[wplug] FreeDOS

[Michael Semcheski]

Chris Ott wrote:
> Are you saying there is no other equipment manufactured today that does
> exactly the same thing as what you currently have? If so, go out and get
> it. If not, you probably need to find another way to solve your problem,
> anyway; that equipment isn't going to last forever. What would happen if
>  it was destroyed in a fire tomorrow? Could you still do your business?

The way that these things go, it may be another two years before we have
a replacement in hand.  In the mean time, things need to work.

A replacement is going to be a major purchase.  It is a major function
of our lab, and there is no drop-in replacement.  Maintaining things
will be costly, but a replacement will be very costly too.

We realize it is inevitable that one day, things will stop working.  In
the meantime, we actually have a small war chest of pentiums to 'throw
on the fire'.

> You're eventually going to the point where it will cost significantly
> more to maintain the old stuff than buy new and, with 15-year-old
> equipment, I bet you're way past that point, already. In addition, newer
> equipment will probably be twice as fast and ten times as accurate.

I've alerted the powers-that-be that we can not go on as we are
indefinitely.  The thing is, from a science perspective, what we have
works as well as it could.  If we could get the maintenance costs way
down, I'd love to get a few more years out of what we've got.  The money
that doesn't get spent on new stuff can always go to more important
things -- like higher salaries for the technical staff.

Thanks for the input though, I definitely appreciate where you're coming
from.  The system in question is not your typical legacy system.

Mike