6 ms·

brother read those numbers out loud If I make $200k I do not have $400k off-balance gambling debt

HDThoreaun 2mo ago
This "debt" is almost solely rental style deals with datacenter constructors. If you make 200k and have a 400k mortgage youre doing just fine.
- jszymborski 2mo ago
  Datacenters that have not and might not be built to accommodate for future AI demand that may or may not grow to the extent or as fast as the companies anticipate.
  - HDThoreaun 2mo ago
    Whether the datacenters will end up profitable is a different question than whether they are a real risk for the business. This whole thing could be a massive mistake and all the big tech companies will come out the other end just fine. I think the executives at these companies realize that, this whole build out is a massive case of FOMO. No one wants to be microsoft missing the boat on mobile and theyre willing to flush money away to ensure that never happens.
    - rightbyte 2mo ago
      Windows Mobile predated the iPhone by like 4 years or something. MS didn't miss the boat they steered a crappy boat.
      - fecal_henge 2mo ago
        They missed the port.
- dmurvihill 2mo ago
  A 400k mortgage needs a new roof after 25 years. A data center needs its hardware completely replenished after 5 (or less).
- danny_codes 2mo ago
  Data centers are depreciating assets. I'd class it more like a fancy car than a house.
- bandrami 2mo ago
  Your house (hopefully) goes up in value. The datacenter goes down.
  - anonymars 2mo ago
    Land tends to appreciate, but not so much the rotting box atop it I bring this up not as a "well, ackshually" but because the datacenter analogy is more similar in that respect...except worse, because now it's a rotting box full of very expensive hardware that hasn't historically held a lot of value until this current shortage
    - bandrami 2mo ago
      And the hyperscalers have made the (questionable) choice of depreciating that hardware over 6 years rather than the usual 4.

This "debt" is almost solely rental style deals with datacenter constructors. If you make 200k and have a 400k mortgage youre doing just fine.

jszymborski 2mo ago
Datacenters that have not and might not be built to accommodate for future AI demand that may or may not grow to the extent or as fast as the companies anticipate.
- HDThoreaun 2mo ago
  Whether the datacenters will end up profitable is a different question than whether they are a real risk for the business. This whole thing could be a massive mistake and all the big tech companies will come out the other end just fine. I think the executives at these companies realize that, this whole build out is a massive case of FOMO. No one wants to be microsoft missing the boat on mobile and theyre willing to flush money away to ensure that never happens.
  - rightbyte 2mo ago
    Windows Mobile predated the iPhone by like 4 years or something. MS didn't miss the boat they steered a crappy boat.
    - fecal_henge 2mo ago
      They missed the port.
dmurvihill 2mo ago
A 400k mortgage needs a new roof after 25 years. A data center needs its hardware completely replenished after 5 (or less).
danny_codes 2mo ago
Data centers are depreciating assets. I'd class it more like a fancy car than a house.
bandrami 2mo ago
Your house (hopefully) goes up in value. The datacenter goes down.
- anonymars 2mo ago
  Land tends to appreciate, but not so much the rotting box atop it I bring this up not as a "well, ackshually" but because the datacenter analogy is more similar in that respect...except worse, because now it's a rotting box full of very expensive hardware that hasn't historically held a lot of value until this current shortage
  - bandrami 2mo ago
    And the hyperscalers have made the (questionable) choice of depreciating that hardware over 6 years rather than the usual 4.