Chuck wrote:

...

> 8. Why should I wait any longer before seeking other reasonable
> alternatives?

Each person/company will have their own timeline dictated by
need, budget, time, risk, alternatives, etc. You should not
wait if you see better options available for your company.
You should not wait even if you don't see better alternatives.
By that I mean, someone should have part of their job
description be to carefully and thoroughly inventory their
current 3000s, understand their dependencies on custom s/w
vs. 3rd party products and collect data so that an informed
decision can be made later.  That decision may be to stay on
the 3000 past HP's EOL, or it may be to leave your apps alone
and run them on an emulator on modern h/w, or it may be that you
will need to migrate off of the 3000.

> 9. If I have to invest a sizable amount of money [testing complete
> enterprise applications and associated "systems" software on a new
> hardware platform with a new operating system and emulation software
> will cost a sizable amount of money], why shouldn't I invest in
> something that might be around in 20 years like Linux Clustered
> Servers with Oracle 9i/RAC on IBM hardware?

The investment will be much higher to leave the 3000, but that
still might be best long term for your company. HP and our
Plantinum Partners are trying hard to incent you to stay with
HP for the long term. We are offering large trade-ins, credits,
free training, etc. to ease a portion of the financial burden of
moving off of the 3000. Still, it will be costly and some will
choose to remain on the 3000, or to use an emulator and not change
their apps, their processes, not re-train their people, etc.

> 10. Will HP3000 emulation last 20 years?

My guess is yes, if there is sufficient demand. Of course
"sufficient demand" was part of the equation that led to CSY's
decision.

> 11. How much is anyone investing in the future of HP3000 emulation?

I believe some customers and companies are hoping strongly for
an emulator to succeed. They want an emulator to be their
silver bullet in case other plans fail or just take too long.
The recent Interex survey shows that 1/4 of the respondents have
no plans to leave the 3000, and of those, 47% believe that an
emulator is essential.

> 12. Will the license fee be forever [in perpetuity] or can HP ask
> for a $20,000 renewal in 2008?

From what I know (and this is not an official answer) we expect the
license to be in perpetuity, as it is today.

> 13. If the license fee is annual will there be caps?
>
> 14. The debates and arguments have been fun, but who is investing,
> marketing and selling the emulator concept?

Marketing, selling will be something the emulator companies do.
I don't think HP will co-market the emulator or really even
endorse it, as our foremost message is to transition off of the
3000 onto another HP platform. I also don't think HP will try
to harm it or the concept in anyway. I am hopeful that HP will
remain neutral.

> 15. The company I work for selected Dec Alpha servers a few years
> ago.  Should we convert Tru 64 to Linux and IBM at the same time
> as the HP3000's? You have permission to pass this one on.

There are several from HP that read this list so it is passed on.
Of course, we want you to remain an HP customer and we want to
earn your loyalty again.

> 16. Can we please get some warm fuzzies?

I don't think I have any... It is a tough job to migrate off
the 3000. It is also potentially risky to remain on the 3000.
If an emulator works, as I except it can, then you will have
the option of staying on current, cheap h/w while protecting
your s/w investment at the same time (of course, depending on
various licenses/conditions from the 3rd parties whose s/w
is on your 3000). But the emulator has risks too: will the
vendors stay in business, will they continue to support it,
will it work as advertized, are there better (non-MPE) apps
and tools out there that your company should start using, etc?

> I apologize if my lack of political correctness offended anyone.
> Everything I wrote in this e-mail is directly from my brain via
> my finger tips and may not be used, repeated, quoted or laughed
> at without my permission [and a right to use license] except on
> the OpenMpe forum.

I for one was not offended in the least.

Happy New Years!!

 Jeff Vance, "CSY"