Re: [libreplanet-discuss] talos

[Daniel Pocock]

On 13/01/17 22:20, Arthur Torrey wrote:
> I looked at the Talos and thought that it was really nice in concept, but WAY 
> out of my price range...
>
> Alex is right about the cost factors and scale, etc., and that the target 
> price isn't unreasonable for the scope of the project...  But at the same 
> time, I will say "Not My Problem" - as my issue is how much money is in MY 
> wallet, and the bottom line is what can *I* afford...  Even the EOMA68 is 
> marginal, especially given what I've read about it's performance....


There are a couple of other issues that come to mind with any of these
projects:

- how many developers will have one?  If the hardware is available free
or at low cost to developers of major free software projects (e.g.
Debian, Fedora, GNOME) then platform-specific bugs will be noticed and
fixed much more quickly.  If not, then you will frequently find yourself
on your own troubleshooting new bugs that nobody has seen before

- warranty and spare parts: if you shell out $3700 for the Talos
mainboard and it fails at some point in the future, how long does it
take to get a replacement?  At that price, can you (or your local
supplier) afford to keep spares in stock for rapid replacement?

Regards,

Daniel