Despite an earthquake north of San Francisco at the close of the first day of the HP World show, the HP 3000's foundations remained intact -- plenty of customer contact on the show floor in an HP booth jammed with solutions. And some surprises, too: HP made sure an iMac had a presence in its booth, to demonstrate the cross-platform power of Java/iX applications running from an HP 3000. Despite comments you may have read in the past year, it would appear HP doesn't think that using Macintoshes with HP 3000s isn't "a mistake that will only grow worse with time."

Rumors of 3000 Java GUI jumpstart abound

Loose talk on the conference floor tipped us off to an upcoming announcement about using Java as a built-in graphical user interface for HP 3000s. Even though there are third-party contenders for the crown of GUI functionality on 3000s, HP is said to want to provide products to allow development of state-of-the-art--art user interfaces for use with HP 3000 applications. Based on Java Foundation Classes technology, HP wants to ensure the pieces are in place to ease the 3000's move into e-services. HP also wants to help its large installed base of VPlus users give their applications a facelift -- functionality that's clearly already on the market, but not included in the fundamental operating system.

The goods on the news will get delivered today in Harry Sterling's 2PM PST speech, a talk that will feature the HP 3000 as described by dance. Sterling said at the last HP 3000 Customer Advisory Council meeting, HP asked 3000 customers "If the 3000 was a dance, which one would it be?" The answers form the theme for today's talk, "The HP 3000: Always in Style." Look for Sterling to be styling in some unique garb, too.

Livermore, Fiorina set new agenda in keynotes

After a full day on the HP World conference floor, we know more about HP's intentions to ride the Internet tiger to more opportunities for HP 3000s. Of course, in the latest newspeak, it's not the Internet anymore, it's e-services. It looks like the HP 3000 will be playing a significant part in what Ann Livermore called "an even deeper transformation of business." Livermore gave an opening keynote speech unlike any I've ever seen in 14 prior Interex-HP World shows: launched with a high-production video with a driving backbeat of a theme song, full of industry analysts and HP rocket scientists like Joel Birnbaum. It was followed with Livermore's clear, focused comparison of how good things delivered to all of us online will only get better in the HP e-services model. "All the things we've seen in the first generation are going to be quite small, compared to what's going to happen in this next generation of the Internet," she said. Livermore had a lot to be proud of in delivering her address, showing off a new tempo in HP decision making that cements her place as a key player in making E-services real.

Of course, the HP 3000 played a key role in defining how e-services got real, as illustrated by Livermore's choice of example in her talk. She spoke about travel services, a place the 3000 stepped up to first with its Open Skies operation that sells reservation services by the flight segment. This was he pilot of the "apps-on-tap" opportunity that Livermore said "to shift the whole competitive landscape, the way people are doing business and using the Internet. We see multibillion-dollar opportunities made possible by the rise of e-services." In years past, this would be where the HP 3000 customer would wait for mention of his computer environment. In Livermore's speech, no specific platforms -- not NT, Unix or HP 3000 -- got mentioned in the talk. HP has apparently shifted the landscape of its high level messages, in which platforms play a small role.

Of keen interest to the packed auditorium was the chaser to Livermore's vision: outgoing CEO Lew Platt's farewell and hail to the new CEO, Carly Fiorina. In a blizzard of flash bulbs, the two CEOs, representing the groundwork of cultural diversity at HP and a fresh mandate of leadership change, stood at the center of the stage at the Moscone Center and held hands high like a pair of Presidential candidates.

In her first appearance before the HP 3000 customer base, Fiorina got introduced by Platt as an individual "with the talent and toughness to come in and make the changes that are necessary at HP -- while at the same time not losing sight of those very important core values that those of us at HP understand are so important to our business success."

Fiorina set a new pace upon taking the stage, transforming the traditional business handshake with Platt to a hug as she took the podium. "Much of the strength of HP has been built by the very generous man who just left the stage," she said in her speech. "Lew Platt is known as a man who lives the HP Way every day. I have been blessed by his support and his advice in the first month of my CEO-ship." To an ovation, Platt returned to the stage. HP executives say Platt's willingness to put his career on the line to extend HP's diversity -- making opportunities for women in the firm that led to Fiorina's appointment -- may be his most lasting contribution to the firm.

Fiorina then stepped away from the podium to deliver her speech, walking the stage as she talked, speaking without notes. "We owe you a very clear vision of the future, and how we at HP are going to make you successful in that future," she said. "Ann Livermore and her team deserve great credit for galvanizing resources across HP to put you in a leadership role in Chapter Two of the Internet." Fiorina said HP had done too many things in the past, and its new role would be to focus better. Following her speech, Fiorina and Platt walked the show floor, another departure from the status quo which kept CEOs confined to stages.

A solution appears for the 3000 to LPQ printer disconnect

Able SIGPRINT leader Steve Hammond gave us an update on HP's plans to let its newest printers communicate better with HP 3000s. "Ginny Bratrud, product manager for LPQ printers, Commercial Systems Division, HP, said the LPQ "C" level printers can handle page level recovery; if you have an "A" or "B" level you will need to the DRAM memory to 4 megabytes and the flash memory to 4 megabytes, the firmware will need to be upgraded and you will need a Bitronics cable connecting the printer to the JetDirect Box. The firmware will give you new bar codes and the Euro symbol."

Hammond also reported that HP has announced a trade-in program for 235x and 236x printers, which go off support by 2002. "Remember, some of these printers are HP-IB and that's going off of support by MPE/iX 6.5," Hammond said. The amount of the rebate depends on the purchase, not the trade-in.

Notes from the SIGPRINT meeting from Hammond also said the third generation of the LPQ is coming out -- 4 printers offered at 3 speeds (500 lpm, 1000 lpm, and 1500 lpm with or without the power stacker.) Hammond also reported that Martin Gorfinkel of LARC announced an add-on to Fantasia from Open Seas, called OpenPDF. This will allow HP 3000 sites to create PDF output from Fantasia.

Secure Web service for 3000s now has a plan

HP has done something at last to put a secure Web Server in the hands of HP 3000 customers. The Commercial Systems division engaged the Monterey Software Group's Lee Courtney, provider of the SAFE/3000 security system for HP 3000s, to port the RSA security library software. Signing the RSA deal was the hardest part of the arrangement, by some accounts, but now the industry's standard security libraries are on their way to the 3000. Secure Web service will follow, but it won't be a free lunch. After years of waiting, it's more important that something is available at any price.

3000 is ready for its closeup: documentary filming rolls at show

The fresh look of a new generation of 3000 advocates got cameras rolling at HP World, when Chris Gauthier of Client Systems began filming interviews with HP 3000 legends for a documentary about the platform. Assisted by his partner Jeff Leisengang, the sprightly Gauthier toted a hand-held 16mm camera about the conference, building footage for the film. He's looking for brief interviews with those who know the HP 3000's past, giving it a calling card for those who don't know history and prefer to get it from a screen.

HP promises high availability EMC software advances on its own drives

Competition is keen between HP and mass storage maker EMC, former allies who now are vying for RAID array sales to customers including 3000 sites. The advanced TimeFinder and SDRF features of the EMC Symmetrix systems -- which HP hopes to replace with its new XP 256 drive units -- will be available on the HP labelled devices. Meantime, HP is touting this month's AutoRaid rollout as the replacement for the Model 10 and Model 20 storage units. Those Models are made by Data General, which is soon to become a part of the EMC fold.