X-no-Archive:yes
I have to assume that if I really understood these issues, I should be
running my own company. And since I'm not running my own company... clearly,
I don't think so much of my own grasp of the industry, at least not at that
level.

So, if these leaders are sure that the merger is a bad idea, I'm probably
missing something. At least, I have to assume that, too. But it seems to me
that if the merger happens, and the new entity does not fundamentally
stumble with their product lines, then shouldn't price go up? Don't fewer
vendors pressure price upward?

As for what the product lines look like, I can only guess. As I understand
it, hp farms out almost everything, while Compaq does almost everything for
themselves. So I don't quite know how you marry those two extremes, unless
hp farms everything out to the new hp nee Compaq. And while not every
product in the PC product line has been the leader in its niche (and some
have been stinkers), don't both companies have good reputations for putting
out some good products? Perhaps this has all the enthusiasm of young romance
or early marriage, but thinking optimistically, the combined company's best
of breed could really be something.

But as Duane wrote,
> Its about servers.

Both companies make servers, and there is a push to take W2K servers higher
up into the data center. I understand that MS uses Compaq servers. That
should be taken as high praise. Assuming MS continues to use this product
line under the hp name, that's certainly good news for hp. And companies
which have a corporate policy of buying either brand are probably going to
try to continue, right?

So, what am I missing? Why would this merger be so bad for hp and Compaq?

Greg Stigers
http://www.cgiusa.com

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