korfhage@lanai.cs.ucla.edu (Willard Korfhage) (11/28/89)
It appears that the Gatorbox has a faster processor, more memory, and
more functionality (e.g. NFS) than a Fastpath at only slightly greater
cost. Is there any reason we should buy a Fastpath rather than a Gatorbox?
Willard Korfhage ARPA : korfhage@pucatt.poly.edu, korfhage@cs.ucla.edu
UUCP : {ucbvax,randvax,trwrb!trwspp,ism780}!ucla-cs!korfhage
"Castro Kicks Vanna Habit: Tough-talking tyrant vows he'll never watch
'Wheel of Fortune' again!" - Weekly World Newshpoppe@bierstadt.ucar.edu (Herb Poppe) (11/28/89)
In article <29508@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> korfhage@pucatt.poly.edu (Willard Korfhage) writes: >It appears that the Gatorbox has a faster processor, more memory, and >more functionality (e.g. NFS) than a Fastpath at only slightly greater >cost. Is there any reason we should buy a Fastpath rather than a Gatorbox? The software that implements the AppleShare - NFS function has been unbundled (as of this summer sometime). I suspect the prices you are comparing do not include the cost of this software. I don't have a recent price list in front of me; I recall it to be about $1800. Herb Poppe NCAR INTERNET: hpoppe@ncar.ucar.edu (303) 497-1296 P.O. Box 3000 CSNET: hpoppe@ncar.CSNET Boulder, CO 80307 UUCP: hpoppe@ncar.UUCP
chris@cayman.COM (Chris North) (11/28/89)
> > The software that implements the AppleShare - NFS function has been > unbundled (as of this summer sometime). I suspect the prices you > are comparing do not include the cost of this software. I don't have > a recent price list in front of me; I recall it to be about $1800. Yes, the GatorBox software has been unbundled. You can now buy a vanilla GatorBox with the GatorSystem software for $2795. This has essentially the same functionality as a Fastpath. In addition to that you can purchase the GatorShare software which enables you to mount NFS volumes as Appleshare volumes for $1995. Disclaimer: I work for Cayman Systems
jeff@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Jeffrey M White) (11/29/89)
In article <4163@cayman.COM> chris@cayman.COM (Chris North) writes: >> >> The software that implements the AppleShare - NFS function has been >> unbundled (as of this summer sometime). I suspect the prices you >> are comparing do not include the cost of this software. I don't have >> a recent price list in front of me; I recall it to be about $1800. > > Yes, the GatorBox software has been unbundled. You can now buy a vanilla >GatorBox with the GatorSystem software for $2795. This has essentially the >same functionality as a Fastpath. In addition to that you can purchase the >GatorShare software which enables you to mount NFS volumes as Appleshare >volumes for $1995. Maybe it's me, but I'm confused about the prices given. It seems from the followup given here (from someone at Cayman) that a Gatorbox with the NFS software is now $2795+$1995 = $4790. Is this right!!! I thought before the unbundling the price was in the $3000-$3500. This is a big jump. Neither of the numbers given seem to have anything to do with the original poster's $1800 price. What's the scoop? Jeff White University of Pennsylvania jeff@eniac.seas.upenn.edu PS - I don't want to start any arguements on whether commercail postings belong here, but since there aren't that many gateways available, and a lot of the people in comp.protocols.appletalk seem pretty interested in term, I wouldn't mind seeing more postings directly from Kinetics (oops, that's Novell now) or Cayman, describing any new features, current prices, upgrade info (Phase II, for example). I don't always have access to a MacWeek to get the latest information, and I think info right from the sources would cut down on some of the postings and subsequent followups from people looking for such information.
jca@pnet01.cts.com (John C. Archambeau) (11/30/89)
jeff@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Jeffrey M White) writes: >In article <4163@cayman.COM> chris@cayman.COM (Chris North) writes: >>> >>> The software that implements the AppleShare - NFS function has been >>> unbundled (as of this summer sometime). I suspect the prices you >>> are comparing do not include the cost of this software. I don't have >>> a recent price list in front of me; I recall it to be about $1800. >> >> Yes, the GatorBox software has been unbundled. You can now buy a vanilla >>GatorBox with the GatorSystem software for $2795. This has essentially the >>same functionality as a Fastpath. In addition to that you can purchase the >>GatorShare software which enables you to mount NFS volumes as Appleshare >>volumes for $1995. > > Maybe it's me, but I'm confused about the prices given. It seems from >the followup given here (from someone at Cayman) that a Gatorbox with the >NFS software is now $2795+$1995 = $4790. Is this right!!! I thought >before the unbundling the price was in the $3000-$3500. This is a big >jump. Neither of the numbers given seem to have anything to do with the >original poster's $1800 price. What's the scoop? > >PS - I don't want to start any arguements on whether commercail postings > belong here, but since there aren't that many gateways available, and > a lot of the people in comp.protocols.appletalk seem pretty interested > in term, I wouldn't mind seeing more postings directly from Kinetics > (oops, that's Novell now) or Cayman, describing any new features, > current prices, upgrade info (Phase II, for example). I don't always > have access to a MacWeek to get the latest information, and I think > info right from the sources would cut down on some of the postings and > subsequent followups from people looking for such information. But there's one thing that was not mentioned that I find worth the extra cost of the GatorBox over the FastPath. The GatorBox has a one year warranty while the FastPath has the customary 90 day warranty. Sounds like an Apple conspiracy to me. The $1995 is the NFS software. The $2795 is for the hardware itself. Now if you're running TOPS or AppleShare, you really don't need the NFS software, but if you're doing something such as using a SPARCstation as a file server, then it is better to go with the GatorBox and buy the NFS software instead of paying the $1000+ for TOPS for a Sun-4 and paying the $200+ per Mac for TOPS. It adds up really quickly. The one year warranty alone is enough to justify to me that the GatorBox the better value. All of us that have or used Macs know that we don't like Applecare and we hate the 90 day warranty, but American Express loves us for charging our Apple hardware to them just to get the extension on the warranty. Note, I don't work for Cayman, although I am waiting for them to send out the loaner unit for demo purposes that our marketing wizard and I FAXed there at the end of September. It would be nice to have it there by Nov 14th so I can show it off at our semi-open house demo session and provide a full evaluation of the unit myself, my customers, and the people who have send me a load of e-mail on "does this thing really do the job and do it well?" Hint...hint... ;) // John C. Archambeau /* **--------------------------------------------------------------------------* ** Flames : /dev/null (on my Minix partition) **--------------------------------------------------------------------------* ** ARPA : crash!pnet01!jca@nosc.mil ** INET : jca@pnet01.cts.com ** UUCP : {nosc ucsd hplabs!hd-sdd}!crash!pnet01!jca **--------------------------------------------------------------------------* ** Note : My opinions are exactly that...mine. Bill Gates couldn't buy ** my opinion...but he could rent it for a few nanoseconds. :) **--------------------------------------------------------------------------* */
chris@cayman.COM (Chris North) (12/01/89)
> Maybe it's me, but I'm confused about the prices given. It seems from > the followup given here (from someone at Cayman) that a Gatorbox with the > NFS software is now $2795+$1995 = $4790. Is this right!!! I thought > before the unbundling the price was in the $3000-$3500. This is a big > jump. Neither of the numbers given seem to have anything to do with the > original poster's $1800 price. What's the scoop? > > PS - I don't want to start any arguements on whether commercail postings > belong here, but since there aren't that many gateways available, and > a lot of the people in comp.protocols.appletalk seem pretty interested > in term, I wouldn't mind seeing more postings directly from Kinetics > (oops, that's Novell now) or Cayman, describing any new features, > current prices, upgrade info (Phase II, for example). The structure of the GatorBox pricing is as follows: A GatorBox with the GatorSystem software (FastPath equivalent) is $2795. To use the AFP -> NFS translation, you need a GatorBox plus Gatorshare ($1995) at a total cost of $4790. This does reflect a price increase over the bundled product however you should note that these prices are retail prices when purchasing direct from Cayman. The unbundled GatorBox is now available through a number of dealer channels and thus your cost could really be less. Regarding posting to comp.protocols.appletalk, I have been very reluctant to post product info to that group. If we have a new product or substantially change an existing one, I will post to comp.newprod. In the case of a technical question, I usually send mail directly to the sender or post a reply. Chris North Technical Support Cayman Systems, Inc.