Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!oliveb!sun!burgundy!jborza
From: jborza%burgundy@Sun.COM (Jim_Borza)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Ethics of crippler circuitry
Summary: It all depends....
Message-ID: <89156@sun.uucp>
Date: 9 Feb 89 19:16:02 GMT
References: <7143@pyr.gatech.EDU> <11630010@hpsmtc1.HP.COM> <4602@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM>
Sender: news@sun.uucp
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In article <4602@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM>, jackg@tekirl.LABS.TEK.COM (Jack Gjovaag;6160;50-321;LP=A) writes:
> The ethics of adding "crippling" circuitry to an otherwise high
> performance machine to fill a gap in a product line is not at all
> clear to me.  It certainly seems absurd if we expect that the
> price of a machine is directly related to its manufacturing cost
> but if we assume that what a customer is purchasing is functionality
> with no regard to how it is obtained, then cripplers make some
> sense.
> 
> I am interested in others views of this practice, since I used
> to work for a company that occasionally did it (not my present company
> to the best of my knowledge.  If anyone thinks they know of
> Tektronix doing it, make that another topic.)
>   Jack Gjovaag

I had occasion to witness an "upgrade" of a large mainframe machine
to a higher-performing model back in the late '60s.  The upgrade
consisted of changing a small PCB clock generator and the nameplate
on the console, plus some jumpers.  It seems the manufacturer made
only one actual computer but sold it as two models with significant-
ly different performance specs.
I never saw it as an "ethical" issue but a "customer satisfaction" is-
sue. On the lower-performing machine (call it model "L"), the user was
limited to the number of jobs which could be run and, theoretically,
necessitating fewer calls for support, repair, etc. than if the model
"H" had been in use.  The customer who wanted the functionality but
couldn't afford the price was able to buy the machine and "upgrade" to
the model "H" later.  The manufacturer was (supposedly) able to provide
a better quality product through uniform manufacturing & quality control.
The "ethical" question depends on whether you see the computer as
"iron" or a "solution" (pardon the marketing jargon); and whether
there's an ethical question at all depends on the buyer.
If a business-type purchased the machine, he/she was likely buying
the performance specs, not the machine.  A techie might buy the hard-
ware in hopes of maximizing the performance.  At the bottom of it all
is: what camp are you in?  Also, what were told to expect (by the 
salesperson)?


Jim Borza - Sun Microsystems
Disclaimer?  Sure, why not?