XPost: sci.space.policy, sci.physics, sci.electronics.design   
      
   In sci.physics Jeff Findley  wrote:   
   > In article <1tls3e-me7.ln1@mail.specsol.com>, jimp@specsol.spam.sux.com   
   > says...   
   >>   
   >> In sci.physics Jeff Findley  wrote:   
   >> > In article , krw@notreal.com   
   >> > says...   
   >> >> The point is that CAD on minicomputers was very minimal.  It was the   
   >> >> domain of the mainframe.  Rubylith was the tool of choice for the   
   >> >> electronics industry.   
   >> >>   
   >> >   
   >> > I've worked on CAE software that's tightly integrated with CAD my entire   
   >> > professional life.  Back in about 1988 our CAD/CAE software still ran on   
   >> > mainframes (IBM, DEC, and etc.) but the transition to Unix workstations   
   >> > was in its infancy.  Back then, PCs were "toys" that quite simply   
   >> > couldn't handle professional level CAD/CAE software.   
   >> >   
   >> > In the early 1990s Unix Workstations dominated for running CAD/CAE   
   >> > software.  A good SGI "box" would run you about $20k in early 1990s   
   >> > dollars (about $33k today).   
   >> >   
   >> > Today, you can comfortably run CAD/CAE software (at least the CAE   
   >> > pre/post) on a sub $2k PC running Windows OS.  But many customers will   
   >> > go quite a bit over $2k with things like solid state drives and 64 GB or   
   >> > more of RAM coupled with the best professional graphics card money can   
   >> > buy (no, they're not quite the same as consumer/gaming cards).  Still,   
   >> > the most "decked out" PC workstation today will still cost a fraction of   
   >> > what a Unix workstation used to cost in the early 1990s.   
   >> >   
   >> > So again, we see yet another example of improving technologies driving   
   >> > down costs in a market.   
   >>   
   >> Nope, what we see is yet another example of consumer demand driving down   
   >> manufacturing costs by encouraging high volume, automated, manufacturing.   
   >   
   > Bullshit.  The technology in a PC today is quite different than that of   
   > a PC made in 1988.  Nothing in a PC from 1988 would even "plug into" a   
   > PC bought today, except maybe the keyboard and mouse.  And the PC today   
   > is literally orders of magnitude faster.   
   >   
   > Jeff   
      
   So what?   
      
   Nothing from a 1988 Ford F150 would even "plug into" a Ford F150 bought today.   
      
   BTW, a current Ford F150 costs about the same (in adjusted dollars) as a   
   1988 Ford F150 and does not perform significantly differently.   
      
      
   --   
   Jim Pennino   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)