# The decline and fall of HP **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 29, 2011, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965 "2011-09-29T02:30:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2011, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/41 "2011-10-01T06:29:57Z")
They did make some great calculators 30 years ago. I hope someone with a sense of humor will put up a ‘PC LOAD LETTER’ sign when the doors are locked for good. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/42 "2011-10-01T17:06:32Z")
What the fuck does that mean? Somewhat interesting news: There’s a rumor Amazon might buy Palm. Possibly just for their patent library, but a WebOS Kindle could beat the iPad. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/43 "2011-10-01T17:42:23Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > The sad thing is that the Touchpad is a _really nice product_. Maybe not worth what they were charging for it, but it’s about as good as the iPad, minus the store. I picked one up the day they went on the fire sale at the retail outlets (Best Buy). For $150 (32 gig model), it’s been a great little gadget for couch surfing and taking movies on the go. For $600, I’d probably be more disappointed but I wouldn’t have bought any tablet for the $500-$600 range. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/44 "2011-10-02T04:27:56Z")
I have an HP 35s calculator, and I love it. I passed the FE exam on the first try with that calculator (though my backup was my old TI 36X). It came with a spiffy little case, it’s easy to use, and the RPN mode discourages casual use by others in the office. My own (limited) experience with HP has actually been good; the PC I purchased from them last year has been trouble-free, and my wireless printer works quite nicely with all of my computers (though it does get a bit fussy if its network connection is interrupted for an extended period of time). I’ve never had to deal with their support, but it has been my experience that no computer companies have good support anymore – it’s almost like these companies feel that if the product is in a condition that requires you to contact support, you should just go ahead and replace it. That being said, I can’t believe how stupid HP was in their handling of their tablet and phone line. When the tablet liquidation went into effect, articles I read made it seem that their execs were dumb enough to believe the quick sales were due exclusively to interest in WebOS. I’m disgusted that they have let the company go to the point where they’re trying to sell off the PC line – it will become just another crappy budget brand. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/45 "2011-10-02T05:23:24Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > What the fuck does that mean? > > Somewhat interesting news: There’s a rumor Amazon might buy Palm. Possibly just for their patent library, but a WebOS Kindle could beat the iPad. Beat it in what way? As I understand it, Windows and all of the shit that runs on it is great for the geeks that understand it all and want to manipulate it for their own purposes. The Apple stuff, on the other hand, that the geeks denigrate, is stuff that a typical consumer that has a life outside of their computer can pick up and use with very little hassle. Ever hear the term “user friendly”? If I have an iPod, an iMac, and an iPad, I can just go home, synch the stuff and not have to worry about it. It works. I don’t want to squeeze every last bit of whatever out of my computer. I want it to serve me. I don’t want to be a slave to it. That’s why Microsoft, Dell, Palm, Verizon, Compaq and HP lost me as a customer a long time ago. Try to ease my life, not make it a challenge. Wasn’t that what computers were suppose to do in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/46 "2011-10-02T05:27:40Z")
> [@emcee2k](#): > > Decline _and_ fall? Superfluity doth not vitiate. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/47 "2011-10-02T16:07:02Z")
The Touchpad, as I have repeatedly said, R. P., is ‘just better’ than the iPad, insofar as ‘pick up and use with very little hassle’ and ‘user friendly’. It is a superior interface. It ‘just works’ in ways the iPad doesn’t. … wow, sounds like I’m talking about an Apple product. And that was version 1 of it. V2 would probably be better. Sadly, it’s dead, unless… As far as how an Amazon WebOs Kindle could ‘beat’ the iPad, I mean it in the fairly simple and predictable ways of ‘better, easier to use, cheaper, more people buy it.’ But don’t take my word for it. Let’s see if Amazon can set the world on Fire first. Jophiel, have you patched yours yet? Turn off the logging and it’s much more responsive. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/48 "2011-10-02T16:17:46Z")
From everything I’ve heard, WebOS and the Touchpad were good products. So it’s amazing that HP is abandoning the effort so quickly. I hope that Amazon or someone else picks it up. I’d like to see viable alternatives to the iPad. (I haven’t heard much about the few Android tablets, and Microsoft seems out of the picture until Windows 8 is released.) ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/49 "2011-10-02T16:19:22Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > As far as how an Amazon WebOs Kindle could ‘beat’ the iPad, I mean it in the fairly simple and predictable ways of ‘better, easier to use, cheaper, more people buy it.’ Be a tough sell right now after Amazon has put its chips on an Android tablet. I don’t think it’d be a great marketing move to say “pick your operating system”. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/50 "2011-10-02T16:47:26Z")
I’d just like to repeat my first observation on the HP moves: **It is goddamned stupid to simply throw away a mult-billion dollar a year hardware venture because you think you want to emulate IBM’s consulting services model.** If you do, then FUCK YOU, go work for IBM. ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/51 "2011-10-02T21:06:46Z")
> [@LIONsob](#): > > As a current HP employee I am hopeing that management gets it shit together but I am not gonna hold my breath waiting for it to happen. The appointment of Meg Whitman as CEO is not something I am happy about and don’t think will be good for the company in the short or long run. At least the area I work in is not on the chopping block to be spun off ( if that is still in the plans? ), the Enterprise Systems division has been one of the few bright spots on the balance sheet the last couple of years. > Peace > LIONsob If it gets spun off that might be a good thing. I think Agilent at least ended up better off out from under HP. I know my brother has worked for the same company through all incarnations from Western Electric to AT&T to Lucent to Avaya, so if you have the right kind of job and are good at it reorganization may not do you any harm. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/52 "2011-10-06T11:02:33Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > HP’s biggest screwup was acquiring Compaq and then shutting the name down. They still make Compaq branded laptops and computers- they’re available for sale in Australia at several of the major electrical retailers. They’re generally “Entry-level” products, but they are about. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/53 "2011-10-07T20:41:04Z")
[QUOTE=Wilson] HP: we killed off the legacy of Compaq AND Palm! Go us! [/QUOTE] And Tandem! ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/54 "2011-10-07T21:13:34Z")
Needs dragons. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/55 "2011-10-10T01:02:01Z")
So, what about this replacement for flash memory everyone’s all het up about? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/56 "2011-10-10T01:07:24Z")
I think you’re thinking of [memristors](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memristor). I’m not a electrical engineer, but I think they could replace logic circuits, and not just memory ones like flash memory. ---
**Author:** ![IdahoMauleMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/71c47a/32.png) [@IdahoMauleMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IdahoMauleMan)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/57 "2011-10-10T02:53:16Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Or contaminating the HP name with Compaq crap. > > HP’s board is commonly viewed as one of the worst in the world. > BTW: Anyone saying how boards serve the stockholders and how CEOs deserve every penny should look at how much Leo got to leave after wiping out significant amounts of shareholder value and destabilizing the customer base. Any normal employee who did anything close would get booted, not get tons of money. I certainly agree with you, but of course Leo negotiated that exit package as part of his hiring in the first place. As most large company CEOs do. The song was already sung by the time they fired him. Which sort of proves your first point, above. After following HP governance closely since the hiring of Carly Fiorina (who still hasn’t ever been called to account for stuffing the channel at Lucent to the tune of billions) I also believe they are one of the worst Boards of Directors to ever walk the earth. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/58 "2011-10-10T19:36:57Z")
> **[IEF2011: HP to replace flash and SSD in 2013](https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/memory/ief2011-hp-to-replace-flash-and-ssd-in-2013-2011-10/)** > > HP intends to have an alternative technology to flash on the market in eighteen months, an alternative to DRAM in three to four years and, following DRAM, a replacement for SRAM, Stan Williams, Senior Fellow at HP, told the IEF2011 meeting in Seville... Yep, that’s memristors all right. I didn’t manage to read the whole article before I wandered off last week, but it looks like HP’s putting them into production. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/59 "2011-10-10T20:35:00Z")
> [@R.P.McMurphy](#): > > Beat it in what way? > > As I understand it, Windows and all of the shit that runs on it is great for the geeks that understand it all and want to manipulate it for their own purposes. > > The Apple stuff, on the other hand, that the geeks denigrate, is stuff that a typical consumer that has a life outside of their computer can pick up and use with very little hassle. Ever hear the term “user friendly”? No, your understanding doesn’t gibe well with mine. I’m a computer geek and use a Mac at home, as do many of my colleagues. Mac OSX is based on Linux, so it’s easy to drop into a terminal and actually get some work done. The people that denigrate Macs tend to be people who have gotten so used to Windows, they are annoyed by something that works differently. (The same thing could be said of many people who denigrate Windows.) The picture you paint of a snobby Windows geek isn’t something I’ve seen much in nature. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965/60 "2011-10-10T20:52:12Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > No, your understanding doesn’t gibe well with mine. I’m a computer geek and use a Mac at home, as do many of my colleagues. Mac OSX is based on Linux, so it’s easy to drop into a terminal and actually get some work done. The people that denigrate Macs tend to be people who have gotten so used to Windows, they are annoyed by something that works differently. (The same thing could be said of many people who denigrate Windows.) The picture you paint of a snobby Windows geek isn’t something I’ve seen much in nature. OS X is based on UNIX - Free BSD. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-and-fall-of-hp/597965.md?page=4)