Unwilling to settle for an answer of "no," HP 3000 solution suppliers and software developers again rattled HP's cage on the question of a development-sized HP 3000. HP remains cool to the requests, but the HP 3000 division (CSY) is looking at ways to drive down the cost of a developer's station for MPE/iX.
It's not the first time users have asked HP to offer such a 3000, but this time the request arrived from a different source. AICS Research president Wirt Atmar, whose company started the World's Largest Poster Project last summer to promote the HP 3000 at HP World, launched the latest effort with an offer: a $450 price on his application for a developer-sized 3000.
"I am pleased to announce a new price tier for QueryCalc for a 1-2 user, "908" system -- should HP ever truly release one," Atmar said in a posting to the Internet. He explained that he was discounting his product from $12,500 for the unreleased HP 3000 to establish the 3000 as an alternative to PC solutions..
"Why do this? Because it is very good for us," he said. "But it's also good for the developer community, their customers, and ultimately for us all. There's no reason why the HP 3000 can't be the world's best, most robust and most useful PC."
"This "908" price is simply a $12,050 discount to encourage the development, use and excitement concerning the HP 3000 among the user community -- and to encourage HP to seriously consider retailing such a device," Atmar added.
Response to the offer came quickly from another source of HP 3000 advocacy, Alfredo Rego of Adager. Rego gave notice that "blatantly copying somebody else's idea is the highest form of compliment," then proceeded to offer an identical price on the top end Adager model for a 2-user license on a Series 908. Rego then gave HP notice of his own purchase order for five of the 908 systems.
"I'm afraid we'll still have to go through the rather-long-and-complex HP process, but that's okay," Rego said in an Internet posting. "Naturally, I also present an official Adager purchase order to AICS for five copies of QueryCalc. I look forward to the delivery, ASAP, of our new HP 3000 908 computers."
HP 3000 Product Planning Manager Dave Snow said CSY has no plans for a product priced lower than a Series 918, despite the use of a "908" name in some HP documentation over the past four years.
"Our intent was to scrub all the documentation," Snow said. "There's one or two documents where that term got out. That's led to endless speculation that there might have been a 908." HP's discussions on a 908 date back four years, he added.
Snow said HP is discussing the possibility of reducing the price of the Series 918 though "natural cost reduction that occurs through time." CSY appears to understand that lowering costs for developers is important -- but it's still unwilling to introduce a new 3000 at a lower price point without more significant demand.
"Anything that would lower the price of the platform, and therefore make it more affordable for the small developer, certainly ought to be considered," Snow said. "That's what has driven our consideration of a lower user license" for the 918, a 4-user configuration HP first mentioned at the March IRPOF conference.
Even though the pricing of the requested system remained a mystery, other developers and customers chimed in with their orders for a 908. Duane Percox, developer of the QWEBS Web Server from Quintessential School Systems, said "I have the check written for my 908. It just needs to be signed. After receipt, of course." Percox also extended his company's $495 price for QWEBS to the new server by saying that any current QWEBS customer could install the software on a 908 for $50.
A better PC?
Another group of customers saw potential for a small HP 3000 to
replace some
PC-based applications. But there was some doubt from HICOMP's Denys
Beauchemin that
a 1-2 user HP 3000 could take on traditional personal computing tasks.
"MPE is not meant to be a PC operating system, nor could it even hold a candle to Windows or MacOS when it comes to doing personal computing tasks," Beauchemin said. "I just do not see running a flight simulator or MS Office on MPE. By the same token, I do not see how a PC or Windows NT is able to do MPE tasks, such as heads down, hard-core OLTP."
As online orders for a 908 totalled about a dozen, HP 3000 list curator Jeff Kell at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga said offering existing 918 hardware at a "908" price was good business for HP, but engineering a new system would require more interest.
"I don't believe that a dozen orders will lead to a workstation or PC-like implementation," he added. "That would require real engineering effort." On the other hand, he said, "The 'developer's package' 908 is purely a marketing/management issue."
Larry Boyd, a CSY Solution Team leader, pointed out that marketing manager Cathy Fitzgerald told developers at the latest SIGSOFTVEND meeting that pricing on an HP 3000 was a barrier she could help them overcome.
HP response to prior requests has always noted the lack of a market for such a small system. But Stan Sieler, a developer whose company offered a copy of its SPLASH! compiler for $450 on a 908, said putting a low-cost system on the price list would help attract applications. Asking Fitzgerald for help on getting a 3000 isn't enough to spark development, he said.
"The 'Ask Cathy' solution isn't in the price list -- and that's where a low-cost, single-user 3000 solution must be if we want to attract new development," Sieler said.
Some customers said that value to HP in offering a developer-sixed 3000. Steve Dirickson, owner of WestWin Consulting, noted the smaller HP 3000 really isn't a profit item for HP. "HP wouldn't be "selling" this box," he said, "they'd be making a zero-cost, near-zero-profit investment in the future of the HP 3000."
Customer needs for a smaller HP 3000 system were in some evidence. Richard Gambrell, Associate Director of Xavier University's Information Technology Center, said his four-terminal cashier's application would be a good fit for a small system.
"A 908 with a one-board DTC would be just right," Gambrell said. "Without a small enough HP 3000, we'd have to do this with PC systems feeding our 967, but they must be able to operate stand alone to take care of planned downtime and loss of data communications to the site housing the cashiers."
Mark Klein, the VP of Technology for ORBiT Group International who ported the G++ compiler to the HP 3000, summed up the attraction of the 908 to the non developer. "What if this machine could compete with and replace larger PC configurations?" he asked. "The higher availability that automatically comes with the 3000 -- and what would amount to lower operating costs than a comparable PC based solution -- could make this a real winner."