> If HP does succeed in killing off the HP3000, as they seem
> to be hinting,it looks like an expensive proposition for
> some companies.
 
Yes, and that is the sad thing about this.  I have come to
the conclusion that HP marketing is now little better then
the stock brokerage houses who churn their client's accounts
devouring their capital in brokerage fees and commissions.
It isn't the client's interest that is paramount, it is
making money for the owners regardless of the consequences.
 
This deal with Unix and NT at HP would be laughable if it
weren't so blatently money grubbing.  Sure boys, move off
this rock solid, proven work-horse and buy unix with the DBM$
of the month.  Now that your used to living from hand to
pocketbook, we'll get you onto NT, a product so stable it
gives quicksand a good name.  After all, if you can't trust
MicroSoft to get a multi-user operating system right, who can
you trust?
 
Look, I know that there are a lot of reasons why O/S's come
and go.  I know that applications drive machine purchases.
But let's face it.  HP has gone out of its way to make sure
that small startup software houses do not have the ability to
get the tools necessary to get stuff out for the HP3000.
They're none too swift on the 9000 side of the house in that
regard either, but the existance of GNU and the high
availablity of free tools for unix makes that a non-critcal
issue for unix.
 
I would think that a GUI for MPE/iX would go a long way to
making it a more "fashionable" choice.  They have already
given in to the long file names and
/path/for/ever/type/file/systems.  I don't really believe
that "open systems" means much to anyone seriously looking
into large scale computer systems.  There just ain't no sich
critter.  All you really have to do to get past the suits is
have the right cost / benefit ratio, a reasonable business
case, and a pretty face (for the o/s that is).  MPE/iX beats
unix hands down in the first two, a little makeover in the
interface salon and she'd do pretty well in the last as well.
 
Sigh....
--
James B. Byrne                 mailto:[log in to unmask]
Harte & Lyne Limited           http://www.harte-lyne.ca
Hamilton, Ontario              905-561-1241