[Info-vax] rx2800i2 sales/support window changes

[johnson.eric at gmail.com]

On Wednesday, February 12, 2014 5:40:06 PM UTC-5, Shael Richmond wrote:

>  He was pretty sure the end of sales date would be moved from 2015 to 2020, but he needed
> to confirm that.  We also asked for that in writing as well.
>  
> This makes a big difference for us - we have a lot of sites running rx2660's

Returning to your original question, I think there are a few things to keep in mind.

Intel has already declared May 23rd to be the last order date for tukwila. The details are here.

http://www.cpu-world.com//news_2013/2013110601_Intel_Itanium_9300_and_Cedar_View_Atom_CPUs_discontinuedhtml

To be fair, a large purchase could be made, and then those chips could be delivered in batches
until well into 2016 so clearly there is wiggle room for how HP implements its last i2 sale date.
So it's less of a crisis when you look at it through that lens. But still, it's clearly another step
towards the grave.

Even leaving that aside, let me play some snarky word games here.

What really is the meaning of the word new? Let's say HP sticks to its guns and refuses to sell you
"new" boxes after Dec 31, 2015, but continues to sell boxes that are "like new" through its HP Renew
program, would that be good enough? You would understandably worry about part failure, but HP
tells you they have that covered and they show you a picture of a warehouse full of parts - is that
good enough? Isn't that all you really care about at this point?

How about - if HP sells you an i2 where everything is brand new BUT the CPUs? Does that count
as new? So it's new RAM, new power supply, and a motherboard that's been through a 50 point
inspection process - how about that? Is that new enough?

It's not like a car where there's an odometer and you can tell that it's been used. Apart from
plastic that yellows and some banged up casing, I think it would be hard to tell what's used.
And I'm not suggesting that HP will lie, but clearly there's wiggle room here over the exact
meaning of the word new. When a "new" sits on the lot for 2 years and is never driven, is it 
still new? Yes, but still... kind of not the same, is it?

I'm not saying - just accept the Dec 31, 2015 date. If you don't like it, and you pay good money,
then by all means, push back and turn that rumor into reality. But at the same time, accept the
fact that the date can move because you can play games with what the word "new" means. And
if you need to hear a different meaning of the word, they'll give it to you. But don't expect the 
underlying facts to meaningfully change.

EJ