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Comment by solyin

6 hours ago

"Affordable" and "IBM" don't belong in the same sentence together, but they're happy to sell you their inference-capable hardware if you've got the wallet for it.

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solyin

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jacquesm  6 hours ago

I don't agree with that. They made the PC revolution possible by making hardware that was at least affordable enough to be bought by a large number of businesses and individuals. It also set the stage for the clone market. I'm pretty sure that if IBM really set their mind to it that they could do this.

That doesn't detract from your overall point that they tend to make overpriced stuff, but I don't think they have to do that. Besides, what's overpriced? NVidia's GB300 workstation sells for 95K euros, a single RTX 6000 is now 20K. Surely even IBM can compete at that level.

  • rnd0  6 hours ago

    That was completely accidental and they themselves tried to close the barn door with the PS/2 line in 1987 but at that point it was too late.

    • jacquesm  6 hours ago

      True, even so: They still make some pretty impressive hardware. They have access to fab capacity, they know how to make chips. They have the capital. If they really wanted they could do it.

      4 replies →

  • exac  5 hours ago

    Respectfully, those people don't work at IBM anymore. The organizational memory doesn't last that long.

    • jacquesm  5 hours ago

      You'd think that with a 250K workforce and an active line of hardware including an AI accelerator that those people are still working there. I could be wrong, but someone has to be doing that work unless IBM in turn outsources it.

  • quailfarmer  6 hours ago

    They haven’t been _that_ IBM for decades

    • jacquesm  6 hours ago

      I know. But: they have gobs of money, they still have some talent, they still have a hardware department that I'm pretty sure would jump at a chance to give NV a run for their money. This would require a massive long term investment and a commitment that I'm not sure they would have the stomach for.

      2 replies →