Re: HP 3000 S/36 mode

[Chris Rehm <javadisciple@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Richard B Baird wrote:

>moved to non-tech
>
Good idea.

>
>
>Chris,
>
>My memory is thin on the subject, but I recall that it was a "less than
>seamless" conversion.
>
>They told us that they had TONS of customers but few off-the-shelf
>applications.  We were promised "if you build it, they will come".  Don't
>know if that was true or not - like I said, only played around with it,
>then paying jobs replaced the playing jobs :) The hp3k sat idle for about 6
>months before they came by to take it back.
>
It seems like HP thought there was some pent up demand to buy their
products and escape IBM. I'm sure the original concept was just to make
it possible to switch, but the behavior that you and I experienced seems
as though there was some belief at HP that zillions of IBM customers
were just begging to abandon IBM.

The big hole in this with my customers was that they were mostly small
shops that didn't even employ any full time MIS people. They loved the
S/36 because they never had to know anything about it, it just ran and ran.

A small telemarketing firm contracted me once for a little update and I
remember telling the office manager (who was the person who had
contracted me) that I needed a security officer sign on to do what I
needed to do. "What's a security officer?" It turned out she was a SO,
but she had no idea. I don't know how these guys would have ever
converted to another system.

>Rick
>
--
Chris Rehm
javadisciple@earthlink.net

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart...
...Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other
commandment greater than these. Mark 12:30-31