vic@zen.UUCP (Victor Gavin) (11/27/88)
In article <2703@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu> richard@uhccux.UUCP (Richard Foulk) writes: >} Doesn't anybody write document preperation systems for Hewlett-Packard >} bit-mapped displays? >} >HP makes reasonable equipment. But it's not usually very innovative. >And it's often over-priced. So it isn't usually as popular as some >of its competitors. All my experience with HP shows them to be very innovative, reliable and extremely helpful. And this is in the UK :-> >At this point HP has to play catch up. So even if they seem competitive >now their reputation gets in their way. I would even say that they've ``caught up''. When was the last time that you had a look at the workstation market. HP has a massive presence. They vie with Sun (having beaten Apollo and DEC) for the top share. With the advent of X-windows which everyone and their dog is supplying, doesn't it make sense to write workstation applications using X. Then to port the software (in an ideal world) all you have to do is change the system specific information (ie is it a BSD or SYSV box). vic -- Victor Gavin Zengrange Limited vic@zen.co.uk Greenfield Road ..!mcvax!ukc!zen.co.uk!vic Leeds LS9 8DB +44 532 489048 England
burzio@mmlai.UUCP (Anthony Burzio) (11/28/88)
In article <1431@zen.UUCP>, vic@zen.UUCP (Victor Gavin) writes: > I would even say that they've ``caught up''. When was the last time that you > had a look at the workstation market. HP has a massive presence. They vie with > Sun (having beaten Apollo and DEC) for the top share. Somebody at HP should wander down and shoot the marketing division. The HP products are absolutely wonderful compared to DEC and SUN stuff, but you have to go to SIGGFRAPH to find out about them! Come on folks! When is the last time you saw an add for an HP computer in the press? This game is at least 40% image, and HP never even found the ball, let alone dropped it! The wonderful HP Sales Reps can only do so much you know. HP should look at DEC, who sells equipment on reputation (PR) alone!!! **************************************************************************** Tony Burzio * HP is a wonderful company which is not really as Martin Marietta Labs * bad as its' marketing would have it be... ****************************************************************************
irf@kuling.UUCP (Bo Thide) (11/28/88)
In article <1431@zen.UUCP> vic@zen.UUCP (Victor Gavin) writes: >In article <2703@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu> richard@uhccux.UUCP (Richard Foulk) writes: >>} Doesn't anybody write document preperation systems for Hewlett-Packard >>} bit-mapped displays? >>} >>HP makes reasonable equipment. But it's not usually very innovative. >>And it's often over-priced. So it isn't usually as popular as some >>of its competitors. In Sweden the cost of ownership is definitely less than any other workstation. Extremely low service contract costs is interesting not only for people with little money but also for those with little technical know-how. The HPs just don't break. > >All my experience with HP shows them to be very innovative, reliable and >extremely helpful. And this is in the UK :-> Yes, I agree. And strongly so. Ever heard of a thing called a laser printer? Think of a company who invented such a neat little gadget and has sold 1 000 000 (one million) of them. Same with a color ink jet printer with laser printer resolution for under $ 1000. Compare SPARC and HP-PA and then tell me who is most innovative in computer architecture. On the software side: Do you know that there are at least 3 billion people in the world who use another language than English as their mother tongue? Do you also know that most of these languages has a different and larger alphabet than English? That's why standard 7 bit ASCII is usefless for all these people. HP realized this at an early stage and has created the Native Language Support (NLS) which is now part of the X/Open standard. NLS is a blessing for the UNIX mankind. People do other things than writing games on their computers. For instance, many of us hook up instruments to them. Real time UNIX capabilities is what you need. Kernel preemption is the trick. Who came up with that innovative idea? Sun? Apollo? (Guess who!) > >>At this point HP has to play catch up. So even if they seem competitive >>now their reputation gets in their way. > >I would even say that they've ``caught up''. When was the last time that you >had a look at the workstation market. HP has a massive presence. They vie with >Sun (having beaten Apollo and DEC) for the top share. > >With the advent of X-windows which everyone and their dog is supplying, doesn't >it make sense to write workstation applications using X. > >Then to port the software (in an ideal world) all you have to do is change the >system specific information (ie is it a BSD or SYSV box). > > vic I just got an e-mail message from ArborText saying they will finish their X port of 'The Publisher', by summer 1989. HP9000 will be target machines. Finally, they seem to listen to market demands. --Bo ^ Bo Thide'-------------------------------------------------------------- | | Swedish Institute of Space Physics, S-755 91 Uppsala, Sweden |I| [In Swedish: Institutet f|r RymdFysik, Uppsalaavdelningen (IRFU)] |R| Phone: (+46) 18-403000. Telex: 76036 (IRFUPP S). Fax: (+46) 18-403100 /|F|\ INTERNET: bt@irfu.se UUCP: ...!enea!kuling!irfu!bt IP: 192.36.174.1 ~~U~~ -----------------------------------------------------------------sm5dfw
awm@gould.doc.ic.ac.uk (Aled Morris) (11/29/88)
HP have a marketing presence in the UK, there is often a full page
colour advert in the trade papers (Computing, Computer Weekly, etc.) and
often in the newspapers too (at least in the Grauniad).
I wasn't at all impressed with their stand at the UK Unix exhibition last
summer (Alexandra Palace, I think). Although they had a number of the
9000/3?? machines on demo, there was no-one at the show who knew anything
about hp-ux (h-pux as someone once said). The guy who I talked to said
that they had just been at a CAD/CAM exhibition, where no-one had asked
them about Unix, so they didn't expect much hassle at the Unix show!
Aled Morris
systems programmer
mail: awm@doc.ic.ac.uk | Department of Computing
uucp: ..!ukc!icdoc!awm | Imperial College
talk: 01-589-5111x5085 | 180 Queens Gate, London SW7 2BZvic@zen.UUCP (Victor Gavin) (12/01/88)
In article <AWM.88Nov29144618@gould.doc.ic.ac.uk> awm@gould.doc.ic.ac.uk (Aled Morris) writes: >HP have a marketing presence in the UK, there is often a full page >colour advert in the trade papers (Computing, Computer Weekly, etc.) and >often in the newspapers too (at least in the Grauniad). Yes but this is seldom anything to do with their workstations. Most of the adverts I see are for HP printers/plotters/instruments. When was the last time that you saw an ad. saying how wonderful Precision Architecture was? > there was no-one at the show who knew anything >about hp-ux (h-pux as someone once said). The guy who I talked to said >that they had just been at a CAD/CAM exhibition, where no-one had asked >them about Unix, so they didn't expect much hassle at the Unix show! Typical. HP just haven't a clue. The perfect opportunity to show off and they blow it! >Aled Morris vic
jrich@devnet4.hac.com (john richardson) (12/07/88)
In article <1431@zen.UUCP> vic@zen.UUCP (Victor Gavin) writes: > >With the advent of X-windows which everyone and their dog is supplying, doesn't >it make sense to write workstation applications using X. > >Then to port the software (in an ideal world) all you have to do is change the >system specific information (ie is it a BSD or SYSV box). > In an ideal world, you might need do nothing! John Richardson jrich@devnet4.hac.com Hughes Aircraft Company, Fullerton, Ca. (714) 732-5588 Subject to the usual disclaimers as well as all failings normally associated with the efforts of man.