[Info-vax] Don't worry, HP's project Moonshot will save us

[David Froble]

Neil Rieck wrote:
> Just saw this piece over on Ziff-Davis.
> 
> IBM's potential x86 server sale to Lenovo highlights oncoming train
> 
> http://www.zdnet.com/ibms-potential-x86-server-sale-to-lenovo-highlights-oncoming-train-7000014273/
> 
> Now I know that this thread deals with HP Moonshot (initially based upon Intel Atom but supposedly next-gen Moonshot will offer ARM) but this move by IBM "seems" to indicate they will will only manufacture systems based upon their own CPU rather than compete in the x86 marketplace. Perhaps lying low in a volatile market is their survival strategy. 
> 
> NSR

Well, I'm still selling my own version of kool-aid ....

People did WP on MicroVAX II systems because there were not any PCs ...

People did their browsing on desktops because there were not any 
notebooks ...

People are now using notbooks, tablets, and smart phones ...

In each case, people were using what was available because what was 
later developed and more suited to their usage wasn't at first 
available.  So, this erosion of the "old type" of devices was quite 
natural.  Inevitable.  It's going to happen.  Resistance is futile ...

But what this explosion of new users does is not replace past usage of 
computers, but adds to the total of users.  I think it's safe to say 
that everyone has use for phone.  But not everyone has use for a 
"mainframe", "mini", or "micro".

There are still people using, needing, and wanting VMS systems.  The 
ones that have gone away are those who really needed a PC, Notebook, 
tablet, or phone.  Yeah, there is the defection to Unix and stuff, but 
in the larger picture, all the "big iron" is in the same situation.

If a decent "system" still cost a quarter million or more, you'd see 
more attention to that market by the vendors.  The lowering cost of 
hardware has confused the vendors, which as most all businesses end up 
in the hands of beancounters who know nothing about computers, 
automobiles, aircraft, and just about anything else.  All they know how 
to do is count beans, and there are a lot more phones to count than 
mainframes.

The original market for "real" computing systems is still there, you 
just cant find it among all the "beans" ....

The real problem is that the vendors have lost it in their huge pile of 
beans ...