IBM sells PC branch to Chinese

[David Abramowitz]

IBM sells PC branch to Chinese

TonyT wrote: Eastcoast to Westcoast travel or vice versa will overheat your butt... So I will go by plane For most people this is absolutely correct. But where the U.S. falls apart on rail travel is moderate hops, or regional service. For instance: Las Vegas with a population of over 1,000,000 does not have passenger rail service. Yet regional service to nearby large cities would create efficiencies. I don't believe you can travel from Dallas to Houston by rail, but there is an opportunity for high speed service if there ever was one. Dave

IBM sells PC branch to Chinese

Is this ok ? First of all I'd like to hear the opinion of US people. Second, from my European fellows all over the EU. Last but not least, where's IBM heading ? Let's discuss this topic !!! Bernd (My first was a S/38 Mod. 4)

IBM sells PC branch to Chinese

Mass transport system is good for travels like Boston - NY - DC - FL. I wish we have an ICE service like in Germany. Eastcoast to Westcoast travel or vice versa will overheat your butt... So I will go by plane

IBM sells PC branch to Chinese

I live in New England, and have spent some time working in Boston. The commuter train worked well for me for quite awhile going into Boston. I wrote them off as an option when I came back by Air from St Louis and found them on Strike. It cost me $45 and 3 other people in my cab to get across the city to ride home with a friend. No thanks. Now I fly out of another airport and have friends drop me or pick me up. I had occasion in the last couple years to fly form Hartford to Ohare. I arrived at a time that wasn't very busy at Ohare, and caught the Metro across the city then the Train out to South Bend. I was going opposite the morning commute, and had a wonderful ride. It is true we have messed up our train system, and I understand the problem that it doesn't go where I want to go, but where we need to get a lot of people into any one place from the surrounding areas they work quite well

[David Abramowitz]

IBM sells PC branch to Chinese

Chuck Ackerman wrote: However, as a general rule, there are few places in the U.S. where trains go to the places that I want to be. If they do go where I want to be the timing or connections are terrible. Thank you for agreeing with me Chuck, Dave

IBM sells PC branch to Chinese

Kim, As a fun experience I took a train with the kids from Simi Valley to San Diego about 10 years ago just so the kids could know what it was like. My wife drove the car down to meet us in San Diego. Being in San Diego without a car is not a good experience. About an hour into the train ride the kids and I had seen enough of the train to satisfy our curiosity. After that it was boring and confining. My wife had no road rage and arrived an hour before us. And her cost was significantly less. (May not be the case these days.) However, as a general rule, there are few places in the U.S. where trains go to the places that I want to be. If they do go where I want to be the timing or connections are terrible. I was in Toronto for COMMON. Taking the train to downtown was possible, but certainly an effort. I took a shuttle. chuck Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of my employer. "Kim Kuras" wrote in message news:6b1f7645.17@WebX.WawyahGHajS... > Perhaps, but I don't believe David referred to the U.S. being exclusive to "So Cal". I am taking the train from AA (Ann Arbor) Michigan to Chicago this weekend. I find the train trip relaxing and I don't have to deal with snow and road rage.

IBM sells PC branch to Chinese

Perhaps, but I don't believe David referred to the U.S. being exclusive to "So Cal". I am taking the train from AA (Ann Arbor) Michigan to Chicago this weekend. I find the train trip relaxing and I don't have to deal with snow and road rage.

IBM sells PC branch to Chinese

"David Abramowitz saud: "IMO it is a crime what we in the U.S. have done with our passenger rail system." Well, that's an unfair comparison. The U.S. is just too large for any kind of passenger rail system to be of much value. And many areas, especially in the west, where there is no "central" location for people to gather, a rail system makes no sense at all. That's the case here in Southern California. There are some rail systems here that go from the suburbs to downtown L.A., but who cares? The only ones that work in downtown L.A. are the lawyers, judges and city workers. There is no central place to commute in So Cal and it's commuters that drive the need for a rail. They spent billions on a rail system that goes empty most of the time.

[David Abramowitz]

IBM sells PC branch to Chinese

On one of my trips to the U.K., I obtained a "Brit-Rail" pass. I had some free time, so I decided to really make good use of it. I went from London to Inverness (Scotland) in 11 hours. The ferry ride from Inverness to Fort William (I think it was Fort William) is filled with some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet. My only disappointment was failure to see "Nessie". I stopped in Glasgow, on the way back, and detoured to Lladdudno in Wales. You can get just about inywhere in the U.K. by rail. IMO it is a crime what we in the U.S. have done with our passenger rail system. Dave

IBM sells PC branch to Chinese

Sorry, was a bit ambiguous with my answer, but since the thread was about the PC business I limited my answer to just that side of things. Of course you'd get a a support contract for anything that was (relatively) expensive, if for no other reason than to somewhat protect your investment. However, for an item that may be obsolete in 6 months, and cost pennies to buy in the first place.............what is there to support? Also, here in England, I can drive from London and be anywhere else in England in 4 hours (not including rush hour traffic!) and that doesn't include trains(provided they don't break down) or planes(as long as the baggage handlers aren't on strike again), which would be even quicker. Matt

IBM sells PC branch to Chinese

mj_downes said: "The only places I've heard about having support contracts will Dell, HP and the like are companies that don't have IT Depts" We have support contracts with both those companies. Sure a lot cheaper and quicker to have a Dell service tech show up in a facility 2,000 miles from the home office than to put someone on a plane on short notice. If you have an AS/400, do you have a support contract? Why would you not have one for a $5,000 laser printer? Or a $4,000 router? Or a $15,000 Dell server? chuck Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of my employer.

IBM sells PC branch to Chinese

I've worked in many places, banks, insurance, retailers. They were seperated into two classes of employer, some had central iSeries servers running everything, some merely used it to crunch the numbers and produce reports. If a company was committed to keeping their technology up-to-date, they revised the requirements every 6 months, and then re-issued computers/monitors/etc. Others have left their people runnning on a DX66 because they only need to use Client Access to get to the iSeries. I have still not seen a branded PC in any of these places. There's never been hardware support outside of the company, if a PC failed it was just rebuilt/replaced by the Support Dept. The only places I've heard about having support contracts will Dell, HP and the like are companies that don't have IT Depts, and if you weren't in IT why would you be reading/writing this thread? Just my 2 pence worth. Matt (UK to be more precise)

[V.Mack]

IBM sells PC branch to Chinese

What MC Press to say...

[dmjae2004@yahoo.com]

IBM sells PC branch to Chinese

So as a result of all of this, can we (maybe) expect even lower prices on desktop/laptop PC's due to a stepped up price war? Given its already a low marging business I would not expect a significant reduction in prices. Already HP and DELL have entered the digital consumer market in order to grow their businesses. My understanding is the deal will not close until mid next year. And that the IBM PC staff will move over to Lenovo. IMO this will take some time to shake-out. My curiosity is what does IBM have in mind with the $1.2M they will have in cash. AFAIK IBM doesnt have a cash problem, so where and how will IBM be investing ?

[webified]

IBM sells PC branch to Chinese

So as a result of all of this, can we (maybe) expect even lower prices on desktop/laptop PC's due to a stepped up price war? And if so, how would this affect (pricing) on Apple PC's? Hey Bernd, generally, what brand(s) of PC's do consumers and/or corporations like to use in Europa? I have friends in Switzerland that have IBM-compatibles with names that I have never heard of while their jobs at the bank(s) use I believe Compaq (now HP).