Conference 7.286::digital

Maybe it is the new President Digital Europe? (just a thought:-))

If this is true, no I do not know who this will be.

Erik

    Any of the following:
    
    MCS becoming a separate company
    PC business sold off/stopped
    Q3, Q4, FY97 results
    Digital for sale
    BP leaving? 
    We all get a raise
    we all try even harder
    There is a new light at the end of the tunnel
    New Digital strategy
    IBM wants to use ALPHA
    HP   "    "   "   "
    Maximum number of VP's overflow bit set
    
    
    Your guess is as good as mine
    Other clues?
    
    Regards,
    
    Aad Kooijman.
    
    

    There is a Harry Copperman mail, Company Confidential, around. The
    content of which may merit a DVN, that would depend on your viewpoint.
    
    Clearly I can't tell you, or I'd have to kill you.
    
    Andrew

    Re .2
    
    The VP count has overflowed an unsigned 8 bit number already ?
    
    Perhaps it's an announcement we are trying for the '500" club (500 VPs
    ?).
    
    

    Re: .3  "Harry Copperman memo"
    
    See DIGITAL_INVESTING note 13.161.
    

    Here's what's in LIVE WIRE:
    
    Bob Palmer news conference to be carried live on DVN on Tuesday
    
    	Join Digital President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bob 
    Palmer, Microsoft Chairman and CEO Bill Gates, and MCI Chairman and
    CEO Bert Roberts tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. Eastern U.S. Time for a news
    conference that will be broadcast live from Bellevue, Wash. over the
    Digital Video Network.
    
    	The three executives will announce an alliance to deliver Intranet
    solutions for customers in the United States.  The collaboration is
    expected to combine MCI's network connections, Digital's large data
    networks and Microsoft's software, including Windows NT Server,
    Microsoft Exchange, and Web software.
    
    	The market for Intranets is sizzling.  Industry analysts expect
    sales of Intranet software to reach $1.2 billion in 1997.
    
    	This program will be aired on Wednesday, April 10 in Europe.
    Employees in Europe should check with their local site coordinator
    for local broadcast information.
    
    	For a complete listing of DVN sites and site coordinators, 
    consult #7, "Digital Video Network Information," on LIVE WIRE's main
    menu page.
    

	This should be interesting!

							mike

I thought the Coperman memo was the one that informed on the transfer of NT to 
the PCBU. Most of the products that are mentioned in the DVN run on NT so he 
would not be directly involved in this DVN. Am I wrong?

By the way, what do you make of this event? (NT in the PCBU)

    NT in the PCBU...
    Alpha/NT is an emerging technology (read: losing money), so probably
    no profitable quarters from the PCBU anymore, but at least there won't
    be any surprise when it happens (like the current quarter). .02K

    re: Note 4525.9 by PCBUOA::KRATZ 

>    NT in the PCBU...
>    Alpha/NT is an emerging technology (read: losing money), so probably
>    no profitable quarters from the PCBU anymore, but at least there won't
>    be any surprise when it happens (like the current quarter). .02K
    
    This seems to works out fine for you. You will be able to blame Alpha and 
    Digital Semiconductor for any future PCBU problems.  
    
    -Bruce 
    
    

    True.  But also, Digital Semi now has a major customer that isn't
    locked into a sole supplier, like Worksystems is.  If DS/Caldwell
    wants to get greedy and try and milk the PCBU with overpriced Alphas
    like they did/do with Worksystems; fine, no problem, we'll sell
    Intel NT boxes instead.  Perhaps one of the objectives of this move
    is to get you folks to be just a little more price competitive in
    the NT market.  If that happens and Alpha/NT really catches on, DS
    might actually find use for half of a modern fab plant.
    .02 K  

    And you can have MCS layoff people to ease the loss and support the
    stock.

re:  Note 4525.11 by PCBUOA::KRATZ 

>    If DS/Caldwell
>    wants to get greedy and try and milk the PCBU with overpriced Alphas
>    like they did/do with Worksystems; 

    If we give you $300 EV56's running at 400Mhz how many are you going to 
    buy?  Enough to help us drive the manufacturing cost down to $300/chip?

>    Perhaps one of the objectives of this move
>    is to get you folks to be just a little more price competitive in
>    the NT market.  

    It must be, everything is because of Digital Semiconductor.

>    If that happens and Alpha/NT really catches on, DS
>    might actually find use for half of a modern fab plant.

    This would make many people very happy.

    Well, let's put it this way: the current business model has resulted
    in:
    1) substantial losses
    2) nobody adopting Alpha (ok, Cray, but even their future use
       depends on SGI)
    3) a FAB plant able to hold the corporate indoor Ultimate frisbee
       tournament
     
    Please don't take this personally (unless you're in DS management);
    DS engineers and workers are some of the, if not THEE, brightest
    and hardest working employees this company has.  The fault lies with
    management and pricing committees (IMHO).  .02 K
    
    

    Kratz,
    
    The problem is and always has been that to sell Alpha at x86 prices we
    (Digital) will have to be willing to absorb high(possibly more than we
    do now) loses while we hope Alpha is adopted as a mainstream
    processor.  To date we (Digital) have not been willing to do this, thus
    our current pricing. It is Digital the company as much if not more than
    Digital Semiconductor that sets the price of Alpha.  

    On top of this, in my opinion, we still do not offer an processor for
    the Desktop.  We offer processors designed for Turbolaser and Sable
    systems and try and shoehorn them into Desktop systems. While some
    customers are willing to pay for these Desktop systems, this strategy
    will not allow us to gain any significant part of the Desktop market. 

    We are working on making Alpha more attractive for use on the Desktop, 
    but we aren't close yet(IMHO).

    Watch for a rather big change this week for Digital Semiconductor.
    
    -Bruce

I got the mail forwarded by my management, so is public now, DS is moving under 
Charlie Christ in C&P (and Storage to the SBU).

My impresion of Charlie Christ is as a turnaorund expert (Xerox and Storage) but he 
doesn't have any second thoughts about disposting of non-performing or non-strategic 
groups (disks and terminals), so I would only venture that DS days as a 
money-losing unit are numbered. The number may not be small, but nevertheless.

    PC Week, April 8th, Jesse Berst's column, one of his wishes:
    "Digital Equipment Corporation sells enough Alpha-based machines
     that economies of scale let it slash the price of the chip,
     making it viable for mainstream Windows NT desktops".
    
    That would be nice.  Kind of a chicken and egg problem:  it's
    not viable where it's priced now, but we won't lower the price
    to where it is viable, and therefore can't make much NT desktop
    volume, which is basically the only place the chip is going to
    ever going to see big volume (no offense to VMS or Unix zealots,
    but let's be real).  K 
    
    

    
    
   > My impresion of Charlie Christ is as a turnaorund expert (Xerox and
   > Storage)but he  doesn't have any second thoughts about disposting of
   > non-performing or non-strategic  groups (disks and terminals)
    
    Just a minor clarification...
    
    	Charlie did not dispose of terminals engineering. The deal was cut
    	to sell it to Sun River prior to C&P being handed to Charlie.
    
    								- Mac

    
    
>   > My impresion of Charlie Christ is as a turnaorund expert (Xerox and
>   > Storage)but he  doesn't have any second thoughts about disposting of
>   > non-performing or non-strategic  groups (disks and terminals)
>    
>    Just a minor clarification...
>    
>    	Charlie did not dispose of terminals engineering. The deal was cut
>    	to sell it to Sun River prior to C&P being handed to Charlie.


Ok, then someone who knows how not to stop a good deal even if it was
done by a predecessor.

ac

> Charlie did not dispose of terminals engineering. The deal was cut
> to sell it to Sun River prior to C&P being handed to Charlie.

  I don't think this is strictly accurate. Somebody-or-other was
  the VP of Terminals and reported to Larry Cabrinety; Larry Cab-
  rinety was the VP of Components & Peripherals reporting to
  Charlie Christ. Charlie Christ was the Executive VP of the
  Components Division reporting to Bob Palmer.

  Which one sold it? They all did, I suppose.

                                   Atlant

Re .16

At yesterday's site-wide meeting with Charlie Christ, he was asked just that question - whether he came in to
"powder the pig" (his words) to sell us off.  His answer was an emphatic "no", noting that ALPHA and DS were an
integral part of Digital business.

I was persuaded, at least for the near future.

	This meeting shed some blinding light on some pretty impressive goals. 
30% of the Intel desktop market with Alpha/NT using FX!32, now we're talking!
Major alliances with other semiconductor manufacturers (aside from Fab6 space).
Major desktop manufacturers making and selling Alpha boxes!  Am I dreaming or
are they?  This is certainly the stuff that dreams are made of.  I especially
like the part about Alpha and DS being one of the only major things that keep
us from being "just another computer company".  Please don't burst my bubble.
Let's give it a go.
				JT

<<< Note 4525.21 by CADSYS::CHRISFIELD >>> -< Powdering the pig >-

Re .16

At yesterday's site-wide meeting with Charlie Christ, he was asked just that
question - whether he came in to "powder the pig" (his words) to sell us off. 
His answer was an emphatic "no", noting that ALPHA and DS were an integral part
of Digital business.

I was persuaded, at least for the near future.

    
    Boing. I stand corrected. There were so many things happening around 
    here in C&P in that timeframe that I got my chronology out of order.
    Although the idea was apparently brought to the table by Larry, he
    *was* reporting to Charlie at the time. I was erroneously confusing
    the date of Larry's "retirement" with the date that Charlie assumed
    command.
    
    								- Mac

    
    I'll bite.
    
    So what would "powdering the pig" refer to anyway?
    
    Rob Wall

"powdering the pig" woudl be a reference to making something
look better than it actually is in order to facilitate a sale....

			dave

    re .22
    Perhaps Charlie's mistake was not assigning a fuzzy enough time line
    to some of these goals.
    K

    I for one am sorry to see Charlie Christ's retirement announcement.  I
    thought he was a shining star among many at his level in our company
    who are not.  He record speaks for himself, especially what he did with
    storage.  Success records like that are hard to come by in any company.
    
    I don't know the politics as to why he's really leaving.  I hope he
    just wants to retire.  I think he's in his mid 50's.  I'd love to
    retire at that age.  I wish him good luck.
    
    --Steve