Lance Hamilton wrote:

> You MPE diehards just don't know what you're missing by sticking
> with a STABLE but old, frumpy, feature deficient O/S like MPE!

Rather an inflammatory statement to post to a HP3000 newsgroup..
but I presume allowance must be made for pig-ignorance.

> Perhaps one day I'll write up the story of how my employer,
> against my recommendation, dropped our SCO UNIX/Informix
> accounting system in favor of an MPE/ix & Image based
> "solution."

Obviously you are still smarting from your boss NOT following
your advice which could account for some of your remarks.

>The worker bees in accounting are up in arms
> about all the things they've had to give up with the
> new system.  In fairness to MPE/ix, many of the lost
> features are the result of the new but OLD, FRUMPY (COBOL based),
> accounting package.  However, other giveaways, such as
> the inability of dumb terminals to run multiple sessions
> (ala "Multiview Mascot" or "Facet Term" - both running on
>  many UNIX platforms and the lack of a modern support
>  and admin. tools like "Double Vision"  and "Informix
>  ISQL" that lets me knock out FAST, EASY reports and
>  quick and dirty SCREEN FORMS for accessing/correcting/
>  updating raw data is just pathetic!)

It would be wise to look into the apparent "deficiencies" of MPE
before making yourself appear too ignorant. You might like to
investigate
<plug> WRQ's Reflection package . Minisoft's terminal emulator, among
others </plug> for multiple
sessions, for example although it might mean bringing your users into
the 20th century
by giving them PCs.
There are a number of ways to produce fast, easy reports and to access
raw data.
Some of them are third-party products like <plug> Suprtool from Robelle,
Powerhouse from Cognos, Speedware etc to name a couple </plug> and there
are all kinds of useful
programs and utilities in the Interex Contributed Library.,

[snip]

> And the
> editor on the 3000 is nightmare.  Shades of "EDLIN".

No one uses "EDITOR/3000" (as far as I know).
Perhaps you should try <plug> Qedit from Robelle</plug> if you want to
pay or Quad from the
Contributed Library if you don't.

>As a result,
> the UNIX system that was to have been retired by the ill-advised
> people behind the "Down with UNIX, in with MPE" plan, continues
> to live on!  For PC users, they can access both systems from
> one desktop, but oh the poor users of dumb terminals!  They MUST
> have TWO TERMINALS, since HP requires such ODD TERMINALS!

You sound like a very biased Unix person with a bad case of sour grapes
but,
I suppose you don't sound all that different from some MPE people who
have
been forced to move from the HP3000 onto Unix boxes ! I would recommend
you research what
is actually available for the HP3000 to assist your transition to the
HP3000. Personally
I find it encouraging that there are still employers about who are
prepared to buck the
fashionable trend and to go with a long established, reliable, secure,
top-of-the-line
transaction processing machine with one of the best data bases on the
market bundled in.

You do not realise how lucky you are to be moving onto the HP3000.
I'm sure you wont agree but flames would be pointless.

Cheers,
John Dunlop