maybe I'm dreaming (at least I do _that_ well), but it still seems possible.

If someone stood up in the Carly Keynote and eloquently pointed out that
happy HP(3000) customers were likely HP's first LaserJet customers (hey, we
knew PCL before laser printing was invented and made HP the fat (monster?)
company it is now), this very public appeal to Carly's emotions at HPWorld
(gee, another HP3000-generated phenomenon - does she know that?) might
actually get us on her radar.  She could make us poster children and win the
hearts of the world with her charity, win lots of NewCoke-style free press,
and it wouldn't dent the big numbers anyway (and she could actually discuss
this in English instead of the buzzspeak we've learned to expect).  Truly
candid support for OpenMPE by HP would sure go a long way toward patching
some deep wounds, and it would give HP something to talk about besides
migration strategies that actually amount to sales presentations.

Or, someone might even realize that hey, MPE really IS pretty darn good, and
while it lacks a few teenager-crypto-named Ux toys er tools (sorry; bilious
innuendo's my forte), you don't have to be a true propeller-head to really
USE it and use it well.  Is THAT what makes MPE trash?   (And has HP
realized yet that the easiest migration is actually back-to-IBM from this
IBM-based OS?)

Tracy <skipping the snip; I like Wayne's ideas and style well enough to let
y'all read 'em again> Pierce

> It might be good to do something like that.  Perhaps change "challenge" to
> "inform with an expected response" though.  Nobody's really sure just how
> much knowledge Carly has of the MPE situation.  There are a LOT of
> disgruntled MPE users in the world today and having disgruntled customers
is
> not in any company's best interests.
>
> Without much work at all, I think the HP-3000 MPE community could come up
> with lots of alternative plans to "save MPE".  All of which would/could
end
> up a) making HP look good and b) allowing HP to continue to make a profit
> from MPE related customers.  Nobody is expecting or asking HP to
deliberately
> lose money.  However many of us seriously think that HP could continue to
> make money from MPE if things were organized differently.
>
> My brief ideas:
>
> 1) Eliminate any physical distinction between a HP-3000 and a HP-9000.
Make
> the difference software ONLY.  This saves HP all kinds of little
organizational
> costs and eliminates the false hardware 'differences'.  Treat the hardware
as a
> product and treat MPE/iX and HPUX as SEPARATE products from the hardware.
>
> 2) Ditch this 'crippling' of CPUs.  A business model that involves
> artificially reducing what a product is capable of is dumb.
>
> 3) Restructure the whole support revenue situation.  Match the revenue
with
> the expenses.  If customers want a new version of MPE (8.0+?) - charge for
> it.  If customers want a lot of telephone support - charge for it.  Just
> don't bundle the version upgrade and the telephone support together and
give
> all the revenue to the telephone support people.
>
> 4) Develop a low cost long term means of porting MPE to IA-64.  If that
means
> ditching every bit CM code so be it.  I posted my opinion about the overly
> high cost estimates of porting MPE to IA-64 here a while ago.  If those
high
> estimates include porting EDITOR - well then don't port EDITOR!  It isn't
> necessary.  Let the MPE user community contribute to the porting effort if
> necessary.
>
> 5) Find ways to "open up" MPE.  HP has made MPE proprietary
> and HP could make it a lot less proprietary.
>
> 6)  If the above cannot or will not be done - then seriously support
OpenMPE
> and allow HP-3000 MPE customers the freedom to do as they wish in the
future
> without HP.
>
> I would be glad to participate in building a business plan to make this
> happen if there is any way that such a plan could be implemented.  This
> little posting may again fall on deaf ears but if we don't ask for what we
> want, then we stand little chance of getting what we want.
>
> Wayne Boyer
>

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