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Technology Stocks : Compaq -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Elwood P. Dowd who wrote (78756)	2/26/2000 8:38:00 AM
From: elepet	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 97611

OT--anyone. I need to get a new computer. Have used only Mac and am considering something else...possibly a notebook...up to $1800 or so. Mostly use for internet access, Word and a database program. I've noticed several posts here about various Compaq models..best way to buy..shareholder discounts etc. Can't locate those posts. Anyone care to repeat this info? Also, since I'm not particularly interested in sophisticated business applications..is there anyone familiar with both Mac & others, who can tell me any advantages of Compaq over Mac. Hm...am I asking for trouble? Thanks.

To: Elwood P. Dowd who wrote (78756)	2/26/2000 5:09:00 PM
From: Night Writer	Respond to of 97611

Pick, Pick, Pick. When will it ever end? NW Vendor Failed To Meet Requirements -- Compaq servers lack Microsoft endorsement Feb. 25, 2000 (Computer Reseller News - CMP via COMTEX) -- New York - Compaq Computer Corp. no longer can ship Proliant servers with a Microsoft Corp. logo endorsing the hardware. The Houston-based hardware vendor fell off Microsoft's compatibility list for the BackOffice suite. Compaq failed to meet key requirements for the endorsement logo, said Microsoft executives. "Things do fall off this list," said Joel Sloss, Microsoft product manager for BackOffice Server. Compaq may simply be slow to have newer servers pass the required battery of tests, Sloss said. Compaq executives were not available for comment last week. To be sure, some of Compaq's legacy servers are eligible for the logo, but they are listed under the brand of the former Digital Equipment Corp., which Compaq acquired in 1998. The highest-performing servers of those listed maintain processors with clock speeds no faster than 266MHz. Several companies, with a total of 186 different Intel-based servers, have had their platforms certified for BackOffice. Microsoft instituted the compatibility list, part and parcel with the BackOffice logo program, as a way to tell customers that the hardware had been tested to work well with the software. So what does this mean to buyers of Compaq servers? "The vendor has gone out of its way to integrate with the full family program. For me as a customer, it's better to look at something that has the BackOffice logo. It's another assurance for the customer that the solution is going to play well with the BackOffice platform," said Sloss. Microsoft also provides co-marketing support to vendors that ship servers with the BackOffice logo, Sloss said. Compaq and Microsoft are both in the midst of significant product transitions. Microsoft is upgrading its product line along with its Windows 2000 operating system, including BackOffice 2000 Server. And Compaq this month rolled out a revamped Proliant product family of Intel-based servers as it works to streamline the brand. Bill Sowerbutts, president of Computer Network Services Inc., Pennsauken, N.J., a reseller of Compaq servers exclusively, said he has noticed no technical problems in integrating Proliant servers with Microsoft BackOffice. Compaq's inability to ship servers with the logo was not a factor for his business, but it could be for the vendor itself, he said. "Our customers trust us that we're going to deliver them a product that works," Sowerbutts said. "They kind of look to us to ensure the product is integrated properly. Perhaps to somebody who is buying direct, and is not going through the reseller channel, it may be important." Compaq wants to ship up to 60 percent of its products direct, as it works to integrate configuration and shipping infrastructure it acquired last year from reseller Inacom Corp., Omaha, Neb. Marci Curtis, president of Cleveland Software Training Inc., a Compaq and Hewlett-Packard Co. reseller, said the absence of the logo is not an issue for her, though she agrees it could be a problem for Compaq. crn.com -0- By: Edward F. Moltzen Copyright 2000 CMP Media Inc. * end of story *