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HP Lays Off Unix/IA-64 gurus

Posted by Hemos on from the bad-times-for-everyone dept.

A reader writes "On Tuesday HP announced that it is closing a lab in NJ. This was an HP-UX development lab, responsible for porting HP-UX to IA64. The lab employed top engineers, including some who have worked in Unix kernels for over 20 years (originally from Bell Labs, Novell, and other companies). " That report came from a soon-to-be former employee.

4 of 341 comments (clear)

  1. This isn't a big suprise by glenmark · · Score: 2, Flamebait

    After all, HP is acquiring Compaq, and with it Tru64 Unix. Makes sense that HP would axe the lesser of the two operating systems.

    --
    *** Quantum Mechanics: The Dreams of Which Stuff is Made ***
  2. It's All In The Plan by macsforever2001 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    These layoffs are the latest move in Carly Fiorina's brilliant plan to run HP into the ground so she can have an excuse to leave and get a golden parachute on the way out and retire to the Bahamas. The last move she made was to buy Compaq.

    Damn she's good!

  3. Leave it to Compaq? No...Leave it to MS! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait


    Look, 64-bit NT is what's going to drive that platform, so let's not have any illusions.

    It's wise for HP and big-Q to get out of the chip business -- Intel spends (has has the money to spend) billions on chip and fab R+D. HP and Q cannot compete...they can't.

    Likewise, Microsoft spends billions on OS design and user interface enhancement and product integration. Can HP or Compaq match that? No.

    Intel's will make the chips, Microsoft the OS. And that's the way it's gonna be. No one else can touch them at their respective tasks. What HP and Compaq will do is integrate and provide support and service -- there's plenty of money to be made there without the substantial costs of chip and software development, which, against hard-nosed deep-pockets competitors like MS and Intel, might as well be a bottomless money sinkhole. That's the way the wind's blowing, and there's no point in resisting it. No one else is.

  4. Doesn't a chick run HP? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    When was the last time you saw a chick run UNIX outside of the hard core, sensible shoe wearing lesbians in the Linux movement? Since the majority of chicks can only handle Windows and Mac OS (barely), I can only assume the chick in charge of HP can't handle the concept of UNIX and shit canned the whole project.