The latest buzz in the tech industry is the adoption of cheap, low-powered laptop type computers that are tuned for nothing more than Internet and word processing. Because of the low power needed, these netbooks are lighter than most. These combined make an attractive package for people who are on the move and just want to check their email or Facebook page.
Asus seems to be leading this drive with the Eee Pc. It comes in a few different flavors ranging from about $350 to $500, depending on the options. One cost saver is buying the Linux option.
What I’m starting to wonder is if this trend will stay. I have thought about snagging one of these netbooks just so I don’t have to bring my work laptop home to surf in the easy chair. The more I look at the specs, though, I know that I will over subscribe a Netbook and not be happy with it. I wonder how many people have bought this with the intentions of using as a Internet only terminal, but have wound up bogging the machine down.
Also, how long term is the purchase? Adobe keeps coming out with larger and larger versions of Flash, as well as the dynamic nature of today’s Internet tells me that the Netbooks might be soon lagging behind. iTunes is already starting to bog down mid-grade machines.
So, after thinking about this a little further, I would rather pay $800 for an HP 550 business notebook with a dual core and the ability to upgrade memory. It’s not the fastest notebook in the stack, but the warranty and the abillity to upgrade make it a better decision than a cheap trend.
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After earning a CCNA and working with nothing but Cisco equipment, I fell into the mind trap that Cisco was synonymous with a corporate network. While they have a good core set of integrated products, this is a huge misconception. Cisco does a good job of marketing to put their name at the forefront of IT, but the product does not always stand up to the name.
Enter HP ProCurve, a small unit with HP that takes HP’s core of R&D and takes it to IT’s infrastructure department. ProCurve operates using industry standards, both pre-existing and standards that ProCurve has driven the industry to create. ProCurve has driven many industry standards to have the ability for seamless integration of other vendor’s equipment, both the competition and supplemental products.
The stand-out difference between ProCurve and Cisco is two-fold: Price and Warranty. The price of an equivalent ProCurve switch is a fraction than it’s Cisco competitor. The warranty is a full lifetime, next business day warranty at no additional cost after the purchase. What kind of warranty does Cisco have to match that?
To provide an example of how lifetime this warranty is, take a ProCurve 2424 switch, purchased in 1997.
This switch has ports die and basic functionality leaving. This is 2008, production and stock is done for this line. One call to ProCurve support and the switch is still replaced with the functional equivalent, a ProCurve 2524.
Granted the warranty does not cover functional design of the switch (cannot handle current traffic load, cannot support capabilities, etc.), but a switch should never have ports or basic functionality fail. This is ProCurve’s stand.
There is nothing more to say about a cheaper, more effective switch that tends to out perform it’s more popular competitor. While this is not the fullest extend of the differences, it is enough to make you wonder if Cisco really is the market leader in networking infrastructure.
So, have you thought about ProCurve?
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This is the official christening of my technical ramblings. In here, you will find my thoughts on corporate networking, home networking, gadgetry, and anything else that might cross my mind at the time I publish. I hope to keep this updated frequently, so keep checking for updates as the times roll by.
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