Excellent points Larry, however if you try to connect to an HP 3000 on an
airplane, you are paying about $2.00 per carriage return.  Also, the last
time I used a telephone on an airplane, I got dinged for all the calls made
on that plane during that trip.  Luckily, I caught that on my credit card
bill and promptly took action and was credited the proper amount.  Needless
to say, that was the LAST time I used a telephone on an airplane.

Many are the times when one wants to give a demo at a user group or
elsewhere and is faced with the daunting logistics of having a phone line
pulled in for that one day.  Yes, I am aware that one could use a cellular
modem, I have one and I use it in dire emergencies.  But roaming charges
make the call from the airplane seem very cheap in comparison.

Further, I am not looking for a battery-powered HP 3000, just a
laptop-sized portable would be nice.

As for the MSDN equivalent, I am looking at ALL HP software not just MPE
stuff.  And yes it was brought up at IPROF, and I remember who brought it
up.  It was I.

As for Birket and his having to buy betas from Microsoft, well, I don't
know where he gets his deals.  I do know that as part of the MSDN, one does
get the beta software for all the products, along with all the current
versions.  For the developers and the support folks, this is a great tool.
 Perhaps you are not familiar with MSDN.  If you need more info about it,
e-mail me privately.

Kind regards,

Denys. . .

Denys Beauchemin
Hicomp America, Inc.
[log in to unmask]        www.hicomp.com/hicomp
(800) 323-8863   (281) 288-7438  fax: (281) 355-6879



-----Original Message-----
From:   Larry Boyd [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
Sent:   Wednesday, May 07, 1997 2:27 PM
To:     [log in to unmask]
Subject:        Re: Re[2]: Portable HP-UX and NT!  Why not MPE?

On Wednesday, May 07, 1997 1:05 PM, Denys Beauchemin wrote:
> There have been a number of people chiming in on this issue.  Some have
> offered alternatives such as 2 suitcases full of equipment, or perhaps
> smaller systems such as the 917, etc.  This is all well and good, but I
go
> back to my original question.  A company has put a portable, laptop size
HP
> 9000/712.  Why can't this be done for the HP 3000?

Alfredo pointed out that with the standard MAC or PC notebook/laptop, you
can connect to the 3k from just about anywhere, including the airplane.
 However, if it is still a high interest, Cathy FitzGerald pointed out in
her quotes in the earlier CW article that 3rd parties are welcomed to do
these types of projects (and she specifically mentions the small 3k).  If
there really is a market for this machine, CSY has offered to work with the
3rd party(ies?) interested in pursuing this project.  It can be done for
the 3k.
>
> The secondary issue of software license is indeed not secondary but
rather
> important.  As a developer, I subscribe to Microsoft's MSDN program,
> whereby I get ALL Microsoft software for about a grand and half per year.
>  The software is updated every few months and comes on CDs.  (I have CDs
> coming out the ying-yang.)  I brought this up at IPROF and haven't heard
> since, but I wish HP would consider doing something similar.  It would be
a
> great boon to developers and support staff.

I don't specifically recall this at IPROF, but I could of easily been in
another room (or world:).  However, Cathy did discuss this at the
SIGSoftVend meeting in late January.  Birket may recall the actual words,
but I believe the paraphrased version is, "Please call me (Cathy) if you
have a need for this small machine and the current price for the smallest
3k is an issue to you."  Now, I don't know if this was only addressing the
purchase and not the support, but I'm sure Cathy knows.

I'm sure it's not a surprise, but the 3k doesn't have quite the same number
of developers as the MS-based machines:)  This could be one reason there is
a formal MS program like this.  However, I do recall someone (Birket?)
complaining about purchasing the developers beta kit for any number of
versions of Windows/WFWG/NT/95.  Something was said about MS having the
most profitable beta program; while the rest of the software world
practically begs for beta sites, MS charges (one was @$1,200).  Should we
do the same with our betas?  (Tongue firmly in cheek:)


--
Larry Boyd ([log in to unmask])
Hewlett-Packard
These are my opinions and not necessarily those of HP