Wirt wrote:

>If nothing else, it's good to see a company that maintains
>its commitments to a product line, even if long after
>its "ecosystem has eroded":
>======================================
>Sony Pulls the Plug on Betamax VCR
>..c The Associated Press
[snip]

>The announcement marks the end of a 27-year run, during which the fabled
>brand sold 18 million units worldwide in a race against VHS technology from
>its archrival Victor Co., which is also known as JVC, to set the video
>format standard.

Only 27 years?  Boy, the HP 3000 has 30 years this year. Add in the
years to 2006 and you get ~ 35 years. And that is with more than one
main competitor...

BTW - many folks are bothered by hp's change in direction WRT to porting
mpe to ia-64. Here is a quote from Sony regarding their long term
commitment to beta:

``Beta is forever. It's our word of honor. The word of Sony.''

-- Quoted from a full page December 30, 1988 advertisement in ``La Estrella
de Panama''

I would say that 1988 to 2002 is not exactly "forever"...

duane 'gone porting' percox

* To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, *
* etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *