Network Computingwww.networkcomputing.com

The news broke on Labor Day that Hewlett-Packard wants to buy Compaq for some $25 billion in stock. The deal would create a PC, server, operating system, printer, service and support, storage and, to some degree, networking giant.

I think it's a bad idea. First, look at Compaq's track record for acquisitions. It took forever for the firm to fully swallow Digital Equipment, and the results have been unimpressive. Show me one exciting thing that came out of that merger. Doubling in size in a single stroke sounds like a good idea, but look at all the overlap. Both companies have PC and server lines that are nearly identical, both already offer Unix, albeit in different flavors, and both offer service and support.

From a purely financial perspective, the two may be able to come together, lay off 20 or 30 thousand employees and perhaps become more profitable. But my guess is the opposite will happen: There will be confusion, infighting, lack of direction, sluggishness and, ultimately, pieces will be spun off again. Just look at what happened to WorldCom after its buying spree.

In the case of Compaq and HP, there will be enough bloodshed to make "Gladiator" look tame. And this, our already beaten industry does not need.

You Call This Jail?

When most hackers get tossed in the clink, their computer privileges are taken away. Not so for Coolio, known to his parents and schoolteachers as Dennis Moran. Moran hacked his way into the U.S. military, a security firm, and the Los Angeles police department.

The experience has changed the 18 year old. Moran cut his hair, wears monogrammed dress shirts and dreams of flying around the country working for large corporations. He is well on his way. While drug dealers, murderers and thieves are kept away from the Internet by prison authorities, Moran has been given time off to start a computer consultancy.

I may sound a little sarcastic here (that is, after all, my nature), but I do believe this is a positive step. I'd rather see folks like Dennis fixing, rather than breaking into computers, and so I wish Coolio good luck.

64-Bits? Well, It's About Time!

Microsoft has finally released, get this, a 64-bit operating system. In the past, NT played a few tricks where it could sort of take advantage of a 64-bit instruction set. Of course that was for the now largely defunct Alpha processor. Now Microsoft is going pretty much all the way with 64-bits -- its Windows 2000 Advanced Server Limited Edition, which exploits the 64-bit Itanium (I'm sorry, but that's still an awfully dumb name) processor. I'm sure computer scientists will crawl out of the woodwork talking about Windows 2000's 32-bit vestiges. Nonetheless, this new OS does take advantage of the 64-bit architecture. Of course, the now outdated Nintendo 64 did the same thing, and later this Fall, that company is set to move to 128 bits. I'd say Microsoft has some catching up to do!

Pays to Read

I guess Sony doesn't follow the technology press. Otherwise it would have known just how silly and outdated Web appliances are. Apparently unaware of the fact that Oracle failed (many times) and 3Com had to bail, Sony went ahead with its $500 eVilla Internet appliance. After two months worth of technical problems, Sony threw in the towel. I'm sure eVilla's hefty price tag also contributed to its demise along with having to wait for Web pages to download and a decent connection. I'll stick with my PC, for now.