IBM's z9 mainframe -- worth $1 billion?

IBM may have
ditched its PC division, but
that doesn't mean the company's abandoned the computer business. In fact, the company has just launched its latest
mainframe, the z9, developed at a cost of $1 billion over the past three years. While some might argue that IBM
has it backwards — that the company should have abandoned the hulking mainframes and stayed with PCs — the company
is just following the money: PCs have become low-margin, commodity products. Mainframes, meanwhile, remain cash
cows, since they generate lucrative software and maintenance contracts. Of course, not too many companies are all
that interested in buying mainframes anymore — but at up to $1 million a pop, IBM doesn't need to sell too many of
them. And if the market shrinks any further, we're sure the company can find someone to pick up what's
left of its mainframe biz.