Nonsense.

HP and CSY have never said that MPE will continue forever and ever, and
it's foolish to think that *any* product will last the life of one's
career.  MPE will have been around for 36 years by the end its support,
which is an eternity in this business. All products have a life cycle, and
MPE's demise was just inevitable as that of CANDE or MULTICS, or the future
demise of Windows, AS/400, etc. Yes, I do see IBM discontinuing the AS/400
if it does not make sense to continue selling it.

What CSY has done is given the MPE community a 5-year warning of the end of
MPE, which is far longer than most companies give their customers when they
discontinue something. Furthermore, they have committed to continued
enhancements of MPE, which is also something most companies won't do for a
product with a definite end date.

Anyone making a strictly emotional decision to rule out HP from any future
consideration is doing himself and his company a disservice. HP may well
have a solution which is the best fit for a particular business problem,
and it would be a huge mistake to not select it based on an emotional
rather than a business basis.

At 08:10 AM 11/16/2001 -0800, Jim Chance wrote:
>I for one support the idea of seriously considering *ALL*
>other options that are NOT HP related anymore. As a
>manager, consultant, or whatever my future role and
>responsibilities may become....I will think twice, even a
>third time before I purchase another HP product of any
>kind!!!!!! My loyalty has been shaken. Folks, call it, or
>name it anything you like, throw your stones....but the
>bottom line is many of us fell extreme betrayal; which
>causes loyalties to be challenged.
>
>I hope I can achieve the position of a CIO within a
>multi-billion dollar a year company and not only choose the
>best products for my business need, but to also choose a
>platform that is NOT HP's. Do you see IBM discontinuing the
>AS400? Hmmmmmmmm, evidently they don't mind their
>margin...even if it may be meager and not within the so
>called "future ecosystem".

--------------------------------
Tom Brandt
Northtech Systems, Inc.
313 N. 1st Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
http://www.northtech.com/

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