Earlier today Deloy mentioned:

> FYI...  New answers have been posted in response to issues
> raised at the Roundtable sessions held at HP World '97 ....

> http://www.interex.org/hpworld/bbs/index.html

He's right:  Updates to six of the questions were just posted to
the Interex web site today.  One may be of particular interest
to many Image/SQL users, as we close in on IPROF-98 and
completion of another yearly SIGIMAGE Enhancement Ballot
cycle.  Here's part of what just appeared on that web page,
in answer to the question I first asked on 15 August 1997:

> Subject:  .... HP policy on ODBC direct to TurboIMAGE

>> Providing bundled ODBC client access direct to Turbo-
>> IMAGE without having to go through Allbase/SQL was the
>> run-away winner on the 1997 SIGIMAGE Enhancement
>> Ballot. At IPROF-97 HP said that because of third-party
>> availability it was unlikely that this feature would be bundled.
......

The HP answer:

> Our position on this enhancement remains unchanged from
> IPROF97. Our policy is to promote the use of third-party
> products that complement HP's overall offering. This allows
> us to focus our resources on core technologies that only HP
> can provide, such as IMAGE. By working with our partners,
> rather than competing with them, HP is able to offer much
> broader and richer solutions to our customers.

IMAGE users are of course completely free to continue to ask
for this feature on the 1998 SIGIMAGE Ballot (and rest assured
it *will* remain on the Ballot).  However, the above in combination
with statements made by various HP managers at IPROF-97 and
HP World - Chicago seem to constitute a pretty clear Company
policy statement that they are NOT going to bundle ODBC direct
to TurboIMAGE any time soon, if ever.

If you want / need direct TurboIMAGE ODBC access, I would
suggest contacting one of the third-party vendors that have
products that already provide this feature.  I tend to believe HP
when they say they are not going to bundle this;  I will bet
some $$ they are not going to do it anytime soon....

Ken Sletten
SIGIMAGE Chair