21 Nov
1999
21 Nov
'99
4:57 a.m.
On Sun, 21 Nov 1999, Mark Green wrote:
> >
> > I think anyone who has been hooked by HP gear would say the same thing.
> > Even before anything with the HP logo on it could grab my undivided
> > attention, I was always amazed at the kind of ingenuity and engineering
> > brilliance that went into the physical design of the systems.
>
> Yep... HP stuff _used_ to be very well engineered, both electronically
> and mechanically. The 9100 is a total work of art, for example :-). I
> love working on such machines.
>
> Just a pity that modern HP stuff is nowhere near as good, and that their
> support at the moment is a total joke.
Actually, I must be a rare exception to the rule. We use a gaggle of HP
Vectra PII machines at work, and they are fantastic. We use two in
mission-critical roles, a file server and a fax server, both running NT,
that continuously boast uptimes of months before they're taken down for
regular maintenance. And the snap-lock type cases are fantastic to work on
too, since you don't even have to disconnect them from the peripherals to
do routine maintenance like HD replacements or ram upgrades.
As far as service, we use a dozen or so Omnibooks in the organization and
have had nothing but excellent support and service for them. Since the
only HP mini stuff I use is my *ancient* collection, I can't vouch for
enterprise/workstation support...but the laptop/desktop PC support has
been outstanding.
That all said, nothing I've come across today comes close to displaying
the kind of inventiveness and imagination that the older systems have...
Aaron