I'd argue that it's only a model once you monetize it. :) Ultimately, I think the vendors are going to go that way, because it is cheaper to produce and easier to support. Much easier to finesse the necessary price points for an ever-growing value conscious society. And it even benefits consumers, too.
Either way, it's not robbery unless the specific value proposition is garbage -- e.g. the price being offered for the default configuration is too expensive for the power provided OR the price to upgrade is too expensive for the performance derived for the upgrade. For my purposes, if Intel offers a processor that can provide X or X+2 units of performance at a cost of $100 for X and +$50 for (X+2) then I'm good if: - All I need today is X, and $100 is what I deem an appropriate price for X power - What I need today is X+2, and $150 is what I deem an appropriate price for X+2 power Outside of that, I just won't purchase it. If all I need is X power, I really don't care what the price is for X+2, especially when it's upgradeable. (If it's not upgradeable, a good enough price might cause me to purchase X+2 now, given the inconvenience of doing it later) *ASB *(My XeeSM Profile) <http://XeeSM.com/AndrewBaker> *Exploiting Technology for Business Advantage...* * * On Tue, Sep 21, 2010 at 11:20 PM, Bill Humphries <[email protected]>wrote: > AMD sort of embraced that model... > > The X3s were often X4s with one inactive core. Lots of people successfully > unlocked that core. AMD just didn't try to monetize it further like Intel. > > Bill > Andrew S. Baker wrote: > > I disagree that the costs are being subsidized at the low end. It costs > less overall to manage the product as a single unit with unlockable > features than a two separate products with hard coded features. > > And since the primary competitor has still not embraced that model, it is > still possible for someone to compare the value of both the low end > processor and the high one independently. I'll very that both levels of > consumer well get better pricing than before, even as Intel bags more > profits. > > -ASB: http://XeeSM.com/AndrewBaker > > Sent from my Motorola Droid > > On Sep 21, 2010 6:00 PM, "Ben Scott" <[email protected]> wrote: > > On Tue, Sep 21, 2010 at 5:37 PM, Andrew S. Baker <[email protected]> > wrote: > >>> But another way to l... > That works as long as no one can offer a comparable but lower-priced > product. If your price is high because your costs are high (living, > education, experience, etc.), chances are good you'll have continued > work -- potential competitors will likely have similar costs. If your > price is high while your costs are low, that's another matter. If > competition moves in, your customer base is likely to defect en masse. > Even if you lower your prices to compete, you now have a reputation > as having a high price/cost ratio. Customers often dislike that, and > express their dislike with their wallets. > > Since legislative action is part of the big picture (with the > hardware thing), popular opinion can matter for that reason, too. > > > >> High price/cost ratios tend to yield unstable long-term > >> economic relationships, unless presti... > They're only better for the customers who buy the product with the > lower price and get the lower intended performance. The customers who > pay for more performance get a worse deal. Both parties get the same > physical material. Both benefit from the same NRE. But the high-end > guys pay more. They end up subsidizing the low-end guys. Sometimes > the high-end people don't mind, but sometimes they do. When people > propose taxing the rich to give to the poor, the rich tend to put up a > pretty big stink, for example. > > > > Frankly, I think that the hardware side of the house has suffered with > low > > margins as compared ... > I agree completely. But weren't you just making a point about the > scope of this discussion? ;-) > > > >>> I think you're arguing a narrower scope of issues than some other > people > >>> are. > > > > Yes, I am... > Well, your choice, but don't be surprised when you get persistent > confusion/disagreement. One can "win" any argument by carefully > defining terms. If mutual understanding is the goal, you need to > change minds. :) > > > -- Ben > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin
