by I just attended the first of the new HP seminars on their HP PA-RISC
developer program. This seemed like a very worthwhile event to attend.
I learned that independent software vendors porting their Unix applications
to HP get 52% discounts on certain HP model workstations. HP has their own
qualification centers in some of their buildings, like the one in Chelmsford,
Mass., where ISVs can test out their software on the full product range from
the low end to the high end. (HP is also going to have similar discounts
soon on their 800 file server product line.)
The Common Open Software Environment, which includes HP, IBM, SCO,
USL and SunSoft, was discussed in depth by a number of speakers,
including the IDC representative who spoke on the growing Unix market
in general.
I was particularly interested in the HP commitment to quality slide,
where their average product failure rates dropped dramatically from their
1981 level to almost nothing in 1991, through their TQM work.
It was mentioned that an important advantage of the HP RISC architecture
is that it has been on the market since 1986, allowing a lot of fine
tuning. Another advantage was indicated to be that they have built in
graphics, as opposed to having a separate graphics engine. They indicate
that, as a result, their X graphics performance is "second to none."
Other vendors using the HP RISC technology include Convex, Hitachi, and
Samsung.
HP can also hook up their 735 workstations in computational clusters.
Their systems at the low end run from 5-10 users up to 4,500 users at the
high end.
This seminar, which includes a very good lunch, would seem worthwhile
attending. I don't have the details of which cities they will be
visiting, but you could call their seminar hotline at 508-436-5569 to find
out. Sharon Hubbard at HP Chelmsford ran the seminar and seemed to be
a very effective speaker. She indicated that this ISV porting program is
not yet fully operational at HP Europe and HP Americas, although she said
similar programs should be in effect there shortly.