backup & low downtime for home network

[James Knott]

Christopher Browne wrote:
> On Dec 5, 2007 9:22 PM, Robert Brockway <robert-5LEc/6Zm6xCUd8a0hrldnti2O/JbrIOy at public.gmane.org> wrote:
>   
>> Despite the many many advantages (including simplified backups and reduced
>> management time) alot of people don't seem to "get" thin clients.  For
>> people used to the workstation paradigm it can seem a strange idea.
>>     
>
> The problem I have always had with the "thin client" approach is much
> the same as my problem with automobile leasing.
>
> Both *ought* to be enormously more beneficial to users than the
> rapacious vendors allow it to be.
>
> Auto leasing allows someone to get the tax benefit of depreciation, so
> it *OUGHT* to make it a compellingly preferable way for individuals to
> have cars to drive, but the leasing companies choose to use it as an
> excuse to profit excessively, so it's NOT cheaper than buying.
>   
While I don't know all the accounting details a leasing company deals
with, several years ago, I leased my own personal car through my
employer's leasing company.  I checked with the credit union, bank and
dealer and none could deliver the car at close to the same cost as I
could get on the lease, even after considering the buyout.  Now that I'm
receiving a car allowance, a leased car would make a big difference in
my income tax.  Currently, as I own my car, I have to calculate a
decreasing amount of depreciation each year.  And since I paid cash for
my car, I don't even have any financing expenses to write off.  If I
leased the car, the business use portion of the lease and other expenses
come right off the top of my income.  Leasing often makes sense for
businesses, as it becomes a straight expense, without worrying about
depreciation or disposal.  It also means no capital tied up in vehicles.
> Not too dissimilar, if I am buying an X term that's got wimpier CPU
> and no disk and needs less case and less cooling and less electricity,
> this *ought* to mean that the unit costs about as much as a videogame,
> that is, somewhere about $200-$300-ish.
>
> Reality is, instead, that once the vendors get thru with you, you've
> paid $800 for it, and that's so insultingly more than a cheap
> dueling-cores "full fledged PC" that I always decline to go this
> route.
>   

http://shop.koolu.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2
> I was considering grabbing a PC recently to try some stuff out on, and
> assortedly saw:
> - I could buy some BestBuy/FutureShop "minitower" for ~$400
> - I could build something comparable with better underlying hardware for ~$500
> - I saw some nifty compact Acer boxes, but I'm not paying $850 for it...
> I don't think this economic view is too terribly unusual...
>
> It just feels like an insult to buy something that's smaller *and less
> featureful* and pay quite a bit more for it.
>   
Don't forget, that old PC will also use considerably more electricity
than a thin client.


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