From The Inquirer
--
Compaq secrets to spill out in Dallas
Marvel, Blades et al
By the INQwell, 11/12/2001 07:56:38 BST
SEATS ARE FILLING up for the Dallas Fort Worth Computer User Group meeting that'll be held at the Compaq Office at Lincoln Center, Dallas, TX, USA on Tuesday December 11.
Notorious Belgian Hacker Cedric Zool will join Charlie Matco in the first public display of the Alpha 21364C EV7 microprocessor. Said processor was plucked from the very heart of a running Marvel system just ten days ago, and it is a sight to behold!
Also disclosed will be a saucerful of secrets on things QuickBlade and Marvel-related. A splendid time is guaranteed for all!
Rumour has it that mass quantities of food and drink will be on hand as well.
To participate in this historic event, visit the DFWCUG cyberclubhouse at this spot.
Be there or be rhomboid... µ
And
Capellas ready to throw in towel?
Compaq going it alone
By Mike Magee, 11/12/2001 09:46:31 BST
BEATING OUR WAY THROUGH the thickets of popup ads that prevent easy access to the local Wall St rag, we notice there's a story which seems to indicate that CEO Mike "180" Capellas appears ready to throw in the towel.
The paper says that he sent one of his famous brief memoranda to Q staff over the weekend acknowledging that the proposed tryst between his firm and Carly "Iron Lady" Fiorina, might just never happen.
Unfortunately the Wall St Journal does not publish the memo, so we may never know whether Curly has donned sackcloth and ashes and is looking for swift redemption from his CEO position.
The WSJ quotes Curly as saying while he still supports a merger, his responsibility is to maintain a pragmatic view of Compaq's business and a "clear focus" on the future.
The cynical or the unkind might suggest that having apparently failed to deliver on his promise to turn Compaq round in 180 days, perhaps Mr Capellas needs a new pair of specs.
Apparently, if Q stays on its own, it will concentrate on sales of packages of hardware, software and services.
It's already given away its Alpha technology to Intel and Capellas is unlikely to lean over the garden fence and ask his neighbour Paul Otellini at Intel whether he can have his ball back now. Those famous steely eyes would be likely to turn in Capellas' direction and speak volumes without needing to exercise larynx or tongue.
Just how Mr Capellas believes he can carry on as CEO of Compaq if the deal falls through defies belief. Surely shareholders will ask for his head. Uncertainty has muddied Compaq's business model now for months.
There's another thing. Although on the face of it both Compaq and HP were "shoulder to shoulder" on the merger, we know, from conversations and also from documents we've seen that there were plotters within both firms that have actively briefed against the move.
We've experienced this at first hand in London, so can only imagine the secret conversations that have gone on in different seats of power. µ |
