John Clogg wrote:

> I think the real reason new technologies appear on HP9000's far in
> advance of 3000's is competition.

true!

> Since you can buy a Unix box from
> any of several vendors, and the (substantially incorrect) belief is that
> Unix is the same on all platforms, the various vendors differentiate
> themselves on the basis of price/performance and the latest technological
> goodies.

bingo.

> No vendor can afford to be too far off the leading edge in terms
> of technology.

true again -- but i wouldn't limit that statement to just the unix world....

>  The HP3000, on the other hand, is sold on the basis of its
> OS, and its reliability, ease of use, etc.

yeah -- and we're also having a heck (:-) of a time shedding our stodgy,
out-of-date image too.

> An MPE customer isn't going to
> jump ship to get the latest gadget from another vendor, because the cost
> and lead time of converting to another OS is prohibitive.

i'll respectfully disagree.  i'm witnessing it right now!

> HP can take a
> more leisurely pace, they believe, without losing business to other
> vendors.

well, let's hope that's what they used to believe...

> Still, to the extent that HP
> regards the 3000 product line as less urgent, I believe they lose sight of
> the impact of those decisions on potential customers' perception of HP's
> commitment to the platform.

amen, well said!              - d

--
Donna Garverick     Sr. System Programmer
925-210-6631        [log in to unmask]

>>>MY opinions, not Longs Drug Stores'<<<