Alfredo's postings in this thread made me think of my conversation with my
thirteen-year old, on a drive home yesterday... For about three weeks, I
have been driving a red 1996 Mazda Miata. My son and I were passed by a
station wagon, and we both noticed some rather excited children in it, one
of whom was holding up a small red toy car, presumably a Miata. As we
discussed this, I started to try and explain an intangible with which my son
has had little subjective experience, this thing called "brand loyalty",
among other names for it. And while my own experience with the brand loyalty
among Miatas (Miatot?) is recent and not particularly subjective (I've read
more about it than I expect to experience should I live to be a hundred), I
did try to explain to him about brand loyalty among things Hewlett-Packard.
It was the best example of which I knew, at least subjectively.

Like having a team gel (a la Peopleware), I'm not sure that a company can
make this (brand loyalty) happen; they can only try to create the right
conditions, and then wait and see what does happen. But, like the several
ways to commit teamicide, there are clearly a lot of things one can do to
make sure such good things cannot happen.

hp has given other gifts to its user communities. Business Basic comes to
mind. Perhaps some of us can provide additional examples. In the big
picture, what does hp have to lose?

Greg Stigers
http://www.cgiusa.com
If I can't have a Dasani,
I would rather just stay thirsty.

> -----Original Message-----
> The focus of the apprehensions is very simple, from the perspective
> of a happy MPE-Image user.  A happy MPE-Image user would love to see
> MPE-Image survive and, even more importantly, prosper.  Without
> shackles.  Without fetters.  Without handicaps.  Just good-old plain
> fair competition in real-life OLTP.  The majority of Adager customers
> tell me:  "If HP does not want (or can't) do this, then HP is morally
> bound to get out of the way".  Period.
>
> I just received a private email today and perhaps I am jumping the
> gun (and/or stealing a friend's thunder) by sharing the relevant
> part with hp3000-L before it gets distributed to the public.  But
> I'll take the risk:
>
>     There's a lot of untapped potential in MPE-Image. As John Burke
>     so eloquently said at HP World, HP should seriously consider the
>     win-win option of "letting MPE-Image go". HP would win back a
>     lot of the good will that it lost in the last year and MPE-Image
>     users (current as well as future) would love nothing more than a
>     thriving OS-DBMS platform that (through focused tender loving
>     care) goes forward to compete, unfettered, in its specialized
>     market: Heavy-duty OLTP.
>
>     This obviously must go beyond HP's "allowing" (with lots of
>     restrictions) current "frozen" MPE to run on an emulator. In this
>     very unattractive scenario, HP conveys the clear message that
>     MPE-Image is ankylosed.
>
>     HP should let MPE-Image go to a good home that is ready, willing
>     and able to move Heaven and Earth with ONE objective in mind:
>     The un-handcuffed opportunity to excel. HP should transfer the
>     MPE-Image torch (without extinguishing it first) to a solid group
>     of highly motivated technical (and marketing) people with the
>     appropriate financial backing to do the job well.

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