Credibility with these results???
Posted by: fahrv
Date posted: Wed, 18 Jun 1997
Well, you've done it again. Although you've certainly made a good case for what Infoworld editors believe to be a more accurate survey, I look at the results and strongly question them. But just so I don't sound too negative here, let's look at the results:
Clients:
Now call me a bit ignorant if you want, but when did a Jazz drive become a client? Sure, it is a great piece of hardware, but to put it into the Client category? If this is the case, it would make sense to include all storage devices in the client category - hard drives, tape drives, floppy drives, and anything else you can think of. On that matter, you might as well include such devices as scanners and standard paper, because after all, you can store information on the paper and then scan it into the computer, using the paper as a type of portable data storage device.
Once again, I find myself questioning why this was listed under clients. While I can see the argument that you could put a printer on to a network, making it a network printing client, this argument seems a little thin. On the other hand, if the requirement for a client is simply to be able to provide an output of data, such as a printer printing output onto paper, then would it not also be necessary to include all devices which include the ability to output data in some fassion? With this logic, all monitors, sound cards, speakers hooked to sound cards, modems, network interface cards, and anything else which has the ability to output data would become a client.
Don't get me wrong. Both the Jazz drive and the Epson Stylus are excellent pieces of technology. I've recommended both to a large number of people who have been very happy with the products. But I don't think they are "clients", and I do question the results of how is it possible that two items which are of questionable status within one category, became "winners" in this survey? It makes me really question both those who wrote the survey, how well the survey was administered, and what the 25% of people voting for the Jazz drive as a client, and the 5.7% who voted for the Epson as a client were thinking.
Just my thoughts.