September 5, 2009: The U.S. Department of Defense has over six million computers, and is constantly trying to avoid having too many machines that are, for want of a better, word, obsolete. Since the military tends to expect their desktop and laptop machines to last five years, obsolescence is a constant threat. So the Department of Defense buys over a million new computers a year. These are bought in batches, with broad enough specifications, so that a large number of vendors can compete to participate (keeping quality up and price low). For example, a recent contract (W91QUZ-06-D-0003), called for 10,404 laptops, at a cost of about $952 each for the U.S. Army. The price included a five year warranty. These are off-the-shelf models. The army also buys some custom machines, but most are the same ones civilians use. The race against PC obsolescence ends up costing the Department of Defense several billion dollars a year.
