Russ Smith wrote:

[snip]
>I, for one, am NOT afraid to try new technologies.  Helllloooo?  I'm a
>geek. It's what I do for fun!  And from some of the comments and OT
>discussions that I've witnessed over the years on this list, I'd say I'm
>not the only geek here.  Ergo, fear is not a big factor.  Annoyance, oh
>yeah.  Betrayal, yes.  Disgust at the apparently "misleading" statements
>and 180 degree change in direction for the platform and division, duh.

You bring up 2 issues here....

#1. That many on this list are in fact willing and able to make a migration
    to another platform. The geek factor is high :-)

    I would have to agree with you. A large number of people on this list
    are the ones who are able to 'go for it'. However, there is a reality
    that must be faced WRT this platform. The reality is that because of
    the simplicity it has allowed a large number of individuals to be
    successful who would otherwise (in a more complex environment) not be
    successful. Now, this is a good thing and has contributed over the
    years to the value of the box. However, when faced with a migration
    it puts those who have little other background in a tough spot. That
    is what I was referring to. Evidently I did a poor job of articulating
    this message.

#2. You feel betrayed by hp's reversal of position WRT porting mpe to ia-64
    and keeping the platform alive.

    Maybe I've been in the software business too long or something, but my
    reaction here is that hp has every right to do what they want with their
    products. They will, of course, have to deal with any fallout over those
    decisions. My position has always been - if you don't have a contract
    then it doesn't exist. hp never guaranteed me or anyone else a port
    to ia-64 and never guaranteed me or anyone else that mpe would survive
    forever. I have always operated with the assumption that the platform
    could someday 'go away'. For 21+ years I have tried to read between the
    lines what hp was really saying. At hpworld when hp said that the ia-64
    port 'would arrive at the earliest the later half of this decade' that
    was interpreted by me to be hp speak for: 'it will not happen'.

 [snip]

>HP said "we're committed to this product, we're porting to IA64, we're in
>it for the long haul".  And then, (and we're not even talking four years
>later as was the case with Sony), they AboutFaced, and announced EOL for
>the line.

Actually, hp said 'as long as there is revenue to support the hp e3000 we
will continue to make and sell them.' They also added disclaimers to the
port to ia-64 which indicated to me that if the business fell off they
would re-evaluate and possibly change their mind/position.

>The thesis: Sony is better than HP at support and committment to product
>lines.  The evidence: BetaMax vs 3k's.  The conclusion: point seemingly
>proven.

Maybe so, but I'm not sure it matters. Especially since we aren't talking
about similar products. I was trying to make the point that 30+ years of
mpe support is pretty darn good. If you want to appreciate how Sony treats
their computing customers you might want to do a little research WRT their
laptop and desktop systems. This would at least give a better correlation.

[snip]
>... but I have to agree with a couple of comments this
>morning in that your original posting was a bit harsh.

That was the point. Unless you stir the pot a little the stew will
get burnt. And we can't have burnt stew now, can we? :-)

duane percox

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