Let me put this in the perspective of a "startup company" (namely,
mine)...

1.  Startup costs are high enough...and like others, I bought mine through
a third party who was willing to work with me on this (thanks Robert :-)

2.  Add to that, the obligatory PCs needed - at least four in my case - 1
running WFWG, 1 running Win95 for development and testing, 1 Win95 or NTWS
to run the darn business (you think I keep QuickBooks on my crash-n-burn
PC? <g>), and 1 Server (NT or NetWare, who cares, you need to test against
servers too)...That's a chunk of change right there!

3.  The PC software (MS Office or equivilent - you NEED the suite),
connectivity software for the internet (to talk on this list at the very
least), Accounting and Customer Management (I highly recommend QuickBooks
- an "accounting idiot like me can handle it! :-), etc, etc, etc, etc,
etc...

4. HP Software - compilers, a DECENT code editor, and yes, some goodies
like network and system monitoring (ie: GlancePlus at the very least) to
test your apps for efficiency...

5.  Network Gear - At a minimum, at least one hub, wiring and some BNC
stuff since the 3000 can't take 10Base-T yet..

6.  Oh yeah, and don't forget the overhead costs of running a business,
even a small one.  Does anyone think we get breaks from townships,
counties, the state or the federal government?  Business Licenses,
Incorporation costs, Taxes, Legal Costs...they all add up...

This dosen't even include the dedicated Internet Link one would need to
make these BIG downloads from the net --- and rely on 33.6 (yielding 26.0)
PPP connections....That's a one-time four-figure hit and a four-figure hit
per month, depending on bandwidth and type of connection...

I could go on --- but the crux of the matter is this...to add HP hardware
and software support to these machines is totally cost prohibitive...for
me at least, and I'm sure others as well.  I can get the hardware from a
third party and replace the components myself... And software support -
still cost prohibitive for what I *need* (forget the goodies), so I have
to do without - and yes, it hurts.

If HP wants developers to start (or continue) to develop for the 3000,
it's going to be a select group of "big guys" and a majority of us, the
small businesses who rally behind "our box".  To make this happen, an
alliance needs to be made between HP and the small business which
struggles to start up and be successful.  I can truly say that there are
Channel Partners out there that help us out (note the ad on the back cover
of this month's 3000NewsWire (thanks again Alfredo :-).  We're not asking
for a handout, but for at least some kind of break to get us going.
Believe me --- as small businesses start to take off (look at Adager and
Robelle --- started as home-based or small operations), they (and I) will
need to get larger boxes and would be in a better financial position to
take on hardware and/or software support.

I was lucky --- I was able to do the above and a new internet link is
being installed on or about June 6, because I deal with internet-enabled
apps... (and my new Tier-1 ISP has GREAT pricing)...but these are the
necessities.  If I have a software or hardware problem, I rely on HP3000-L
if I need it and yes, someday I will pick up software (and possibly)
hardware support when I get new boxes (forget it on these boxes - and pay
that back support????  Another thorn - but I understand the concept) - but
for now, it has to go by the wayside.  If HP could come out with a
developers machine, with a four-user license, and bundled the software
needed with a menu-oriented support mechanism (per call, 5-call pack,
10-call pack, etc) that was reasonably priced (since most of us are well
seasoned in such matters, and HP3000-L *is* available for the mundane
questions) - I'd <ahem, here we go> issue a PO for one <Art Bahr style
'hehehe'>.

Does this make sense?

PS:  One last thing to add - IBM does it, DEC does it, Tandem does it -
I'm surprised that there hasn't been at least a "me too" from HP...

OK, 'nuf said...

Joe