IBM is so keen to move existing 4300 users onto the new 4381-21, 22, 23 and 24 that IBM Europe is offering significant incentives to users of the now near-worthless 4321, 4331 and 4361, and of the 4341, to upgrade to the new models. The terms, announced by IBM France yesterday, offer credits of up to 15% of the list price of the old machine, provided it does not exceed 10% of the list price of the replacement 4381. It is expected to launch a similar programme soon to persuade 308X users to upgrade to the 3090Es. And in another move that suggests that IBM wants to get those old machines replaced by new ones at all costs, the IBM Credit operation in France is cancelling penalties for early termination of IBM lease contracts – provided the user at the same time orders a new, bigger IBM CPU.
