Reading the various spins on the projected merger, and watching the things
which have so far fallen beneath some people's evident notice,  I can't
help but recall......

Many years ago, I was charged with selecting the hardware/software for a
division of my then employer which at that time was simply an RJE site.
The company was firmly committed to the IBM stable, and I found it humorous
to watch the three sets of IBM sales reps falling all over themselves in
their attempts to sway the choice between 1431, Series 1, and 8500.  The
appropriate differentiation among the three appeared to be foggy - and
while the salesmen played games with each others' throats, I quietly went
on my way arranging the purchase and delivery of my first 3K.

Now I see, largely unvoiced, the same pending conflict - even with the
demise of the 3K, there is a lovely (projected) contention between the 9k
and Tandem,  with I'm sure a few old-time Dec supporters cheering on the
combattants.

And over on the sidelines, I'm seeing grins from the crowd anticipating
mutual self-destruction.  Funny, lots of them are wearing blue.

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