At 12:41 10/02/1999 -0400, Wirt writ:
>Ron writes:
>
<snipped stuff>
>>
>>  When enhancement requests for bundled MPE utilities ride roughshod
>>  over third-party software companies -- jiggling benefits so there's
>>  not enough value to justify purchasing a third party alternative --
>>  it makes me sad. Modest-sized companies have provided the 3000
>>  marketplace with rich functionality, some with features that HP took
>>  years to bundle into the 3000. That's the value third parties provide
>>  you.
>>
>>  Every time you ask HP to pump up something like networked printing,
>>  some third party company goes to another platform instead of
>>  competing in what they see, rightly, as an unfair playing field.
>>  (Just try to sell something against a competitor that is free, if you
>>  doubt that.) There is no free lunch. These light snacks of the
>>  network printing upgrades might be justified. But I hope 3000
>>  customers don't think CSY has reverted to "mumbo jumbo" management.
>>  The truth is that CSY just remembers what they promised better than
>>  some customers do. As a result of that kind of memory, third party
>>  suppliers get a chance to earn a living by offering advanced
>>  features. It benefits the 3000 customer base -- and it feels fair,
>>  too.
>
>Rubbish.
>
<snipped stuff>
>More than that, the current problems with spooling to the newest HP printers
>are a profound embarassment to everyone involved. CSY and the HP3000 are only
>going to prosper on a foundation of excellence, especially for those
>attributes that are user-visible. Mediocrity is a quality that will kill the
>HP3000 faster than any other in an intensely competitive environment.
>
>It only takes a few minutes to realize that the argument that third parties
>will prosper best when HP is incompetent is the dumbest possible argument.
>Unfortunately, that appears to be the argument that Ron is making.
>
>Wirt Atmar
>

I completely agree.  HP is not in business to provide marketing
opportunities to other companies, it is in business to satisfy its own
markets, and must put its interests first, or see itself founder.  If HP,
due to market demand, decides to plug a hole in its products that was being
filled by thrid parties, well, that's life.


Tom Brandt                            Northtech Systems, Inc.
+1 734-769-5040                     313 N. First Street
+1 734-769-5498 (FAX)            Ann Arbor, MI 48103