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I have been following this thread with much interest as a small 3k box (within
reach of my budget) would hold a great attraction to me personally. Quite apart
from the developer options (assuming that the compilers could be purchased and
supported cheaply enough), surely there could be other uses, namely as a mini
network server or even as a WWW server (based on all the good work I have been
reading from the truly adventurous technical pioneers). Forgive my naivet , but
I would have thought that the more uses touted for a "micro-mini" hp3k the more
possibility that HP might take the suggestion seriously.
 
 Is HP really committed to the mega-companies with mega-bucks to the exclusion
of the small users?
 
Personally, I am noticing a trend in the UK towards one-man contracting and
small consultancies  which has accelerated over the last few years. I don't
know if this is a common trend elsewhere. These one-man (or possible 2 or three
men or women) shows are beginning to collectively create a fair piece of the
computing resource. Unfortunately, when faced with preparing for the future,
the new contractor is more likely to equip himself/herself with tools like
VC++, Visual Basic etc because of the low cost of the software and the
(Intel?)hardware and the obvious need for these skills in the marketplace. It
is a shame that there isn't an hp3k option available also.
 
Just my $0.02.
 
Cheers,
John Dunlop ([log in to unmask])