Destruction of DEC

That appears to be what is happening at HP. They did something even stupider when they bought up Apollo in the mid-'80's and learned quite quickly that CAE was not a realm they should be attempting to capture. It is a really attractive field because of the numbers, but once one learns about the profit margin, one backs off, as they did within a year. That left a number of companies high and dry, since HP, and they, realized that HP couldn't support the products they'd sold, no matter how much money they threw at it. The PC business is one where DEC didn't fit, and where HP doesn't fit either. HP's already learned they can't compete with SUN, so they're probably headed for a big fall here. Of course that "queen-bee" that ramrodded this acquisition by the board and perhaps by the stockholders as well, has her sights set on unseating IBM, and while IBM's not the great power it once was, mainly because a huge company can't compete over the long term in this market, IBM's gotten some valuable experience over the couple of decades they've been in the business, that HP hasn't got yet. I don't think Compaq has much to contribute to the mix, having endeavored, successfully, to outlive their market. They'll probably take HP down with them. Dick ----- Original Message ----- From: <jeff.kaneko(a)juno.com> To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2002 5:06 PM Subject: Re: Destruction of DEC