I knew that the HP workstation didn't come with a graphics card not even an imbedded (useless) one.

That made sense - if you pay that kind of money you are likely to want to pay several hundred dollars for a graphics card too so why (as Apple do with the MacPro) supply you with a good but not great graphics card that you might then throw out.

So that wasn't the negative.

Nor at the time did it seem that it not being supplied with a keyboard would be a problem as the usual junk ones just get dumped virtually immediately. (Although the same logic could apply to a mouse and they included one of those).

But as it happened this *was* a problem thanks to the very first (actually second) step in their long and almost automatic software installation routine.

Typically the problem was caused by the completely pointless "Are you Sure?" step !

What happens when you first switch on the machine (after installing the graphics card of course - which went smoothly enough, once I'd worked out how to take the "lid" off the slots at the side of the machine for the metal edge of the card to be able to fit it) is that it first (for this Nordic model) asks you to select which language version you want (use mouse to go down to English which isn't default which is very odd) and then the next screen is the infamous "are you sure" step.

To say that you are sure, you need to press F10. Now most keys (Enter say) would have given me no problem, but my keyboard is a Microsoft keyboard with Fingerprint reader where the F10 key has two uses (Search or something is the other one) and as of course the special driver for that keyboard hadn't been loaded so early in the procedure so although the keyboard basically worked, pressing F10 simply had no effect at all.

My alternative keyboard is a Microsoft wireless keyboard so that no doubt wouldn't even be recognized as a keyboard until much later in the startup process.

So within seconds of switching on the machine I was competely stuck and all because the HP setup guys had insisted on confirmation via a(n) F key.   (Yes the dual meaning WAS intentional!) 

I do have a simple keyboard but that is at work because it's better than the rubbish keyboard that came with the office portable. So I either had to go to work (20 mins drive away) or wait until the next day OR ring the next door neighbour's bell.

So that's what I did and luckily she was in and wasn't using her computer and could lend me her keyboard right away (a keyboard that I would hate to use normally but with single role F keys) and I could get past that man-made stumbling block and install the OS using the built-in routine.

Anyway that was one of the two temporary negatives.

The other was that this is the first computer that came without a power cord. Luckily I had a couple that I had saved in my computer storage location (=dump) but I remember thinking at the time that I hardly needed to keep them because if I buy a new computer it will come with one. Well this one didn't (and of course I needed to have both the old and the new computer on at the same time in order to see which software to install on the new one; which parameters etc. - I had dual video and ethernet cables handy of course).

So no keyboard; no power cord; no graphics card and actually no metal protector thing opposite the x16 slot that I was going to be using to install the graphics card into. No how much do they save by not including that ? 0.001 cents ??

Enough of that. On to the three permanent positives. All were unexpected.

The detailed documentation on the web made it clear that although there was a firewire outlet at the front of the machine, it was only active if a Firewire card (part number supplied) was installed in the first PCI slot and connected to this outlet.

The inference was that the card wasn't installed and you'd have to buy it and install it yourself. I only didn't order the card because I had a Firewire card somewhere in my store.

But, as you'll have guessed by now, that card was already installed so firewire worked both from the front (1) and the back (2).

The second thing that wasn't mentioned as being included was a multi media reader card. Again, HP had a suitable one and they included assembly instructions for it but again there was no mention of one being included as standard.

It was, and it also oddly included a single USB port - not that there was a shortage of them with several on the front already and a few more at the back.

So that's two of the permanent positives.

The third was that the box includes not just a sound card but also loudspeaker(s) so there is no longer any need for any speakers taking up useful space on the desk.

OK it's not stereo and the quality probably could be improved with some decent (desk) speakers, but it's sound that's not terrible to listen to and it works, so for now I'm moving my speakers (and woofer which is even bigger) off the desk and going for the Nordic uncluttered (sterile?) look. [At some time to be replaced no doubt by piles of SharePoint books]

As I wrote, the positives are permenant positives and the negatives very much short term, but why, oh why, did those HP guys insist on F10 being pressed before you could install the software? Do they all have those really awful standard HP keyboards I wouldn't be seen dead with (except that is when I'm looking for a(n) F key that works!)?