The Smithsonian operates on a huge scale as it is a big organization. 
Still, some of what it does may be of interest to you.  For example, the
Smithsonian has instituted (and budgets for) a periodic desktop hardware
replacement program. In addition, the Smithsonian  IT staff currently orders
Dell equipment and they periodically review what is available and establish
a set "standard" PC so that Smithsonian offices will know what to order. 
FYI, copied below is the current standard Smithsonian Dell PC (note that
some MACs are being used at the SI and there is a Smithsonian MAC standard
established as well):


******************************************************

As of August 15, 2005 the Dell PC Standard for the Smithsonian is the
Optiplex GX620:

CPU/PC :
Optiplex GX620 Minitower, 3.20 GHz
Memory:
1.0 GByte DDR2 Non-ECC SDRAM, 533MHz (2 DIMMS)
Keyboards:
Dell USB Enhanced Multimedia Keyboard
Monitor:
(with adjustable stands)
 Dell Ultrasharp 1905FP flat panel display (19 inch viewable)
Video Card:
DVI Adapter Card
Boot Hard Drive:
80 GB SATA II, 7200 RPM with 8MByte Data Burst Cache
Floppy Drive:
1.44MB 3.5 Inch Floppy Drive
Operating System:
MS Windows XP Professional SP2 (without media)
Mouse:
Dell USB 2-Button Optical Mouse with Scroll
Speakers:
Internal Dell Business Audio
Network Adaptors:
Integrated Intel Gigabit (10/100/1000) with Alert Standards Format
Removable Media Storage Devices:
48X 32 CDRW/DVD Combo Drive with Cyberlink Power DVD
Hardware Support Services:
3 Year Limited Warranty Plus 3 Year Next Business Day On-Site Service

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