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From: thomas@utah-gr.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.cse
Subject: Re: A slightly different topic...
Message-ID: <1702@utah-gr.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 8-Mar-86 18:44:20 EST
Article-I.D.: utah-gr.1702
Posted: Sat Mar  8 18:44:20 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 12-Mar-86 04:18:16 EST
References: <393@ur-tut.UUCP> <1500@gitpyr.UUCP>
Reply-To: thomas@utah-gr.UUCP (Spencer W. Thomas)
Organization: University of Utah CS Dept
Lines: 21


We run accounting on all our "big" machines here (except the
instructional vax) for one very good reason.  It provides a mechanism to
transfer money from the federal government (via "research grants") to
the computing facility.  The facility, even if it were to never buy
another piece of equipment still requires many K$ each year to keep
running.  It's a lot easier to convince the auditors (the source of much
evil in the world) that charges for computer "time" are reasonable than
to convince them that you were justified in getting $X in your grant and
"giving" it all to the facility.  Never has anyone been "kicked off" the
machine for using too much CPU time (this includes my 1000 hour ray
tracing runs).  The little machines (Apollo, Sun) that are typically
used by one person are charged on a flat per month "maintenance" fee.
All of this is "funny" money only in the sense that when your grant runs
out, you can still keep using the machine (with no penalty).  

It is an extra added attraction that we can charge "outside" users *real
money* to use the facility.

-- 
=Spencer   ({ihnp4,decvax}!utah-cs!thomas, thomas@utah-cs.ARPA)