On a completely different, second subject, Stan writes:

> I happen to believe in the "HP Way" ...

The current "HP Way" may not be the one you're familiar with, Stan. Instead,
it now seems to include the "Way to the Door." In today's NY Times, an
article on Carly Fiorina included the following paragraphs:

=============================================

In her first analyst briefing since joining Hewlett-Packard, a leading maker
of computers, in July as president and chief executive, Carly Fiorina said
revenue growth, previously estimated at 10 percent to 13 percent for the
quarter, compared with a year earlier, would be closer to the low end of that
range...

"Despite an absolute winning Unix server product line, our North American
sales organization continues to underperform," she said. "This is not news;
it is a longstanding problem."

Like many a new chief executive, Ms. Fiorina laid the blame at the feet of
her predecessors.

"We have operated over several years with inadequate performance management,
and we're correcting that right now," she said, adding that sales
representatives with poor records were being dismissed and that the
compensation program was being revamped.

=============================================

The full article is at:

     http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/10/biztech/articles/02hewlett.html

Wirt Atmar