[geeks] IBM in talks to buy Sun

[Shannon Hendrix]

On Mar 18, 2009, at 14:09 , Sridhar Ayengar wrote:

> Shannon Hendrix wrote:
>> IBM screws too many good things up.
>> Sun is nowhere near perfect, and their stupidity boggles the mind  
>> at times, but I would worry about IBM taking over.
>> We need more companies, not fewer large ones.
>
> I think it boils down to a question.  Do you want a Sun that is  
> stomped on by HP and Dell, or do you want an HP and Dell that are  
> stomped on by IBM?

I don't want either, personally.  I don't like picking between the  
lesser of evils.  In the end, bad shit still happens.

I'm also not fully convinced that is what will happen.  If IBM buys  
Sun but leaves them alone, it might.  If they muck with it, Sun will  
just disappear and become a horrid mess like most IBM systems.

The only thing I can think of worse than dealing with Sun or IBM  
support and websites, would be dealing with an evil combination of the  
two.

I guess we'll see.  If it happens, I certainly hope it works out, or  
it will be a huge setback for an industry already plagued by them.

> Neither solution is perfect, but I think I would prefer the latter.  
> Primarily because the quality of the hardware being produced by the  
> likes of HP and Dell seems to me to be built to a shorter price  
> point than that from the likes of IBM and Sun.

On the high end, sure.  In fact, Dell doesn't even sell into the top  
markets that IBM and Sun does.

I'm just not sure how moving it all to IBM helps the market, which I  
care more about than I do IBM itself, but as I said we'll have to wait  
and see I guess.

At low-mid range, I'm not sure there is that much difference between  
IBM and Dell or HP.  All three make systems I would never want, and  
all three make a few that I like.

IBM and Dell are easier when shopping for low end servers and the  
prices seem better to me, as long as you buy them bare and upgrade  
yourself.  HP seems to charge more for what they call PC servers.  All  
three charge grossly excessive prices for any upgrades, though Dell  
does occasionally discount the upgrades as well.

I have to laugh when Dell asks me for $350 for a quad-core CPU kit,  
which newegg sold me for $110.

What's interesting to me is that IBM and Sun compete a lot on higher  
end machines.  IBM sells a lot of Sun systems, but I have to wonder:  
if they buy Sun, will they really keep shipping such competitive  
systems, or dump one line?





-- 
"Where some they sell their dreams for small desires."