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March 2005

OpenMPE boosts its slate of candidates for 2005

Election shows more interest in board for the advocacy group serving MPE’s future

Some might not believe a group dedicated to the HP 3000’s future would see more interest this year than last in its board of directors. But then OpenMPE has operated beyond belief for much of its three-year history. Eight candidates are competing for seats on the OpenMPE board, an election that drew only six candidates for a half-dozen open seats in 2004. Four seats are up for grabs this time; the group has never had a 2:1 ratio of candidates to open posts. Some candidates say they especially want to serve this year, the one when HP will finally decide the future of the MPE source code.

February 2005

HP ousts its CEO; customers ponder 3000's future

Many hope for a 3000 reprieve, but HP's board stays on course

After HP forced Carly Fiorina’s resignation, HP 3000 customers weighed in with emotional comments on how the CEO's departure might change things. Or might not, according to a majority of customers filling the Internet with messages.

January 2005

Another 3000 app provider extended its MPE lifespan

ERP vendor tells customers staying on 3000 will be supported

HP has been telling customers for the past year that their business plans will determine a migration schedule away from the HP 3000. Now it looks like the software vendors are following HP’s advice, too. A second application vendor has told its 3000 customers they can stay on their systems as long as they need to — and even released enhanced performance versions of the MPE/iX eRP software suite, formerly sold by eXegesys

December 2004

Emulator project rolls up its sleeves

Strobe commits engineering time to design HP 3000 replacement

The only thing missing for the HP 3000 afterlife is new hardware — and if a Pacific Northwest company succeeds on its mission, new 3000 systems won’t be missing for long. Strobe Data, a company with almost 20 years of experience building hardware emulators, has revealed that it has started design on an HP 3000 emulator.

November 2004

After 3 years, transitions go into play

Poll shows more than half will use 3000s in 2007 and beyond

The results from a 3000 NewsWire survey — after three years of worry, waiting and watching during the HP 3000 customers’ transition — show the majority of them will not switch off their systems by HP’s support deadline of 2006. Among those who are leaving, HP’s Unix is grappling with Windows as the dominant transition platform for those who know where they’ll go.

October 2004

OpenMPE moves into its ninth inning

Organization pursues first purchase orders for 2005 work

That’s the word from OpenMPE chairman Birket Foster on the future for OpenMPE, the volunteer group that seeks to maintain MPE/iX source code after HP leaves the 3000 market. Foster said the OpenMPE enhancement organization is taking the plate at the most crucial part of its contest to win support dollars from customers for MPE’s future. “All good baseball is mostly decided in the ninth inning,” Foster said. “There are some parallels with the OpenMPE world, where the game is down to the ninth inning, and the only thing that will move things forward is ‘fan support.’”

September 2004

Customers scour HP World for updates on HP 3000

Select MPE crowd hears migration news outpace homestead help

At the last Interex conference that could claim no competition from HP, customers with HP 3000 concerns found little competition for space in most meeting rooms. When they toured Exhibit Hall C of the McCormick Center in downtown Chicago, attendees found ample space in an HP World expo that was streamlined of many 3000 products and fellow-customers to inquire after them.

August 2004

Migration reports start to emerge

Vendors writing early business, based on early starts

More than two years after HP said it would wash the 3000 out of its hair, vendors are reporting a series of suds in the community, as migration successes surface. But this year’s cleanest washes come from customers with a clear path to similar software, or a wide array of tools.

July 2004

HP opens the door to 9000-to-3000 conversions

In select circumstances, will turn HP-UX systems into MPE boxes

Five years after it prosecuted hardware brokers for illegally changing used HP 9000 systems to HP 3000s, HP has agreed to do the same thing so it can create fresh servers that can boot up with MPE/iX instead of HP-UX.

April 2004

HP opens up its wallet to OpenMPE

The long-awaited, overdue communiqué from HP to the OpenMPE community has surfaced, with fiscal contributions being the most substantive aid offered to the homesteading community. HP’s virtual CSY division (vCSY) — the collection of former HP 3000 CSY division members now working on the 3000 and other HP enterprise products — has budgeted an investigation to learn how much the work will cost to license MPE/iX source code to an outside organization.

January 2004

OpenMPE director agitates for action

HP replies with a statement pledging its desire to work

An OpenMPE board member has published a letter urging HP to “free MPE” or face a boycott of its products by customers. HP issued a reply to that Ken Sletten letter — a statement from HP’s 3000 business manager Dave Wilde saying the vendor is still working on helping its customers who must remain on the platform.

Sletten posted his 10-page letter on two Internet mailing lists December 21, just as HP was closing its doors for a holiday hiatus that extended through January 2 for many of its executives. In an HP reply written for the 3000 NewsWire, Wilde said he and others in HP remain committed to working on post-2006 solutions for customers who must use the 3000 and MPE/iX beyond HP’s support.

October 2003

HP’s sales of 3000 wind down
Customers reach for new systems, but not at last-minute or on HP’s advice

September 2003

The first 3000 hardware emulator could be sold as hard goods

February 2003

HP proposes new MPE licenses for emulators
First draft of HP’s offer to cost $500; company expects to issue licenses in 2004

September 2002

Homesteader's hope emerges from HP's world
First steps help customers to carry on 3000 tradition

HP rolls out last HP 3000 hardware upgrade
8700-based systems boost performance at no extra cost

July 2002

IBM vies for 3000 customers
Customers consider reasons to adopt iSeries

March 2002

OpenMPE Inc. wants you to line up on its Transition side

February 2002

OpenMPE fills board with 3000 veterans
Organization works on its non-profit status while HP studies source code prospects

November 2001

HP advises transition plan away from 3000
Recommendation includes five-year support guarantee, two more years of sales

February 2001

HP rolls out carpet of new 3000s
New N-Class boxes offer 10X IO improvement

Software licenses lose limits, gain Web power
Unlimited MPE/iX licenses included in A-, N-Class servers