Allen writes in response to Gary's comment:

>  > I disagree.. The only thing GUI does is slow things down and make
>  > the things that happen in the background, more complicated.  "Pretty"
>  > is not going to sell the 3k.

> I'm not so sure about that.  I know that our clients, project staff and some
>  IT managers are more impressed when they see a GUI form pop up than when
>  they see a something that looks like a dumb terminal.  I personally think
it
>  is a shame that this is how it is viewed but it is common.  It's one (of
>  many) reasons why Windows supplanted DOS and the WWW all but
>  killed Gopher.
>
>  But this is a little off-topic.  I'm more interested in know what
approaches
>  people are taking.

It's not off-topic at all. In fact, it is probably the most on-topic subject
that anyone can raise in regards to renewing and revitalizing the HP3000.

Moreover there's no reason why the GUI interface to the HP3000 has to be
either slow or cumbersome or wildly complicated. The difference between a
dumb terminal interface, a PC application's interface and a web browser lies
more in the attitude of the beholder than it does in the technology itself.
What makes a design solution complicated, cumbersome and slow are the
fundamental philosophies that are invoked when the various designers first
tackle the problem. It is clear that some of the current solutions *are*
damnably complicated, and slow to boot.

However, nowadays, given the speed and reach of the internet, there is no
reason to expect that a really good-looking, high-speed, highly responsive
interface can't be built to the HP3000. It's not necessarily a simple task,
but it can be done.

Wirt Atmar