All, This may really be a Windows-only question, but I can believe there are establishments that have standardized on Macs for factory use.
Recently I was required by our IT department to 'upgrade' a couple of networked factory test PCs (still running LV5.1 apps under Windows 95!) to Windows 2000, and since the original PCs were decreed too underpowered, IT gave me a few 'cast-offs', of 400MHz Pentium-II vintage, as replacements. Long story short, at least one of these has turned out to be unreliable for long term use, so now I'm given the nod to buy something akin to the standard-issue current workstation. We've got a corporate purchase agreement with a big computer manufacturer (rhymes with 'hell'), and now I'm told that all such PCs MUST come with a license for MS Office Pro/Exchange/WinServer2003 etc, which adds close to 500USD to the total. The IT line is, 'If it plugs into the network, it must include these licenses'. Plus, W2K is no longer an option, so it comes with WinXPPro, and if you reload the OS, you're unsupported. I'm just curious to hear from some of you folks who work for (or contract for) LMCO, Sperry, Litton, and other medium-to-large corporations, what your experiences are. Are you free to buy your own hardware if it goes on the corporate network, or do you get what's offered? (Usually, I'm more concerned with things like how many open PCI slots the thing has...) Best, Dave David J Boyd Senior Test Engineer Respironics 175 Chastain Meadows Court Kennesaw GA 30144-3724 (V) 770-429-2809 (F) 770-423-2300 ======================================================================== CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE ---------------------- This message, together with any attachments, may be legally privileged and is confidential information intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed. It is exempt from disclosure under applicable law including court orders. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, distribution or copy of this message, or any attachment, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the original sender and delete this message, along with any attachments, from your computer.
