I've been following this thread for some time, and trying not to wade into the
middle of it.  But somebody has to represent HP's point of view.  So I will.
 
1)      No platform is the best solution to every business problem: not
        MPE, not UNIX, not NT.
2)      HP recognizes that fact.  Furthermore, CSY (where I work) has
        recognized that fact, and is beginning to act on it.
3)      If an HP 3000 customer wants to stay on MPE (and it's clear that
        the majority feel that way), HP is committed to making them
        successful.
4)      Many HP 3000 customers have found it necessary to add HP-UX systems to
        their datacenters.  There are a variety of reasons for this; it may be
        a need for an application that's not available on MPE, or because of a
        corporate mandate.  In any case, HP is also committed to making these
        customers successful as well.  Toward that end, there is an R&D effort
        under way to make the HP 3000 "well-behaved" in a heterogeneous
        environment.
5)      A comparatively small number of HP 3000 customers have elected to
        replace their HP 3000 systems with UNIX or NT servers.  HP is
        interested in making this conversion as easy as possible, so long as
        the target system is an HP system (i.e. HP 9000 or NetServer).
 
Speaking for HP, I'd like to thank Mr. Verona and his
company for offering a valuable service, in the context of this fifth
objective.  And at the same time I'd like to stress that HP is concentrating
*its* resources on objectives 3 and 4.  I see no problem with him helping
people move to UNIX, as long as they are fully aware of the things HP is doing
to help them to stay on MPE, or to co-exist with UNIX, so that they can make a
sensible business decision based on good information.
 
And while I'm on the subject, you might be interested to know that there's a
new white paper from HP entitled "Getting the Most Out of Your Systems: HP 3000
Coexistence with UNIX".  There will be a form in the August HP Advisor for
people who want to order a copy.