Alfredo Rego writes


I was at the so-called "Boston tea Party" and my memory of the whole
thing is not associated with "nefarious" at all.  IMAGE users simply
gave "feedback" to HP (without HP having to waste one penny in
"surveys" and such :-)

Nick Demos called me (and a few other techies) before the Boston 1990
Interex meeting to see if we would be interested in organizing a
"Special Session about IMAGE" given HP's decision to unbundle IMAGE
from the MPE fundamental operating system (FOS).  We did and the
session's unanimous conclusion was to suggest to HP that IMAGE should
remain bundled with MPE.

Fred White (co-author of IMAGE and at the time Senior Scientist at
Adager Labs) addressed Bill Murphy (HP's Director of Marketing) from
the floor and complimented Bill on his tie.  Fred then explained how
stupid it was for HP to unbundle IMAGE.  Fred continued by describing
the negative effects in products that depended on having IMAGE on
the hp3000.  Fred also provided some historic background by relating
how Ed McCracken (a previous CSY General Manager) had made a success
of the hp3000 by bundling IMAGE in the mid seventies.  Fred was firm
but courteous.  No tomatoes (err, tea bags) were thrown.  Perhaps the
whole "Boston tea Party" legend started because Fred used the word
"stupid" in public, applying it to HP's management, with no apologies.

I am sure there were other hp3000 colleagues who expressed their
opinions (I could not be everywhere at the same time, so I can't
pinpoint other events) but I am willing to bet that no violence of
any kind happened anywhere.
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I was at Boston too (how about those welcoming billboards from Digital at
the exit from Logan), and I recall at the management roundtable Fred getting
up and more than calling HP stupid was him calling them liars and then
storming out.  Perhaps I was misinformed.

Mike Berkowitz
Guess? Inc.

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