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Path: utzoo!linus!genrad!decvax!yale-com!leichter
From: leichter@yale-com.UUCP (Jerry Leichter)
Newsgroups: net.misc
Subject: Re: Touch-Tone Pads (with "sidebar" abou - (nf)
Message-ID: <1704@yale-com.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 3-Jul-83 08:53:57 EDT
Article-I.D.: yale-com.1704
Posted: Sun Jul  3 08:53:57 1983
Date-Received: Mon, 4-Jul-83 07:23:24 EDT
References: fortune.1225
Lines: 17

TRUE story about Amdahl 470's:  They came in two versions, with a significant
difference in speed.  You could upgrade to the fast version, then flip a
switch and have it go back to the slow one.  So Amdahl came up with the rather
interesting idea that you paid, essentially, for CPU cycles used when you
leased such a machine.  Separate timers kept track of time in "fast" and "slow"
modes and you were charged different rates.  The idea was that you would run
in "slow" mode most of the time, and, when that "end of the quarter" crunch
came, switch to fast mode to get the work done.

I have no idea whether there was any difference in expected time to system
problems in fast rather than slow mode - about the only thing that would make
a difference in Amdahl's costs; I find it hard to believe there would be.

As far as I know, this policy is still in effect, and the companies liking the
\\\\\\[companies] using the machines like it.
							-- Jerry
					decvax!yale-comix!leichter leichter@yale