...txt.net reading habit

we don't need no stinkin' servers
this one is important because it emphasizes the change in the IT business model...

According to an NYtimes.com article
"...Lego will replace virtually all of its Hewlett-Packard computer systems (it's about 230 Hewlett-Packard server computers) with 34 new I.B.M. computers and Tivoli software to manage these servers...

...The centerpiece of the deal, ... is an arrangement that allows for Lego to pay I.B.M. based on the amount of computing power it is using...

"Lego's costs will swell during the fall when it is shipping its colorful building blocks and other toys to retailers for the Christmas season, but will fall sharply when its information processing needs drop off. The pricing, which I.B.M. refers to as on-demand computing, will also respond to short-term spikes in processing needs like rush orders to design and build a new product.

...the deal would cut Lego's computing costs by at least 30 percent.
...this pricing model is known as utility pricing because it resembles the way that power companies bill their customers.
[via NYTimes.com]