, 2007 at 07:18:07PM -0700, johngalt1
>> > wrote:
>> >> I'd say that coder was lazy, incompetent, or
>> >> incredibly
>> >> self-centered. The jist of it is that the coder can
>> >> crap
>> >> out
>> >> an un-optimized POS. Then, if the user has a problem
>> >> running
>> >> the app, their hardware needs upgrading. (they need to
>> >> pay
>> >> more money to make the app work)
>> >>
>> >> In economics class they called that an externalized
>> >> cost
>> >>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marginal_cost#Negative_externalities_of_production
>> >
>> > It's not actually that simple.  The company is going to
>> > need to pay
>> > more money to make the app work either way.  Remember:
>> > "good, fast,
>> > cheap: pick 2."  It's all a cost/benefit analysis.
>> > Good,
>> > well-designed and coded software costs more money to
>> > produce.  There
>> > may be times when it's cheaper to throw hardware at the
>> > problem rather
>> > than pay for good software.
>>
>> What is this "the company" reference. This thread started
>> out using Windows as an example. When MS sells crappy
>> bloatware that I must pay extra for RAM to make it work,
>> (eg
>> Vista) it is an externalized cost: that simple.
>>
>> > If I recall correctly, Google simply
>> > replaces bad servers rather than fixing them because
>> > the
>> > hardware is
>> > cheaper than the man-power.  I'm not saying that's
>> > right
>> > or wrong but
>> > it is rational from a cost/benefit analysis.
>>
>> I don't follow how this example relates to the
>> hardware-software tradeoff.
>> (BTW) does anyone know how one could buy these servers
>> where
>> Google's labor costs make them too expensive to repair?
>>
>> If Google replaces servers instead of fixing them, that
>> sounds eco-foolish.
>>
>> > Externalized costs are only a problem when they're
>> > externalized.  That
>> > is to say, party A is able to put its costs onto part
>> > B.
>> > That's not
>> > what's happening in the above example.
>>
>> What above example? After reviewing the previous posts in
>> the thread, that comment sounds nonsequitur.
>>
>> > In the above example, the
>> > company is making a informed, rational choice and all
>> > the
>> > costs are
>> > internal.  (I'm assuming here that the software was
>> > developed in-house
>> > OR that the purchased software lived up to
>> > expectations.)
>>
>> That's my issue. At this point, it looks like the
>> arguement
>> changed .
>>
>> > The
>> > conditions that promote negative externalities are
>> > things
>> > such as weak
>> > gov't regulation (think pollution), monopoly (PC users
>> > have no choice
>> > but to upgrade their systems in order to run the latest
>> > version of
>> > Windows), deception, etc (basically, what economists
>> > refer
>> > to as
>> > "market imperfections.")
>>
>> Even if you use the app written-in-house premise, there
>> are
>> external costs when viewed in terms department budgets
>> for
>> the "throw some RAM at it" scenario. Example: engineering
>> wrote a POS (fast, cheap) app, so the production division
>> budget takes a hit for all the PC upgrades that must
>> occur.
>>
>> If anyone thinks lots of RAM is necessary in this age,
>> consider distros like Damn Small Linux (sorry Kieth) or
>> Puppy Linux. In these optimalized distros, the bloatware
>> libraries and unnecessary code has been stripped off .
>>
>> I have a P1-133 laptop with 48MB of RAM. It is still
>> usable
>> with DSL.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> >
>> > Claude
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Tucson Free Unix Group - tfug at tfug.org
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>> >
>> >
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>> >
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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> _______________________________________________
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>
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