{
  "id": "1991-april-cpu-time-cont",
  "slug": "1991-april-cpu-time-cont",
  "url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1991-april-cpu-time-cont.html",
  "year": 1991,
  "month": "April",
  "monthNum": 4,
  "headline": "C.P.U. Time Cont.",
  "kicker": "",
  "author_name": "",
  "author_title": "",
  "affiliation": "",
  "summary": "When purchasing data processing services from private companies or state agencies, organizations must carefully compare pricing models, which vary based on CPU time, system usage, or data manipulation, and understand exactly what services are included in quoted rates.",
  "keywords": [
    "pricing",
    "processing",
    "services"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Technology",
    "Investigative Methods",
    "Data & Databases"
  ],
  "technologies": [
    "mainframe",
    "PC"
  ],
  "full_text": "purchasing a data tape, whether it be through a private company or an agency governed by the state.\n\nWhat you have to consider is what resources you have available, what type of work is being done and how much you are willing to pay for those services, says Bill Plummer, director of campus computing at the University of Missouri.\n\nMany private companies base prices on the type of processing being done, says Mike Dalleska of the Word Processing and Information Services, Inc. in Cincinnati. ``No two projects are alike,\" he says.\n\nMaking matters worse for price shoppers is that no standardized formula for rates has been established in the data processing field. Some agencies base rates on the amount of use they get from the system and your share of that total use. Others base prices on the amount of information being manipulated, whether it be on a per-record basis or by computer bytes used.\n\nCosts based on your share of the system are usually listed as CPU time. The CPU is the computer's central processing unit that directs its logical and mathematical functions. Other charges, such as input and output time or access charges, may be included, but the main cost will be calculated in minutes used.\n\nCPUs can be calculated either as computer time or wall clock time, says Jerry Fox, a marketing representative for IBM. With computer time, prices are high but only include the amount of time that a computer is actively running a command. Depending on the type of computer system and the complexity of the command, most computers can complete a task within a matter of seconds. With wall clock time, rates are low; users are charged from the time they sign on to the system until they sign off, regardless of whether or not the computer is active or sitting idle.\n\nWhen contracting out for services, consider the type of system being used and its ability to process formation. A project that takes only an hour on a mainframe computer may take days or even months on a personal computer.\n\nMost importantly, know specifically what is included in the prices quoted. You may be paying for something you shouldn't.",
  "provenance": {
    "extracted_by": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
    "extracted_at": "2026-07-05",
    "verified": true
  },
  "similar": [
    {
      "slug": "1991-april-mainframes-cpu-time-and-your-wallet",
      "score": 0.214
    },
    {
      "slug": "1994-august-data-services-at-nicar",
      "score": 0.186
    },
    {
      "slug": "2003-february-data-library-tackles-specialty-data-jobs",
      "score": 0.166
    },
    {
      "slug": "1997-september-setting-the-data-free",
      "score": 0.165
    },
    {
      "slug": "1994-june-quick-queries-make-reporters-life-easier",
      "score": 0.129
    }
  ],
  "html_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1991-april-cpu-time-cont.html",
  "json_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1991-april-cpu-time-cont.json"
}