Christian Lheureux shares his thoughts:
>
> Ray, the picture I intended to display is :
>
> 1) Dear HP, you should stop the 3000 more often. You have
> stopped it only
> once so far, and you generated the BIGGEST business of all my life.
> 2) Dear HP, you should have maintained the 3000 ... See the
> good business we
> can do together ! Oh, didn't you cut the branch on which you
> were seating ?
>
> My bit of cynicism ? Perhaps ... After all, I'm making money
> too, not only HP.
>

I share Christian's sentiments. I will not be attending any of the World
Wide Wakes because of family and professional obligations, but I will hoist
one late this evening in honor of the HP 3000, MPE and IMAGE. I will hoist
one in honor of the many good people who worked on and with the system for
the last 30-some years. And, perhaps I will dream a little about what could
have been.

Today is the end of an era and the beginning of another. Tomorrow we start
to find out if HP's failure to follow through on its promise to port MPE to
Itanium was an aberration or whether failure to follow through on promises
to customers when the promise does not suit it is S.O.P. at the "new" HP.
Since 11/14/2001, HP has made a number of promises. It has also held off
addressing a number of issues until after EOS. Frankly, I am not optimistic
that even a majority of promises will be kept nor that any of the many
issues from firmware availability, to converting used HP9000s to HP3000s,
and to support for a commercial emulator, will be addressed in a way that
will satisfy the user community.

I will never forgive those people (virtually all of whom are no longer at
HP) who by active neglect started the ball rolling downhill to the point
where Winston Prather, etc. believed that HP had to cancel the HP 3000 line.

We will probably never know the numbers and corporate politics that drove
the decision. I do not blame Winston Prather for creating the situation; but
I do, and will forever, blame him for the way it was communicated. For the
way HP executives boldly lied at HPWorld 2001 about the status of the HP
3000. For the way users and customers were cut out of any decisions about
how and when the system would be phased out. For not having any kind of plan
developed for transitioning HP 3000 customers, ISVs and consultants to life
after EOS. And, finally, for not allowing MPE/IMAGE to try to have a life
outside HP.

Here's hoping that character and integrity come back into style in the
corporate world,

John Burke

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