Muthusamy - Re:"I wondered what your views were on the PA-RISC 8000 architecture that
HWP announced recently..."
HP must have recognized in early 1994 that their PA-RISC architecture was running into problems, several problems:
1. Little or no adoption as a platform for other system manufacturers. I believe CONVEX computer was one, but HP bought them!
2. No major endorsement by other semi manufacturers - Hitachi is the only one I can think of.
3. Intel's Pentium was catching up fast to the PA-7000 in integer performance.
4. Intel's P6 (now Pentium Pro) caught up to the PA 7000 and I believe approaches the PA-8000 in floating point performance. Integer performance of Pentium Pro is equivalent to PA-8000.
5. Intel was well healed and investing mightily in advanced technology development, advanced wafer fab manufacturing, and advanced architecture design. Intel's profits were enabling them to do all of these simultaneously, amortizing their investment over millions and millions of processors.
6. HP realized that their return on R & D to keep the PA-RISC architecture competitive was not going to be cost effective. The fab processes, the new fab equipment, etc., would cost more than they could gain by purchasing competitive chips outside.
Therefore, they struck a great deal (for HP) with Intel to co-develop an advanced architecture with Intel that would run BOTH x86 and PA-RISC instructiuon sets.
This preserves HP's 10+ years of PA-RISC software development, gets HP off the Wafer Fab Process treadmill, and guarantees a source of competitive chips (courtesy of Intel). Intel gets a happy customer, access to HP's chip designers and architects, and a reserved seat socket in HP's future workstations and computers when their new chip comes out.
In a nutshell, MERCED IS HP's next generation chip. It is supposed to execute PA-RISC code (I'm not 100% sure that it will do this DIRECTLY in hardware or will require appropriate software translation.)
Is HP a good buy? I don't recommend stocks, but I do recommend companies, if you can recognize the difference.
HP is a superb manufacturer of PCs, workstations, microwave products, computers, test instruments, printers, medical equipment (used to be, at least), etc. It is extremely well run, is second to nobody in quality. It is a great company.
They have suffered in the last quarter due to their disk drive division - it was unprofitable in a cut-throat business. I'm surprised they held out this long. Apparently, it is being shuttered and written off.
In printers, I assume thay have created their own glut - they have more models than a Madison Aveneue Model agency.
So, they are trying to jetison their dead weight, and will return to a very profitable siuation in 6 or 9 months, if the economy and computer business do not tank.
HP is a company with great products, great people, a rich tradition and steeped in QUALITY. In short, they should have a great future.
Paul |
