Gentle Listers,

A few days ago, on this thread, my very good and dear friend Alfredo,
closed his posting with a statement.  This statement has been bothering me
since.  The statement was as follows:

"HP CSY is doing a wonderful job stressing the fact that EVERY HP3000 user
should feel proud, particularly in this era of mediocrity."


Alfredo, would you please explain what you mean about every HP3000 user
feeling proud, particularly in this era of mediocrity?  Frankly, I am
baffled.  Most users probably do not even know they are on an HP 3000.
 They use a terminal connected to the wall, which gives them access to the
programs they use to do their jobs.  The system is available most of the
time and they take it for granted.  However, they can only use their
terminals to do very specific things, all work-related.  Their screens are
very quaint compared to the monitors they have on their PCs at home.  Many
luckier users have PCs on their desks which they use to do many things, one
of which is to run programs on the "big computer" or "the mainframe".  But
these programs are still command line or form-driven.

I use an HP 3000, because I like it and because it gives me no problems,
and because I am very familiar with it.  I know it is dependable.  I sing
its praises when I believe its unequaled OLTP characteristics are required
(thanks for the cubes, Alfredo.)  I do not use it anywhere near as much as
I use my laptop or my NT box, however.  And when I use my HP 3000, it is
through either my laptop or my NT.

We sell software for the HP 3000, because it is good software, and because
it does things that no other software, or MPE can do.  We are developing
more software for the HP 3000 because we believe there is a good market for
it, and because we believe we are offering unique products which help the
HP 3000 and its users exist and thrive in a multi-platform environment.  As
a matter of fact, we will be making an announcement very soon.

I find it insulting to be told that my generation, my period of existence,
is said to be the era of mediocrity, especially when this is plainly not
true, as I will now illustrate.

Last year, we bought a new minivan.  We selected the Dodge Grand Caravan,
because we liked the styling and the available options, such as a powerful
engine and a sliding door on the left side as well as the right side.
 Since we have a little one as well as a teenager and we travel some, a
minivan is very eminently practical.  I have been to the dealer twice in
one year.  Both times just to get an oil change and tighten a few screws.
 That is all.  It rides and handles extremely well.  I remember when
getting a new car was an adventure in discovering new problems and
incessant trips to the dealer.  In those days, you got a 12 month/12,000
warranty.  Nowadays, you get 3, 5 or even 7 years warranties with 36,000 or
60,000 miles.  Before, your car would rust before your payments were
complete. Nowadays, with a modicum of care, a car will not rust for a very
long time, if ever.   And this is across the entire automobile industry.
Never before have automobiles been so reliable and safe as they are today.
This is certainly not due to mediocrity.

A few months ago, the world was riveted to their TV sets and their Internet
accounts, following the exploits of the Mars mission.  That was not a
mediocre accomplishment.

I do not think the World's Biggest Poster was a mediocre accomplishment.

I use a notebook computer virtually all the time. It travels with me, I do
presentations with it and I get my e-mail with it.  I use it on the plane,
I use it at the airport, I use it at home, I use it in the office and I use
it in the minivan.  These little marvels of engineering work fine and last
a long time.  Recently, someone on this list asked what trade magazines
people read.  I answered with a fairly long list of magazines.  I do not
believe I mentioned this one; Mobile Computing & Communications.  Well the
current issue, November 97, has an article on the Notebook Triathlon.  DO
NOT TRY THIS WITH YOUR LAPTOP.  The three events are Performance, Battery
life and Durability.  You can all figure out what the first two are about.
 Let me tell you about the third event, durability.  This event is divided
into four levels of endurance.  They took 10 top-of-the-line notebooks and
first off placed them in a regular carrying case and dropped them 40 inches
onto a concrete block.  At the end of this test the block cracked.  All
passed the first test.  The next test consisted of dropping water on the
keyboard, let it sit for a minute, wipe it off and start the system.  They
all passed.  The next test consisted of dropping the notebooks flat on a
carpeted floor from 29 inches (height of a standard desk in an office.)
 Two of the 10 systems died, one of a dead disk drive, the other of a
broken screen.  The final test was to drop the survivors on their spine
onto the same carpeted surface from 29 inches.  One more system died.
 Seven systems survived all these test.  This is not a mediocre
accomplishment.

Now, before you clamor about the 3000 being pushed off the roof of a two
story building and surviving, remember, it did not go down with any disk
drives, a modem, or a screen. :)

Many of the companies whose names have appeared on this thread should be
insuted by Alfredo's statement.  I think of Boeing, whose latest plane, the
777, is definitely NOT a mediocre accomplishment.  I think of Lockheed
Martin and their F-22 or indeed, virtually any other product they make.
 They are definitely not a mediocre company.  I also think of Compaq with
their wonderful servers, desktops and notebooks.  Nothing mediocre here.  I
think of HP, even if I exclude the HP 3000, they have very few mediocre
products.  Their servers, UNIX or NT, their desktops and their laptops are
awesome.  Their printers and plotters and myriad other products are
definitely not what I would call mediocre. These are just a few examples,
there are so many, far too many examples to list here, which illustrate the
error in Alfredo's contention.

In my travels and my interaction with customers and prospects on the phone
and in person over the last several years, I must say that nowadays, people
are asked to do more work, with less assistance (staff), than ever before.
 Yet people take pride in their work.  I know Alfredo takes pride in his
product and his work also.

Are there no mediocre products?  Sure there are, I can name several recent
movies, books and court decisions amongst other things.  I also know which
computers and related products to stay away from.  There are some planes I
would rather not fly in, cars I would not ride in, appliances I would
rather not use.  But for all these shoddy products, there are many
excellent alternatives.  So whilst caveat emptor is still true, this is
certainly not an era of mediocrity.

We are living in extraordinary times.  We are witnessing developments in
technology that are simply astounding.  If mediocrity was the way of life,
we would not be anywhere near where we are today.

If Alfredo is referring to the current occupant of the White House and his
administration, then he may be right.

Kind regards,

Denys. . .

Denys Beauchemin
HICOMP America, Inc.
(800) 323-8863  (281) 288-7438         Fax: (281) 355-6879
[log in to unmask]                             www.hicomp.com



-----Original Message-----
From:   F. Alfredo Rego [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
Sent:   Tuesday, November 25, 1997 10:20 AM
To:     [log in to unmask]
Subject:        Re: Wonderful news - show of hands

Steve Patterson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Don't forget us Canadians, eh?

How could I ever forget Canadians?  Back in 1978/1979, I had the pleasure
of spending a few months polishing the early versions of Adager in
Vancouver (almost sharing a desk with Bob Green and David Greer).  In fact,
Bob changed my programming life forever by convincing me to switch from
EDITOR/3000 to Qedit.

I then took "little" side trips to visit potential early Adager customers
in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal.  I'm sorry I missed Halifax, but my wife
visited Halifax during the World Skating Championships a few years ago.
Does that redeem the Rego family? :-)

Although the technical history of Adager began in Guatemala (of all
places), the business history of Adager really began in Canada.

So, Canadians are close to my heart. I am glad to see that Canadians have
the HP3000 close to their hearts, too, and say so with great pride -- as
demonstrated by Steve Patterson's terrific post.


>Halifax Port Corporation (Port Authority for Halifax Harbour)
>
>Running an HP-3000 for 13+ years now, with no plans to stop!


That's what it's all about: Taking pride in the HP3000.  "HP" stands for
"Have Pride" -- at least in the HP3000 context.

HP CSY is doing a wonderful job stressing the fact that EVERY HP3000 user
should feel proud, particularly in this era of mediocrity.



 _______________
|               |
|               |
|            r  |  Alfredo              mailto:[log in to unmask]
|          e    |                           http://www.adager.com
|        g      |  F. Alfredo Rego               Tel 208 726-9100
|      a        |  Manager, R & D Labs           Fax 208 726-2822
|    d          |  Adager Corporation
|  A            |  Sun Valley, Idaho 83353-3000            U.S.A.
|               |
|_______________|