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March 2005
Election shows more interest in board for the advocacy group serving MPE’s future
Some might not believe a group dedicated to the HP 3000’s future would see more interest this year than last in its board of directors. But then OpenMPE has operated beyond belief for much of its three-year history. Eight candidates are competing for seats on the OpenMPE board, an election that drew only six candidates for a half-dozen open seats in 2004. Four seats are up for grabs this time; the group has never had a 2:1 ratio of candidates to open posts. Some candidates say they especially want to serve this year, the one when HP will finally decide the future of the MPE source code.
February 2005
HP ousts its CEO; customers ponder 3000's future
Many hope for a 3000 reprieve, but HP's board stays on course
After HP forced Carly Fiorina’s resignation, HP 3000 customers weighed in with emotional comments on how the CEO's departure might change things. Or might not, according to a majority of customers filling the Internet with messages.
January 2005
Another 3000 app provider extended its MPE lifespan
ERP vendor tells customers staying on 3000 will be supported
HP has been telling customers for the past year that their business plans will determine a migration schedule away from the HP 3000. Now it looks like the software vendors are following HP’s advice, too. A second application vendor has told its 3000 customers they can stay on their systems as long as they need to — and even released enhanced performance versions of the MPE/iX eRP software suite, formerly sold by eXegesys
December 2004
Emulator project rolls up its sleeves
Strobe commits engineering time to design HP 3000 replacement
The only thing missing for the HP 3000 afterlife is new hardware — and if a Pacific Northwest company succeeds on its mission, new 3000 systems won’t be missing for long. Strobe Data, a company with almost 20 years of experience building hardware emulators, has revealed that it has started design on an HP 3000 emulator.
November 2004
After 3 years, transitions go into play
Poll shows more than half will use 3000s in 2007 and beyond
The results from a 3000 NewsWire survey — after three years of worry, waiting and watching during the HP 3000 customers’ transition — show the majority of them will not switch off their systems by HP’s support deadline of 2006. Among those who are leaving, HP’s Unix is grappling with Windows as the dominant transition platform for those who know where they’ll go.
October 2004
OpenMPE moves into its ninth inning
Organization pursues first purchase orders for 2005 work
That’s the word from OpenMPE chairman Birket Foster on the future for OpenMPE, the volunteer group that seeks to maintain MPE/iX source code after HP leaves the 3000 market. Foster said the OpenMPE enhancement organization is taking the plate at the most crucial part of its contest to win support dollars from customers for MPE’s future. “All good baseball is mostly decided in the ninth inning,” Foster said. “There are some parallels with the OpenMPE world, where the game is down to the ninth inning, and the only thing that will move things forward is ‘fan support.’”
September 2004
Customers scour HP World for updates on HP 3000
Select MPE crowd hears migration news outpace homestead help
At the last Interex conference that could claim no competition from HP, customers with HP 3000 concerns found little competition for space in most meeting rooms. When they toured Exhibit Hall C of the McCormick Center in downtown Chicago, attendees found ample space in an HP World expo that was streamlined of many 3000 products and fellow-customers to inquire after them.
August 2004
Migration reports start to emerge
Vendors writing early business, based on early starts
More than two years after HP said it would wash the 3000 out of its hair, vendors are reporting a series of suds in the community, as migration successes surface. But this year’s cleanest washes come from customers with a clear path to similar software, or a wide array of tools.
July 2004
HP opens the door to 9000-to-3000 conversions
In select circumstances, will turn HP-UX systems into MPE boxes
Five years after it prosecuted hardware brokers for illegally changing used HP 9000 systems to HP 3000s, HP has agreed to do the same thing so it can create fresh servers that can boot up with MPE/iX instead of HP-UX.
April 2004
HP opens up its wallet to OpenMPE
The long-awaited, overdue communiqué from HP to the OpenMPE community has surfaced, with fiscal contributions being the most substantive aid offered to the homesteading community. HP’s virtual CSY division (vCSY) — the collection of former HP 3000 CSY division members now working on the 3000 and other HP enterprise products — has budgeted an investigation to learn how much the work will cost to license MPE/iX source code to an outside organization.
January 2004
OpenMPE director agitates for action
HP replies with a statement pledging its desire to work
An OpenMPE board member has
published a letter urging HP to “free MPE” or face a
boycott of its products by customers. HP issued a reply to that Ken
Sletten letter — a statement from HP’s 3000 business
manager Dave Wilde saying the vendor is still working on helping its
customers who must remain on the platform.
Sletten posted his 10-page letter on two Internet
mailing lists December 21, just as HP was closing its doors for a
holiday hiatus that extended through January 2 for many of its
executives. In an HP reply written
for the 3000 NewsWire, Wilde said he and others in HP remain
committed to working on post-2006 solutions for customers who must
use the 3000 and MPE/iX beyond HP’s support.
October 2003
HP’s sales of 3000 wind
down
Customers reach for new systems, but not at last-minute
or on HP’s advice
September 2003
The first 3000 hardware emulator could be sold as hard goods
February 2003
HP proposes new MPE licenses
for emulators
First draft of
HP’s offer to cost $500; company expects to issue licenses in
2004
September 2002
Homesteader's
hope emerges from HP's world
First
steps help customers to carry on 3000 tradition
HP rolls
out last HP 3000 hardware upgrade
8700-based systems boost performance at no extra
cost
July 2002
IBM
vies for 3000 customers
Customers consider reasons to adopt
iSeries
March 2002
OpenMPE Inc. wants you to line up on its Transition side
February 2002
OpenMPE fills board with 3000
veterans
Organization works on its non-profit status while HP studies
source code prospects
November 2001
HP
advises transition plan away from 3000
Recommendation includes five-year support guarantee, two
more years of sales
February 2001
HP rolls out
carpet of new 3000s
New N-Class
boxes offer 10X IO improvement
Software
licenses lose limits, gain Web power
Unlimited
MPE/iX licenses included in A-, N-Class servers