[Info-vax] HP wins Oracle Itanium case

[Richard B. Gilbert]

On 8/21/2012 1:44 PM, David Froble wrote:
> Bob Koehler wrote:
>> In article <k0u9du$bko$1 at dont-email.me>, David Froble
>> <davef at tsoft-inc.com> writes:
>>> If DEC had positioned VMS to perform all these jobs, and I'm talking
>>> 1990 or perhaps even before, including proper marketing and pricing,
>>> would it (VMS) have been feasible, or are you saying VMS could not do
>>> the job?
>>
>>    Too late.  VAXen were way behind in performance, people left, and did
>>    not come back.  DEC still thought they were selling hardware.
>>
>
> I don't buy that.  There are many jobs that don't require bleeding edge
> performance.  There are some jobs that highly value reliability.
>
> VAX died because DEC stuck a knife in it, even as the low end systems
> were still selling well.
>
> People left because DEC quit responding to customer needs.

Don't you think that the Alpha processor had something to do with the
decline of the VAX?  I couldn't help noticing the great speed speed of 
the Alpha.

I know that my then employer jumped on the Alpha bandwagon.  We were 
well aware that we needed greater speed than the VAX could deliver.
We purchased a pair of Alpha 4100 processors and found the speed we 
needed and some to spare!  We had to buy more RAM than the VAXen needed
but the Alphas got job done and done FAST!

The switchover worked and solved our performance problems.  For the 
first time in a long time we had more speed than we really needed.