| From: | shadowrn@*********.com (Mark M. Smith) |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Decking costs (was Re: Drones, riggers) |
| Date: | Mon Mar 25 19:20:01 2002 |
>According to Bira, on Fri, 22 Mar 2002 the word on the street was...
>
> > Well, then you could also decrease the standard computer prices do 0,20¥
> > per Mp :). That'd also be interesting :).
>
>What I thought of yesterday, on my way to the game, is doing away with the
>standard computers from the equipment list altogether. By making _every_
>computer a cyberterminal/-deck, you can kill two birds with one stone:
>first of all, the prices will make sense, relative to each other (which
>they don't do now); and second, it should reinforce the idea that
>cyberdecks _are_ computers, that there's no huge gap between the two.
>
>This way, the main difference would be in whether or not the machine has
>Persona programs (and other stuff only needed for decking, like response
>increase or hardening). With those, it's a terminal (or deck), while
>without them it's a normal computer.
I disagree. For one thing your standard deck is likely to be a lot more
SOTA than the average computer. Compare the consumer targetted sub-$1,000
systems being sold today with Celerons and the like. Not very upgradable,
bad design, all sorts of problems. A deck, even an off-the-shelf deck is
likely to be more like a computer from an upper-tier manufacturer or one of
those delightful local shops that actually make good boxen for those that
don't want to custom-assemble. As previously said also a deck is
ultra-portable and ruggedized. Ever seen any of those industrial/field-work
laptops they make and the insane prices they can command? Same sort of
thing. A deck is designed to be taken out into the field and tossed around
a bit and still come through it doing pretty well. The average computer is
likely constructed as well as any standard, random piece of modern consumer
electronics. Afterall, why distinguish between a nice pre/pro and amp hi-fi
setup with a flagship cd player and a shelf system? Aside from mere quality
you're dealing with two remarkably different beasts even if both play cds.
--
Mark M. Smith
belgand@**************.com
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