Compaq Computer
Corp. this week laid off roughly 100 engineers responsible for developing Windows
NT/2000 on the Alpha platform, several informed sources said. [Note: Compaq
has only discussed the 32-bit version of NT, it is still unclear whether this
announcement also affects 64-bit Windows.]
What
this means:
-
As mentioned
in TEC's note on Alpha ("Compaq's Alpha - Heading Toward Its Omega?" August
13, 1999), Compaq had shown little commitment to making Alpha NT a viable
product set. This latest development is the other shoe which was waiting
to fall.
-
This decision
indicates that Compaq no longer views Alpha as anything other than a high-end
product. It is unclear whether this strategy is viable for the long term.
-
Although
Compaq has stated that it is "committed" to 64-bit Windows NT (a/k/a Win64),
it is not clear how long this commitment will last.
-
This provides
Merced an additional advantage relative to Alpha. Alpha's once-trumpeted
OS flexibility will be surpassed by Merced's. [Merced will run Unix, NT
(32-bit and 64-bit), and Linux, Alpha will run Unix ("Tru64 Unix"), Linux,
possibly Win64, and OpenVMS - but OpenVMS is almost entirely focused on
legacy systems.]
-
If Compaq
decides to make further cutbacks in Alpha development (especially on the
chip development side), this will be a clear signal that Alpha's future
is dim.