RE: [cobalt-users] do you know cobaltracks.com?

[Arthur Sherman <arturs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> >dear list
> > 
> >i've found an attractive offer at 
> >http://www.cobaltracks.com/specials/ .
> >after going through purchase process i've been told to be 
> contacted ASAP.
> >no one contacted me till today.
> > 
> >obviously, i cancelled the payment.
> > 
> >any comment on the site?
> > 
> >Arthur Sherman
> 
> 	You didn't mention how long that response time was 
> between ordering and their contact to you.
> 
> 	In review of the site, it's a bit outdated in many 
> places, has some broken or half-falsing out links and likes 
> to point out the fact they're very intelligent for their 
> location.  But as the cons, they don't point out redundant 
> connections, power backups and other elements to demonstrate 
> all that work wouldn't be worthless if a tree fell on their 
> power lines?  Rather strange.
> 
> =====================================================================
> NOTE: At this point, this is now a personal review of the 
> question and site.  This includes opinions and experiences 
> with RaQ's and other OS's that everyone may not agree with.  
> Not interested in a giant flamewar or 1,000 posts on what's 
> 'better or best'.  Take what you will from the content, make 
> your own judgments and choices.
> =====================================================================
> 
> 	On the pricing, while I'll always love a RaQ we moved 
> to Ensim OS servers.  And for this pricing, especially the 'Big Blue'
> version, you can get 10X the power and 700GB bandwidth with a 
> whole lot more playtoys for 1/3 of that price.
> 
> 	The deal they show is great for a low end, but 
> comparing it to their other pricing (which also seems out of 
> date) that's a hell of a deal and almost 'too good to be 
> true'.  You'd be paying 50% less than their other clients, so 
> do you get 50% less service?
> 
> 	They go on to tout the #3 ranking, but that was back in 2001.
> Big difference in web hosting in the last 3 years so not to 
> earn the same award (or be in the list somewhere) in years 
> since concerns me.
> And when you click on the link to see how they got to #3, the 
> review states they only had 13 RaQ's in service?  I could 
> earn customer satisfaction with 13 boxes live in my house.  
> I'd never sleep, but that's a rather strange basis for any 
> award.  And then they add on a big hoopla on hosting with 
> RaQ's, but it makes no specific reference to this company in 
> particular.  Mighty bizarre.
> 
> 	And in their support, that looks limited as well.  So 
> if they provide limited support, who's watching the 
> datacenter?  You should have the ability to contact someone 
> their for a reboot or other issue if they've got someone in 
> the building 24/7.  And what does being 8' underground mean?  
> I took that as 'we're in a basement' and the first time it 
> flooded over there you're screwed...
> 
> 	They claim, in the fine print, that Cobalt supports the 
> RaQ which we all know is near 0 since the EOL of the entire 
> line.  I also note they nail you for $2.75/GB in overage, but 
> in blocks of 10GB, which also seems very high.  And while the 
> RaQ has flexibility, since EOL and minor upgrades are the 
> norm you're going to hit walls trying to install extra 
> software and functionality until someone around this List 
> hits the mark with a complete replacement OS.  Since 
> Cobalt/Sun reworked the Linux for the box, many newer 
> applications you might want to toss in there won't be 
> compatible and you can't easily upgrade the OS to compensate for that.
> 
> 	Me, wouldn't touch it.  But, if you're needing a small 
> box and low bandwidth, plus low budget requirements, it could 
> be worth a shot.  Just ask the hardline questions and look 
> for their responses prior to jumping back in with them.  
> Support response and service far outweighs Sales response and 
> service, though Sales should be doing a far better job than 
> you've indicated.  I had a prior RaQ experience where it was 
> pure hell getting things set up, but then the service was 
> excellent (until Interland showed up).  
> 
> 	HTH!
> 
>       David J. Duffner
>       VP Operations
>       NWC Corporation
>       NWCWEB.com

I absolutelly agree with you.
As for the response time, they did not contact me at all. I have been
waiting for 3 days - long enough.

I need as cheep box as possible with reasonable bandwith. And I like
cobalts, though I am new to them and the Unix world.