We've received a range of feedback about IBM's recent 515 and 525 entry-level System i announcements. Many of the comments have been quick and to the point, both positive and negative, including the shortest response so far, which was simply "Still too expensive." Other readers have vacillated from elation to dismay. . . . Clearly there are a few areas we'll want to follow up on, including what these announcements might mean for existing customers. Look for more tomorrow. In meantime, here's a first shot of feedback:

From David Vasta:

You asked for comments. I have posted some on my blog: david.davidandkelly.com.

In short, I am excited that IBM has finally offered something for the small company to run on. I think this is a very smart move. I like the idea of it starting at under $10K. This is what they have needed for years.

I do not like the 40-user cap. IBM continues to shoot itself in the foot with schemes like this. They don't seem to understand the rest of the market out there, and the 40-user cap is going to trump the price when you compare it to Windows on Intel and Solaris on Sun.

Editor's Note: About the 40-user cap . . . it's definitely particularly troubling for existing System i customers running on a 520 or earlier smaller iSeries-System i. The 515 boasts plenty of power for these customers and an attractive price; hence the elation and dismay. I'll provide more coverage on this topic tomorrow.

From Terry Herrin:

The lowered prices on disk will directly affect our I.S. budget next year. We were already planning on adding DASD to our two 520s. Now that IBM has cut the prices on 4327 drives from $1,999 to $999, the upgrade price has been cut in half. I enjoyed being able to go to our director to show him how much money we will be saving.

From Jerry Kudron:

I think that, at last, IBM is really addressing the S in SMB.

From Peter Kemp:

As usual, the devil is in the detail. It's a great move in the right direction both from a pricing perspective and the target market (small businesses). But how much extra cost needs to be factored in to get a usable machine? What licpgms are included and what are not? What is the pricing of the non-included licpgms? And why is the Query / SQL licpgm not included in config 1 but it is in 2 and 3?

Have they solved the perennial console issue? The low end systems (and probably higher ones, too) would benefit from having a ps/2 and vga port at the back for a keyboard and monitor explicitly defined as the "console." Plug any keyboard and screen in. Who needs the complexity of a twinax console or "ops console"? Not your average small business. Plus they need to ensure that software upgrades are easier. Downloading cumes/PTF's from the internet. Installing licpgms.

And IBM needs to have a "System i model 5x5 user guide." One decent printed manual that accompanies every machine. How to read and interpret the front panel, how to apply any software keys, how to IPL from one side or the other (A/B), what the hardware expansion options are, etc. IBM cannot assume that a brand new target market audience is going to know all this stuff nor be able to afford a partner to do it all for them. The customer may have somebody familiar with PC hardware concepts, and that person may get the setup job, but customers need to be convinced that it is an easy server to setup and get going so that they spread the word.