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<TITLE>RE: Microsoft Releases Computational Cluster Technical Preview Toolkit </TITLE>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>O.K. someone has to start, so might as well be me. . . .</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>I'd bet if Peter Dell ran some numbers on how much it would cost to hire all of us to develop custom software -vs- the total cost of ownership for a "Microsoft clustering solution", we'd beat 'em in price.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>I looked at the web page for the clustering preview kit, and the kit comes with a bunch of evaluation software, including C++, and some versions of MPI and PALPACK. The problem I can see outright is that you've got to use all the evaluation stuff - Visual C++, Windows 2000 Server, etc . . . to do any testing. And after all that work to develop a test suite (e.g. convert your existing code), the only thing you have is a system that works for as long as the evaluation software runs out - if you even get done before then. And buying the software to keep it going means buying into the product life cycle for Microsoft products. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>I've seen too much work go into other products to justify the time needed to explore this. Perhaps just another marketing ploy to hock mediocre software. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>So, am I alone in my concerns?</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Here's to getting Microsoft to CONTRIBUTE something USEFUL,</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Richard Schilling</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Webmaster / Web Integration Programmer</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2><A HREF="http://www.affiliatedhealth.org" TARGET="_blank">http://www.affiliatedhealth.org</A></FONT>
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