Conference 7.286::digital

Well, my group's out there with a sort of proof-of-concept demo
of Windows NT Clusters, and it's apparently going down very
well indeed.  A few companies are working on NT products with
the word "cluster" in the name, but it looks like DEC is
doing well in the race.  (I'm wording this cautiously since
it doesn't mean a damn thing until we get the actual product
implemented and shipping - but we were pleased!).
 

I've heard that the Multia "test drive" (in which customers get to use the
Multia to solve a murder mystery) has long lines of people waiting to get in.

I'm sure we'll hear more when the people out there get back.

    
    Something is up, as the stock price is now 35 and climbing..

    Windows NT Workstation won best Software (I forget details, but
    a very important award).
    
    Our booth is great, the interest is excellent, the new notebooks
    are hot hot hot.  Altogether a bery positive event.  We had 
    a well attended press breifing, and a good message from Pesatori
    at an executive breakfast this morning.  We host a reception tonight.
    
    I'm exhausted, so it must be a good show.
    
    Heck, look at the stock price!
    
    ken b., live from Las Vegas

              'Eye Opener '95' to be aired on DVN Nov. 17
   
         A taped broadcast of the Nov. 16 COMDEX breakfast meeting, "Eye 
   Opener '95," will be aired on Thursday, Nov. 17 from 2-3 p.m. Eastern 
   Time.  The breakfast meeting is co-sponsored by the trade publications 
   "VAR Business" and "Computer Reseller News," and Digital.
         Digital's Multia MultiClient Desktop, which was announced last
   Monday, will be introduced to an expected audience of some 1,200 VARs 
   and resellers representing more than 500 companies.
         Multia MultiClient Desktop is Digital's revolutionary combination 
   of its Alpha technology with Microsoft Windows NT and a highly 
   optimized X11.R6 server.  Analysts are already praising the product.
         Featured speakers at "Eye Opener '95" include Kurtis Franklin, 
   "VAR Business;" Michael Goulde, Patty Seybold Group; Brian Fitzgerald, 
   vice president, Video Products, Digital; and Patrick Sullivan, vice 
   president, Components and Peripherals Merchandising Group, Digital.
         For a complete listing of DVN sites, choose #8 on LIVE WIRE's 
   main menu page.

             Digital has been awarded a five-year contract to manage the
       worldwide client/server infrastructure for The Microsoft Network.
             The contract includes the management of the wide-area backbone
       network, the data center, and the help desk function for the
       environment that will support Microsoft's products and services.
             Digital won the contract after a capabilities evaluation by
       Microsoft of other leading outsourcing firms.
             Under the terms of the outsourcing agreement, Digital will
    manage
       and operate a site consisting of more than 200 multivendor servers.
    The
       primary infrastructure operations will be set up in the Seattle
    area.
    
    <from VTX LIVEWIRE - GLOBAL NEWS>
    

	Re. -1 OMS contract

	I received a memo about this on Monday.  I know some of the members
	of the Implementation team that OMS has sent out to Seattle to work
	on this.  This will fill a *HUGE* hole in Microsoft's ability to 
	service the TOTAL Business systems infrastucture.  They are drawing
	heavily from the same people and processes put in place to service
	the Digital Business Systems infrastructure (despite all the complaints
	we hear in this notes file about CNS' ability to do the job ... the
	fact is we do a damn good job ... the problem is that we don't 
	internalize this fact well. That coupled with misconceptions about what
	EXACTLY we are chartered to service. NO we don't own nor control IM&T).

	The *ONLY* heads-up I see on the announced deal is that it is for five
	years.  Typically, it takes quite a bit or investment in traning, 
	equipment and personnel to set up this level of service and you reap
	the big bucks after you've incurred these costs.  In other words, our
	profits would come out of years 3,4,5 (and hopefully beyond). I would
	have liked to have seen a longer contract but ... maybe there's some
	other issue being worked.  

	Chuck

re: long lines at our demo...

I heard that COMDEX is expecting up to 200,000 people.  I'd guess there'll be
long lines at *everything*, except the gaming tables.  The folks in Las Vegas
figured out a couple years ago that computer nerds and geeks don't gamble and
are willing to pay the higher rates than Vegas's hotels usually charge.  Since
then, they raised their usual stay_in_the_hotel_for_a_coupla_bucks_a_night_just
_make_sure_you_drop_your_last_quarter_in_a_slot_machine_on_the_way_out rates.

Bruce

    re: .8
    I was in Las Vegas over the weekend and attended COMDEX on Monday.
    Hotel prices are triple the normal rate.
    
    Digital had two exhibit areaa at the Las Vegas Convention center. The
    main Digital exhibit area was pretty close to the Microsoft area.
    Microsoft was drawing by far the biggest crowds of any exhibit so it
    was good to be located near them.
    
    The Digital name was prominently displayed in signage above the
    exterior doors entering the convention center.
    
    Digital had a "Major League Baseball Theme" in its main exhibit area.
    Audience were herded into a ballpark and asked a whole series of
    qualifying questions to which prospects responded using handheld
    terminals.

re .1

Headline from Byte Magazine Press Release:

	Clusters for Windows NT Named Most Significant Technology

So, it looks like we've wowed then with our Comdex demo.
Now we have to deliver the goods, *and* make money at it.

    re .3,.6
    
    Stock price jump attributed to Goldman Sachs upgrading Digital to its
    recomended list on 11/16.
    
    DC - one happy employee on the ESPP

    
    Digital has a tremndus presence at Comdex. With lots of signage as
    you enter the convention center, a laser show just inside in the main
    hall and three humongous booths (alpha, PC and the Components
    Superstore). There are about 200,000 people in attendance and the
    interest in the Digital booths is tremendous. Lots of customers coming
    by and saying Glad to see Digital is back. The competition is clearing
    taking notice as well.
    
    In addition to the clusters technology award, Digital's Multia
    MultiClient Desktop device won the Byte Magazine Best System of the
    Show award.
    
    At a Multia VAR breakfast yesterday at the Tropicana Hotel where about
    100 VARs were expected to attend, the response was overwhelming with
    over 600 VARs in attendance! The VAR breakfast was videotaped and will
    be shown on a customer DVN today.
    
    A tremendous amount of excitement has also been generated by the new
    Digital HiNote laptop PC;s.
    
    Overall the mood of most Digit's here is _very_ upbeat. To many it
    feels like we've turned the corner.
    
    -Joe
    
    
    

    
    	Of course our current policy is to tier VARs to our distributors
    who will sell them whatever they need, regardless of source. Makes
    sense to me - NOT!
    
    
    		the Greyhawk_who_is_getting_a_little_peeved_at_Digitals_
    		inability_to_be_marketplace_coherent

        
        RE: .13
    
        It seems Digital decided that accepting orders from all these VARs
    	is too expensive/troublesome and our costs could be reduced by sending
        them to Master VARs.
    
        When/if the Master VAR sells them Compac, HP, Conner, etc... our
        prime objective - reduce costs (thru fewer orders) will be 
        accomplished?
    
        Beware of what you want, for you will get it.
    
    

    re: .13 & .14
    
    Please help end my confusion over the method Digital is using to sell. 
    Can you define the different re-sellers (VARs, distributors, whatever
    they are called) as Digital interacts with them.  It appears that there
    is a pecking order here and I do not understand it.  I was under the
    impression there there are 2 types of accounts 1) Resleers, 2) Direct
    sales.
    
    rww

    
    	Happy to -
    
    	Digital has six contractual relationships with its business
    partners. And then several variations within each category, so I'll
    try to keep it reasonably simple.
    
    	Developers - organizations which do not sell hardware, however
    	we need them for obvious reasons.
    
    	VAR - Value-added resellers, they sell hardware, software (usually
    	their own applications, but not always), and services to the
    	end-user.
    
    	TOEM - Technical OEMs. They embed our products into theirs, and you
    	never know it's there.
    
    	Distributors - Pioneer, Hamilton-Avnet. They are THE fulfillment
    	organizations for us (something I think we should be doing
    	ourselves).
    
    	Master Resellers - TechData, Merisel, microAge, etc. The PCs are
    	us folks. They sell mostly to smaller PC-centric resellers.
    
    	Systems Integrators - Arthur Andersen Consulting, EDS, Perot
    	Systems. They sometimes have software they own, but mostly just
    	reselling our stuff to our original customer in the first place.
    
    
    	That is it. The problem is not the types, it is what they actually
    bring to the table that INCREASES our marketshare. VARs, and
    TOEMs, actually bring us new customers. Distributors and SI normally
    work with Digital end-user reps and just take an order. They do very
    little actual selling (as in buy Digital instead of H-P). Developers
    write software; if you don't get these guys, you're dead. Master
    Resellers are a mixed bag and are mostly margin focused (theirs, not
    yours); they also sell mainly what they have in stock today.
    
    
    	Thems the models. I could do this all day, pluses and minuses. But
    on fact will never go away. Unless we support them, they don't sell
    Digital. Period. End of story.
    		    

The shorter answer:

   There are three general methods of selling:

   1) Direct - sell to the people who will use it
   2) Indirect - sell to the people who will sell it to the people
      who will use it (we sell wholesale to retailers)
   3) Two-tiered - sell to the people who will sell it to the people who
      sell it to the people who use it (we sell to master distributors
      who will sell to local distributors who sell to users)

We are getting out of method 1, and choosing between 2 and 3 to maximize
our volume per transaction.  That is, we will prefer to use 3 unless
specific instances (retail chain stores, for example) demonstrate
advantages for 2.

- tom]

	In my booth (our group is doing an Alpha/OSF-based Internet
	Server) it was mobbed almost all week. I totally lost my voice
	by Friday. Our leads stack up really thick! We had a guy from 
	Avnet in our booth. He got a ton of leads also.

	We also had a person from Netscape Communications (formerly Mosaic
	Communications, formerly the developers of NCSA Mosiac, now
	Netscape) in our booth all week. Wednesday afternoon Marc
	Andreesen (If you know Mosaic, you know of Marc) was in our booth.

	Like I said, lots of leads, no voice, TONS of interest!

						mike
						Exhausted but happy!

    Thank you for -1 & -2.  A bit more complicated than I though.  Or
    should I say convoluted?  ;}
    
    Why focus on #3 in -1, i.e. sell to peole who sell to people who sell
    to people who use it?  (Master Distributors?? - Did I get that right?)
    
    I am just an ignorate techie type, but it seem there is an extra level
    of no-value add margin that must be taken into account with that model.
    
    A mixture of 1 & 2 (and developers) seems to produce the lowest cost
    to customer with the best margin to Digital.  Unless I missed
    something.
    
    rww
    

    
    re .18
    
    	GREAT!  Now who is supposed to follow up those leads?
    		This is the problem I've observed in the past.
    
    Mike M.

    
    	rww-
    
    	You're correct. Good thinking there. Amazing how the obvious kind
    of just jumps out at you. Now how do we get our senior middle managers
    and above to make the same transformation?
    
    		the Greyhawk

    I  believe  that  we  use  master  resellers  because  they  own  the
    relationships, also, their sales costs are lower, so  they don't have
    any issue supporting VARs that only purchase a couple  of  systems  a
    year.    Traditionally  Digital doesn't do business directly with any
    VAR that  doesn't buy a pre-agreed minimum per year.  I don't know if
    this has changed.
    
    OLD

RE: .20

	If we have to do that ourselves, we will. FWIW, we photocopied the
	leads before handing them over to the lead trackers. We can't
	afford to let them go into nothingness.

							mike

Re: .23

Ah, you're learning!

		Steve

 > 	If we have to do that ourselves, we will. FWIW, we photocopied the
 > 	leads before handing them over to the lead trackers. We can't
 > 	afford to let them go into nothingness.
    
    Why do I get this picture of a set of prison guards, with bloodhouds
    tugging at the leash, in a misty swamp in the dead of night; the
    guards let the dogs sniff at this pile of photocopies, and off they
    go, baying in the night...

RE: .25

The ususual thing, my dear Watson, was that the dogs DIDN'T bark in 
the night.

--PSW

    "...in a misty swamp in the dead of night..."
    
    I see you've actually hung around with Mike...
    
    Danny

    re .26
    
    "Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?"
    "To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time."
    "The dog did nothing in the night-time."
    "That was the curious incident," remarked Sherlock Holmes.

    	FWIW, there was a report from COMDEX on French national television
    last night. There was a fair amount about technology, showing various
    types of equipment, but the only company names I could distinguish were
    Microsoft, Compaq and IBM. Of course Compaq and IBM (and HP) run
    television adverts, whereas I have never seen a DEC one.

    I survived four days of COMDEX and was very impressed with what we did
    in the two Digital areas.  This was the best I've ever seen Digital do
    at a trade show.
    
    I've had various COMDEX victims actually mention (without coaxing) that
    Digital looked great.
    
    To all involved, congratulations!
    
    --Ron
    
    I also experienced one of the worst presentations at any show: IBM's OS/2
    Warp.  Absolutely dreadful.  It was painfully slow and completely
    throw-away.  (And this is coming from a person that likes OS/2 Warp.)

Get hold of Alpha Fast Facts in Readers Choice on VTX "Digital takes Top 
Honours at Comdex" dated 21.11.94.

This is great news. Multia is a superb product and (virtually) NO 
COMPETITION, and our clustering technology sweeps clean again.

Regards
Caroline

re: .19 (.17, .16)

>    Why focus on #3 in -1, i.e. sell to peole who sell to people who sell
>    to people who use it?  (Master Distributors?? - Did I get that right?)
>    
>    I am just an ignorate techie type, but it seem there is an extra level
>    of no-value add margin that must be taken into account with that model.

There is a traditional element of added value called "breaking bulk,"
buying by the ton to sell by the pound, so to speak.
This can be cascaded.
Master resellers buy by the truckload to sell by the pallet load
to distributors who will sell by the unit.
Their added value, as Greyhawk described it in .16, is having the 
relationships, knowing who will buy pallet loads.
We will sell directly (method 2) to major retailers who are, in essence, 
their own master distributors (to their separate (super)stores).

- tom]

RE: .24

	Yup... We really want our product to sell..

RE: .27

	You would know, now wouldn't you Danny? :-)

							mike

So has anybody donated a well configured AlphaStation running Windows NT to 
Jerry Pournelle so he can rave about it in Byte? (I think JP is also one of the 
judges for the "Best of" awards.)

PJDM

    Most COMDEX attendees don't gamble while there. I ran into one that did
    - a former Digital sales person from the west coast. Seems as if he won
    172K playing caribbean stud poker at Bally's. They dealt him a royal
    flush!

    Hi,
    	I thought I saw a thread of notes on Multia, but dir/tit found nada.
    
    Anyway, I just saw Client/Server Today and reviews of the AlphaStations
    performance were done, but what sticks out is that:
    
    	Multia - 166mhz, 24MB RAM, ethernet, SCSI-2, 340MB disk,
    		 PCI, 2 PCMCIA slots, Windows-NT w connectivity software,
    		 *** $3500 **** (Thats no typo). No monitor, I guess.
    
    In comparision the AlphaStation 200 4/166 is $10k.
    		166mhz, 32MB RAM, 512k secondary cache, SCSI-2 controller
    		and 3 expansions slots: 2 PCI and 1 ISA, ethernet, 8 plane
    		graphics card, 15 in Monitor, Windows-NT.
    		
    Is this HOT, wrong, or am I missing something?
    Is this finally something to compete against INTEL?
    
    Can we get the full scoop, pointers?
    
    Mike M.

Mike,

The Multia price is correct for a system with no monitor.  For more information
on Multia, check out the Notes conference at ONTIME::MULTIA or the recent Sales
Update article.

Paul

    re .36
    The Multia uses a 166Mhz 21066 (very cheap part, very low performance).
    It's a very bounded, low cost config.
    
    The AlphaStation 200 4/166 is a 166Mhz 21064A (more expensive,
    much higher performance).  It has to deal with lots of options,
    and has to support 3 OSs.
    
    The Multia folks don't have to cater to OSF or VMS, which
    brings in significant overhead in testing, support, etc.  They
    also are very familiar with pricing products in very competitive
    markets (printers, terminals,...)
    
    The Worksystems folks are just utterly clueless on how to price a
    product.
    .02 kb

    
    	And Multia is a world beater!!!!
    
    				Malcolm.

Re: .39

Except it seems to be shipping with dead batteries...

			Steve

    
    	Oh dear Steve, am I out of date already?  I thought that they were
    delivering with the Hard Disk disconnected?
    
    				Malcolm.

�    The Multia uses a 166Mhz 21066 (very cheap part, very low performance).
�    It's a very bounded, low cost config.

Let's be careful with that "very low performance" piece.  166 Mhz still 
beats the pants off any of our competitors in this space.  While it may
be very low performance compared to, say, an EV5, it will run rings around
most similar competitive platforms.

And you get dead batteries and disconnected disks for no extra charge :-).

j.

    Hey, when I got my PC, it was configured with the cache turned off and
    the monitor at the interleved refresh rate.  (And it wasn't a Digital
    PC either).
    
                            August

    
    	The Multia is NOT a PC as such, it is designed to be used in a
    Network - ANY Network.  I have my suspicions that one *might* be able
    to use it stand-alone, but it is NOT designed for that purpose.
    
    				Malcolm.

From:	ASABET::STRECKER     19-DEC-1994 13:39:27.34
To:	OGILVIE
CC:	STRECKER
Subj:	Forward to Staff/All...

From:	MSBCS::DEMMER "Bill Demmer DTN: 293-5000 BXB1-2/D10  16-Dec-1994 0526 -0500" 16-DEC-1994 05:31:55.77
To:	@SBG
CC:	DEMMER
Subj:	FYI - Good News -/Bill

From:	US1RMC::"[email protected]" "Roger Gourd" 12-DEC-1994 10:28:27.78
To:	msbcs::demmer
CC:	[email protected]
Subj:	Good News is always good news

Congratulations!  Have a wonderful holiday with Marie and
any/all gathered offspring.  And I look forward to seeing
you at breakfast Thursday, January 12th.  Maybe after your
move we'll be able to eat somewhere that has good food!

roger

Apparently-To: [email protected]
Subject: comments from Digital at Comdex


 Digital - A metamorphosis in the desert
{Editorial in Digital News and Review, 5-Dec-94, p. 8}
{Contributed by Michael Pettengill}

     Editorial, Paul Nesdore, DN&R Editor in Chief

 Tired of the old laid-back image of Digital Equipment Corp., whose marketing
 clout used to be less exciting than watching bowling on television?  Fed up
 with product lines that don't offer resellers a full spectrum of enterprise
 capability and are proprietary to boot?  Well, do we have news for you!

 Those of you who attended Comdex saw something startling.  There was an "in
 your face" Digital presence that was unprecidented in the history of Comdex or
 the company.  Wherever you turned in Las Vegas, Digital was there.  From the
 laser light show on the wall of the South Hall to the sleek sports car being
 raffled off to the Multia decals over the entrances, Digital was stating
 something that Ken Olsen never could or would have dreamed of.

 It was no mirage.

 Digital recently took a survey after changing its official street name from
 DEC to Digital.  The results showed that there were a significant number of
 people who thought that DEC and Digital were two different companies.  While
 this news may have revealed a lack of marketing communication, perhaps it also
 revealed a good discovery, because the new "Digital" makes "DEC" look like an
 also-ran.

 Digital's Comdex presence was immense, inspite of the general hype overload 
 inherent at any and every Comdex and even taking into account the Microsoft
 Windows95 and IBM OS/2 Warp extravaganzas.  Digital's message was clear; it
 was involved, it was competitive, it was not proprietary, and it was second
 to none.

 One of the highlights was the VAR breakfast at Tropicana, hosted by the 
 components devision.  There, executives touted the virtues of of the Multia
 MultiClient Desktop.  This full-capacity matuinal soiree was impressive, with
 all the senior components division executives on hand.

 Back on the show floor, the components division booth was separated from the
 main Digital complex at the convention center.  Again the message was clear:
 There's nothing proprietary here.

 Other company divisions were strongly represented, too. Computer Systems
 Division head Enrico Pesatori held a breakfast, reinforcing Windows NT running
 on AlphaStations and AlphaServers and demonstrating the integrated systems and
 network management platforms on Windows NT--Polycenter Assestworks and
 Polycenter Manager on Netview for NT.

 Another announcement was the 0.5 micron version of the Alpha 21066
 processor, the 21066A.  Add to this five new AlphaServers and three new
 AlphaStations, the complete range of PCs (the Celebris, the Venturis, and the
 Starion), and the new notebook, HiNote, and the array was overwhelming.
 Digital also announced that it had been selected to manage Microsoft's network
 infrastructure.

 Even more obvious than the products and the glitter was Digital's openness
 with the press.  Special arrangements were made for senior Digital executives
 to meet one-on-one with reporters.  I had meetings easily arranged with
 Pesatori, Harry Copperman, vice president of worldwide sales and marketing for
 the Systems Busines Unit, and Charlie Christ of the components division.  They
 all indicated their willingness to talk about the new Digital.  None said the
 task was easy, or that the hard part was over.  But all clearly showed that
 the metamorphosis was taking place and the new thought patterns were being
 instilled throughout the company.  Particularly impressive was Pesatori, whose
 focus is iron-like and who refuses to engage in industry bashing to make
 excuses for Digital's shortcomings.



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% Subject: Good News is always good news
% Date: Mon, 12 Dec 1994 10:22:02 -0500
% From: Roger Gourd <[email protected]>

 Digital - It looks like a PC maker, walks like a PC maker...
	{Business Week, 12-Dec-94, p. 106}
	{Contributed by: Don Churn}
	[This is the entire article- TT]
   After years of false starts, DEC has hot machines and a serious game plan
 for creating a market presence..

   With its repeated entries and sudden departures from the personal-computer
 business over the years, Digital Equipment Corp. has never been considered a
 serious contender.  It didn't help that the minicomputer maker's founder,
 Kenneth H. Olsen, was fond of denigrating the upstart PC.  "Everyone will have
 one - tucked away in his closet," he confidently predicted.
   Now, it turns out, DEC is really a closet PC company.  In just the past two
 months, it has revived a me-too product line with well-received IBM-compatible
 desktop and notebook PCs.  A new retail sales push includes savvy
 consumer-product marketing ideas, such as giving major retailers exclusives on
 certain models.  The company mad e splash with new models at Comdex, the
 industry's extravaganza in early November, and a new crew of seasoned PC
 talent is busy hatching more plans to enlarge DEC's PC business.  Even rivals
 no longer doubt DEC's PC ambitions.  "I hate to say it," says Jim McDonnell, a
 Hewlett-Packard Co. marketing manager, "but DEC smells like a PC company."

   Mini Relief.

   It certainly looks like a contender.  Industry analysts expect DEC to double
 PC shipments, to 1 million machines this year, vaulting the company to No. 12
 in the world market from a lowly No. 26 just two years ago (table).  The
 Personal Computer Business Unit should contribute $2 billion or 24% of the
 company's product sales, for the fiscal year ending next June 30 - up from
 $1.5 billion last year.
   In fact, it could be the PC that pulls DEC out of its five-year funk.
 PC-revenue gains are already helping to offset the nearly $6 billion in red
 ink over the last four years from tanking mini sales.  But more important, the
 successful PC unit is making DEC rethink how it does business in general and
 its approach to such concepts as client-server computing in particular.  "The
 success of the PC business has deeply affected the way the company is thinking
 about the systems business," says Wes Melling of Stamford (Conn.) researcher
 Gartner Group Inc.  For example, DEC is rewriting a version of the pioneering
 disk-sharing software it originally developed for its minis to run on PC-based
 servers.  The software is designed to be easy to install and will be sold in
 PC stores.
   [Photo of Bernhard Auer holding a notebook. Caption: Ultrathin is in: Auer
 with the HiNote]
  [Table: Upward Mobility
	DEC's worldwide PC market share by units shipped
		'91	'92	'93	'94
 Market Share	0.6%	0.7%	1.3%	2.3%
 Rank		31	26	15	12

 1994 Estimated market share	Rank
 Compaq			11%	 1
 IBM			10%	 2
 Apple			 9.5%	 3
 Packard Bell		 4.7%	 4
 NEC			 4%	 5
 DEC			 2.3%	12

   The PC turnaround began two years ago with the arrival of Enrico Pesatori, a
 former Zenith Data Systems executive and longtime veteran of Italian PC giant
 Olivetti.  Pesatori dramatically expanded the use of resellers, hired new 
 managers and redirected development efforts.  Last April, he was rewarded with
 the Systems Business Unit, responsible for all computers.  He handed over the
 PC operation to Bernhard Auer, a former executive with Compaq in Europe.
   Auer has already presided over the introduction of striking new products, 
 such as the ultrathin HiNote notebook - selected as the best new product at
 Comdex by researcher BIS Strategic Decisions.  Next up is a new computer
 slated for introduction on Dec. 5 that runs client-server networks.  While the
 main target for the new Prioris line will be servers made by Compaq Computer,
 IBM and Dell Computer, Auer concedes it will also compete against DEC's
 cherished minicomputers.
   Such freedom to pursue its markets - even if it means mashing other DEC toes
 - may be critical for the continued success of the PC unit.  Auer, a
 53-year-old native of southern Germany who describes himself as a "determined
 Bavarian," ants the unit to swing for attainable goals rather than grand
 slams.  When he came in, the official objective was to take fifth place in
 market share next year.  That would have required DEC to sell 4 million PCs, a
 near-impossible dream.  Now, Auer is focusing on a handful of fast-growing
 segments.  "I need a few number ones in the short term," he says.  Because
 notebooks and servers carry higher margins than desktop machines, hits in
 those markets should help Auer continue to maintain net margins similar to
 Dell's 4%, he says.
   Will he succeed?  A lot depends on the new products.  Thus far, analysts
 say, DEC's gains have come largely from selling PCs to its minicomputer
 customers.  Now, the going gets tougher as DEC expands to new customers among
 small businesses and consumers.  The new HiNote, for example, will have to
 fight for shelf space against such names as Compaq, Toshiba, Apple, and a
 revitalized IBM.  That's going to be an uphill battle.  PC Warehouse, an
 87-store chain based in Rochelle Park, N.J., recently passed on DEC because it
 lacks separate lines for consumers and businesses.  "The manufacturers we pick
 up have to have retail and corporate products," says Reza Shafiei, director of
 marketing at PC Warehouse.  "Timing is very important; now, DEC is a little
 late."
   To overcome the late start, Auer is counting on a team of veteran PC
 managers recruited from Compaq, Zenith, IBM and Tandy.  And just like other PC
 companies, he has aligned the PC operation into desktop, mobile, and retail
 "brand" units that mimic Procter & Gamble Co.'s consumer-marketing machine.
 Indeed, analysts expect a consumer-market push to emerge within 12 months.
 "They've been successful in pulling together an organization with people and
 disciplines from all areas of the business," says Randal A. Giusto, director
 of mobile computing at researcher BIS.
   If any group epitomizes the new approach, it's the team that delivered the
 HiNote.  Led by Vice-President Winnie Briney, a former IBM PC marketing
 manager, the group created a machine that is 1 inch thick and sports a
 full-sized screen and keyboard.  HiNote sales could hit 300,000 to 400,000
 units next year - about five times the annual shipments for DEC's current
 notebook offerings, says researcher WorkGroup Technologies Inc.

   Household Name?

   Opening new PC markets will be critical if DEC hopes to crack the top 10
 next year.  PC juggernaut Compaq has an ambitious goal of its own:  to nearly
 double market share to 20% by 1995.  Analysts figure it can only do that by
 taking business from second-tier players.  To avoid being rolled over, DEC has
 to jump-start its retail push.  Leading the effort is former Compaq marketing
 executive Skip Gladfelter, now a DEC vice-president.  His first target is the
 millions of consumers and small-business owners that he hopes are shopping
 mass-merchandise discount chains.  He has signed CompUSA and Sam's Club and
 expects to have four major chains carrying DEC products in 1995.
   That should give DEC a way to go after another hot market.  "By next
 Christmas, we want to have a true consumer product," says Gladfelter.  Now,
 what would company founder Olsen say about a DEC PC under every Christmas
 tree?

   By Gary McWilliams in Acton, Mass., with Peter Burrows in Dallas.

    re .42
    >Let's be careful with that "very low performance" piece.
    
    I was comparing it to Pentiums (or even 486 dx4/100), where
    indeed a 166Mhz LCA has very low performance.  Even the top of
    the line 275Mhz 21064A with 2Mb cache is only 33% faster than
    a Pentium100 at the native NT application level.  [source:
    PC Week, using Excel32 and Word32].  kb

    
    In the latest Client/Server Today, they talk about new compilers which
    improve performance.  How much?  I'm waiting to see our SPEC numbers.

    re .47 - You shouldn't really compare the two EXcels - the Intel
    version has some hand crafted assembler in there to speed it up.
    
    Alan

>    re .47 - You shouldn't really compare the two EXcels - the Intel
>    version has some hand crafted assembler in there to speed it up.

Yes, it's too bad that one often has to compare applications running on
the hardware :-). Most customers actually don't run SPECfp92 all the day.

Olav

    Yep - I agree in practice but lets wait for the next version of EXcel
    for Alpha - when (I hope) there will be some improvements.
    
    Alan