[Info-vax] Message from HP.

[David Froble]

JF Mezei wrote:

> It is pretty clear to me that NSK customers have told HP in no uncertain
> terms that they will not allow HP to kill off NSK.

I find this humorous.

Just what can customers do to force HP, or anyone else, to do anything?

Now, what entities who need a particular capability can do is to create 
/ purchase / support it themselves.  Perhaps some of the NSK customers 
might make such a decision.  Perhaps not.

Look at entities such as Google assembling their own hardware.

A VAX 11/780 was I believe 4 large boards just for the CPU, and then a 
bunch of other boards.  Lots of manufacturing involved.

Current x86 processors are commodities.

Current motherboards are commodities.

Current graphics are commodities.

Current disk drives are commodities.

Get the idea?

What's important these days is software.  With enough will and effort, 
just about any software can be written.

The days of HW vendors writing operating system software to support 
their HW sales is pretty much in the past.

AMD sunk the itanic ...

Alpha never had a chance ...

If IBM knew then what it knows now, it never would have gotten in bed 
with MS and Intel.  Where would either of them be without the IBM PC? 
No where.

The explosive use of the PCs gave Intel the volume to wipe out just 
about every other CPU.

Now, if we're going to dream ....

What if IBM had made a deal with DEC to use the C-VAX chip and VMS for 
their offering?  Could have been done.  Not with DEC's business model. 
("who would want a computer in their home?")  If DEC would have been 
able to produce the C-VAX and follow ons in sufficient volume, it could 
have been cheap and successful.

"Windows", stolen from Xerox by Apple and MS.  Could have been different.

Ok, now wake up, and embrace reality.