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A comment on Has Mainframe Computing Inadvertently Started Its Own Culture War?. Parent comment

Re:Has Mainframe Computing Inadvertently Started Its Own Cul... by _fat_santa on Wednesday May 25, 2022 @03:12AM (#31501463)
(I have very limited experience in Mainframe systems to take my comment with a grain of salt)

The problem as I see it is IBM wants to have its cake and eat it too. Typically a Mainframe is leased and then setup onsite. Under this model, it would seem that you would get unlimited use out of it because you’re paying for the power, and it’s literally on site. However by charging per CPU usage, even though you’re using it on site, you still treat it as a “cloud” appliance in terms of pricing

If I spin up something in AWS for example, it’s metered yes but that comes to be at the benefit of not having the machine on site and therefore not having to worry about it’s power, upkeep, etc.

It would be like a car company selling you a car and then charging you to drive it per mile.

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Re:Has Mainframe Computing Inadvertently Started Its Own Cul... by MichaelZuo on Wednesday May 25, 2022 @09:00AM (#31503908)
Well isn't that because most IBM customers don't actually pay upfront for their mainframes, but instead effectively lease them? Car companies DO charge you per mile to drive a leased car beyond the standard allotment.

I think your comparing apples to oranges here.

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Re:Has Mainframe Computing Inadvertently Started Its Own Cul... by lupire on Wednesday May 25, 2022 @11:01AM (#31505546)
A CPU doesn't have wear and tear like a car does.
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Re:Has Mainframe Computing Inadvertently Started Its Own Cul... by voxadam on Thursday May 26, 2022 @03:55AM (#31515829)
Though, it does have a useful lifespan which is more or less equivalent to wear in an economic sense.
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