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Seasoned hand takes an OpenMPE oar

Homesteading advocates on the OpenMPE board announced that Tracy Johnson steps into the open post this week on the board. Lund Performance powerhouse and well-connected fellow Bill Lancaster had to step down from the seat last year. The board has convinced Johnson to take up the rest of Lancaster's term, another two years' worth.

Johnson is well known as a source of deep 3000 experience and wry wit, both posted in public places such as the HP 3000 newsgroup/mailing list. He touts system experience from the pre PA-RISC days of 1984, using MPE IV, rather than iX. Measurement Specialties, a stalwart MANMAN shop, counts itself lucky to have him in its pool of able resources.

In August of 2005, part of HP was searching for an HP-UX version of the C compiler. The lab group in India had mislaid it. Johnson noted at the time, "If "Open-MPE" were out there, perhaps this [mailing list] could have helped. Too late now it seems."

Now the veteran is ready to be part of the future of the HP's end-game for the system.

"I'll endeavor to do my best for the duration of the appointment," Johnson said. Elections arrive in less than a month for OpenMPE, but Johnson's seat is not up for grabs.

As for the wit, it's bolstered by a long memory of the era of the 3000 manager. About 18 months ago, a 3000 newbie from another environment asked the 3000 community of the whereabouts of HP 3000 "admins." Johnson replied:

Admins? No such thing. We were either Managers or Operators, never Admins. We'd never stoop to that.

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