Hewlett-Packard
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- "HP" redirects here. For other uses, see HP (disambiguation).
| Hewlett-Packard Company
<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:16px 0 16px 0;"> | |
| Type | Public (NYSE: HPQ) |
|---|---|
| Founded | Palo Alto, California (1939) |
| Headquarters | Image:Flag of the United States.svg Palo Alto, California, USA
<tr><th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Key people</th><td>Mark V. Hurd, Chairman, CEO & President |
The Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ), commonly known as HP, is the world's largest information technology corporation and is worldwide known for its printers and personal computers. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, United States, it has a global presence in the fields of computing, printing, and digital imaging, and also provides software and services.
HP posted US$91.7 billion in annual revenue in 2006, accelerating the competition with IBM for the distinction of being the world's largest technology vendor in terms of sales. HP is now the No. 1 ranking in worldwide personal computer shipments, surpassing rival Dell, market research firms Gartner and IDC reported in October 2006.
Contents |
[edit] Company history
[edit] Founding
HP was founded on January 11939 as a manufacturer of test and measurement instruments, by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, with a US$538 investment.<ref>http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/garage/</ref> They had both graduated from Stanford University in 1934. The company originated in a garage there while they were still fellows at Stanford. (so their story was more "academic gowns to riches" than rags to riches).<ref>http://futureobservatory.dyndns.org/9056.htm</ref>
Their first product was a precision audio oscillator, the Model 200A. Their innovation was the use of a small night-light bulb as a temperature dependent resistor in a critical portion of the circuit. This allowed them to sell the Model 200A for $54.40 when competitors were selling less stable oscillators for over $200. The Model 200 series of generators continued until at least 1972 as the 200AB, still tube-based but improved in design through the years. At 33 years, it was perhaps the longest-selling basic electronic design of all time.
The company name, Hewlett-Packard, was derived from the founders' last names. Had Bill not won a coin toss, the company today might be known as Packard-Hewlett. One of the company's earliest customers was Walt Disney Productions, who bought eight Model 200B oscillators (at $71.50 each) for use in testing the Fantasound stereophonic sound system for the movie Fantasia.
[edit] Inventions
LightScribe was invented by Hewlett-Packard engineer Daryl Anderson. LightScribe is an optical disc recording technology that utilizes specially coated recordable CD and DVD media to produce laser-etched labels. LightScribe is licensed by HP to numerous hardware manufacturers, media manufacturers and software developers. Although currently limited to desktop and laptop PC DVD/CD drives, HP has ambitions to make LightScribe present in consumer electronics products such as stereo-component CD recording decks and set-top DVD recorders.[1]
The purpose of LightScribe is to allow users to create direct-to-disc labels (as opposed to stick-on labels), using their optical disc writer. Special discs and a compatible disc writer are required. After burning data to the read-side of the disc, the user simply turns the media over and inserts it with the label side down. The drive's laser then etches into the label side in such a way that an image is produced (see below).
The surface of a LightScribe disc is coated with a reactive dye that changes color when it absorbs 780nm infrared laser light. The etched label will show no noticeable fading under exposure to indoor lighting for at least 9 months. Optical media should always be stored in a protective sleeve or case that keeps the data content in the dark and safe from scratches. If properly stored as such, the label should show no noticeable change for much longer than 9 months in real-world application. Lightscribe Demonstration Video
[edit] Focus
The company was originally rather unfocused, working on a wide range of electronic products for industry and even agriculture. Eventually they elected to focus on high-quality electronic test and measurement equipment. Throughout the 1940s to well into the 1990s the company focused on making signal generators, voltmeters, oscilloscopes, counters, and other test equipment. Their distinguishing feature was pushing the limits of measurement range and accuracy. For instance, almost every HP voltmeter or signal generator has one or more extra clicks of its knobs than its competitors. HP volt- or ammeters would measure down and up an extra 10 to 100 times the units of other meters. Although there were good reasons why competing meters stopped at 1 volt full scale, HP engineers figured out ways of extending the range of their equipment by a considerable amount. They also focused on extreme accuracy and stability, leading to a wide range of very accurate, precise, and stable frequency counters, voltmeters, thermometers, and time standards.
[edit] The sixties and seventies
HP is recognized as the symbolic founder of Silicon Valley, although it did not actively investigate semiconductor devices until a few years after the "Traitorous Eight" had abandoned William Shockley to create Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957. Hewlett-Packard's HP Associates division, established around 1960, developed semiconductor devices primarily for internal use. Instruments and calculators were some of the products using these devices.
HP is acknowledged by Wired magazine as the producer of the world's first personal computer, in 1968, the Hewlett-Packard 9100A.<ref>http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.12/mustread.html?pg=11</ref> HP called it a desktop calculator because, as Bill Hewlett said, "If we had called it a computer, it would have been rejected by our customers' computer gurus because it didn't look like an IBM. We therefore decided to call it a calculator, and all such nonsense disappeared." An engineering triumph at the time, the logic circuit was produced without any integrated circuits; the assembly of the CPU having been entirely executed in discrete components. With CRT readout, magnetic card storage, and printer the price was around $5000.
The company earned global respect for a variety of products. They introduced the world's first handheld scientific electronic calculator in 1972 (the HP-35), the first handheld programmable in 1974 (the HP-65), the first alphanumeric, programmable, expandable in 1979 (the HP-41C), and the first symbolic and graphing calculator HP-28C. Like their scientific and business calculators, their oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and other measurement instruments have a reputation for sturdiness and usability (the latter products are now part of spin-off Agilent's product line). The company's design philosophy in this period was summarized as "design for the guy at the next bench".
[edit] The eighties and beyond
In 1984, HP introduced both inkjet and laser printers for the desktop. Along with its scanner product line, these have later been developed into successful multifunction products, the most significant being single-unit printer/scanner/copier/fax machines. The print mechanisms in HP's tremendously popular LaserJet line of laser printers depend almost entirely on Canon's components (print engines), which in turn use technology developed by Xerox. HP develops the hardware, firmware, and software that convert data into dots for the mechanism to print.
In the 1990s, HP expanded their computer product line, which initially had been targeted at university, research, and business customers, to reach consumers. Later in the decade HP opened hpshopping.com as an independent subsidiary to sell online, direct to consumers; the store was rebranded "HP Home & Home Office Store" in 2005. HP also grew through acquisitions, buying Apollo Computer in 1989, Convex Computer in 1995, and Compaq in 2002. Compaq itself had bought Tandem Computers in 1997 (which had been started by ex-HP employees), and Digital Equipment Corporation in 1998. Following this strategy HP became a major player in desktops, laptops, and servers for many different markets.
In 1987, the Palo Alto garage where Hewlett and Packard started their business was designated as a California State historical landmark.
In July of 1999, HP appointed Carly Fiorina as CEO. Fiorina was the first woman ever to serve as CEO of a company included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Fiorina was forced to resign on February 9, 2005.
[edit] Technology and products
Image:HP0100A 1.jpg Image:HPComputerHoustonISD.JPG
HP has a successful line of printers, scanners, digital cameras, calculators, PDAs, servers, workstations, and home-small business computers. HP today promotes itself as not just being a hardware and software company, but also one that offers a full range of services to architect, implement and support today's IT infrastructure.
[edit] Imaging and Printing Group (IPG)
According to HP's 2005 U.S. SEC 10-K filing,<ref name="05-00">http://www.shareholder.com/Common/Edgar/47217/1047469-05-28479/05-00.pdf</ref> HP's Imaging and Printing Group is "the leading imaging and printing systems provider in the world for printer hardware, printing supplies and scanning devices, providing solutions across customer segments from individual consumers to small and medium businesses to large enterprises."
Products and technology associated with the Imaging and Printing Group include:
- Inkjet and LaserJet printers, consumables and related products.
- the Indigo Digital Press
- the HP Web Jetadmin printer management software
- the HP Output Management suite of software, including HP Output Server
[edit] Personal Systems Group
HP's Personal Systems Group is "one of the leading vendors of personal computers ("PCs") in the world based on unit volume shipped and annual revenue."<ref name="05-00"/>
Personal Systems Group products/technology include:
- Consumer PCs including the HP Pavilion, Compaq Presario and VoodooPC series.
- Workstations for Unix, Windows and Linux systems.
- Handheld Computing including iPAQ Pocket PC handheld computing devices
- Digital Entertainment including DVD+RW drives, HP Movie Writer and HP Digital Entertainment Center. HP resold the Apple iPod from HP until November 2005.<ref name="05-00"/>
[edit] Technology Solutions Group
In HP's financial reporting, HP groups its Enterprise Storage and Servers, HP Services and Software under Technology Solutions Group.
HP's Enterprise Storage and Servers Group has product/technology including:
- the ProLiant entry line of x86 based servers (from Compaq)
- the BladeSystem x86 based blade servers
- the Integrity line using the Itanium processor architecture (with Intel) running on several operating systems including HP-UX (a UNIX implementation)
- the HP AlphaServer productline using the Alpha processor (from DEC) and running on both:
- Tru64 operating system (from DEC)
- the OpenVMS large-scale, highly available server operating system (from DEC)
- the NonStop high-reliability architecture and operating system (from Tandem Computers)
- MIPs based Nonstop fault-tolerant server products
- the PA-RISC processor architecture
- the HP 9000 "Superdome" line of Servers and workstations
- the StorageWorks product line, which includes business class and enterprise class data storage and protection products.<ref>http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/prodserv/storage.html</ref>
- the ProCurve family of network switches, wireless access points, and routers.<ref>http://www.hp.com/rnd/index.htm</ref>
HP's Software division has products/technologies including:
- the OpenView family of management software
- the OpenCall family of telecom software
[edit] HP Labs
HP Labs (or HP Laboratories) is the research arm of HP. Founded in 1966, HP Labs' function is to deliver breakthrough technologies and to create business opportunities that go beyond HP's current strategies. An example of recent HP Lab technology includes the Memory spot chip.
[edit] Partnerships
Hewlett-Packard is a supporter of FOSS and Linux. Some HP employees, such as Linux CTO and former Debian Project Leader Bdale Garbee actively contribute and have official Open Source job responsibilities. Many others participate in the Open Source community as unpaid volunteers. HP is also known in the (GNU/)Linux community for releasing drivers for many of their printers under the GNU GPL.
Hewlett-Packard also works extensively with Microsoft and uses technology from most major software and hardware vendors. Until November 2005, HP offered a re-branded version of Apple's famous iPod.<ref name="05-00"/>
[edit] Sponsorships
HP has many sponsorships. One well known sponsorship is Walt Disney World's EPCOT Park's Mission: Space. Others can be found on Hewlett-Packards Website [1]
[edit] Product Legacy
Agilent Technologies, not HP, retains the direct product legacy of the original company founded in 1939. Agilent's current portfolio of electronic instruments are descended from HP's very earliest products. HP entered the computer business only after its instrumentation competencies were well-established. Agilent was spun off from HP in 1999. The merger with Compaq has distanced HP even farther from its roots in test and measurement.
[edit] Culture
The founders, known to friends and employees alike as Bill and Dave, developed a unique management style that has come to be known as the HP Way. In Bill's words, the HP Way is "a core ideology . . . [that] includes a deep respect for the individual, a dedication to affordable quality and reliability, a commitment to community responsibility, and a view that the company exists to make technical contributions for the advancement and welfare of humanity."<ref>http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/expert/strauss092205.mspx</ref>
The HP Alumni Association maintains a tribute to Bill and Dave's version of the HP Way, circa 1992.<ref>http://www.hpalumni.org/hp_way.htm</ref>
[edit] Trivia
Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard tossed a coin to decide whether the company they founded would be called Hewlett-Packard or Packard-Hewlett
HP spun off a small company, Dynec, to specialize in digital equipment. As a side-benefit, the HP logo "hp" could be turned upside down to read "dy". Eventually Dynec changed to Dymec, then was folded back into HP.
HP partnered in the 1960s with Sony and the Yokogawa Electric companies in Japan to develop several high-quality products. The products were not a huge success, as there were high costs in building HP-looking products in Japan.
Just about every HP product in the test equipment line was labeled with three to five digits followed by the letter "A". Improved versions went to suffixes "B" through "D". A small handful of products somehow got bizarre model numbers, such as the "H201-20" microwave signal generator.
Steve Wozniak originally designed the Apple I computer while working at HP, but they turned down his offer of licensing the design to HP.
HP products were usually very rugged, with clean styling, top notch components, and with conservative specifications, so customers were usually pleasantly surprised when the equipment looked and worked better than expected. There were a few missteps, however:
- In the 1960s they briefly went to painting their equipment a light lavender color.
- In the early 1970s they started a line of "lower cost" test equipment with atrociously ugly and flimsy plastic cases. The cases also got a bad case of 1970s colors, coming out in dark shag rug green and burnt orange.
- On test equipment made in the 1980s a common problem was flimsy knobs that easily broke off.
- A very few innovative but malfunctioning products, such as the original HP 3000 computers, had to be recalled for extensive reworking.
[edit] Management
- Chairman of the Board, CEO, and President: Mark Hurd (March 29, 2005 - current, appointed Chairman September 222006)
[edit] History
- Co-founder and CEO: David Packard (CEO: 1964 - 1969)
- Co-founder and CEO: William Hewlett (CEO: 1969 - 1978)
- CEO: John A. Young (1978 - October 311992)
- CEO: Lewis Platt (November 11992 - July 181999)
- Chairman and CEO: Carly Fiorina (July 191999 - February 92005, appointed chairman in 2000)
- Interim CEO: Robert P. Wayman (February 102005 - March 282005)
- Chairman: Patricia C. Dunn (February 2005 - September 222006) Dunn initially resigned September 122006, effective as of January 182007. On September 222006, Dunn's resignation became effective immediately. While some believe she resigned due to her involvement in HP's pretexting scandal, she has not yet issued a statement explaining her reasons. On October 3 2006, it was announced this Dunn would undergo chemotherapy to treat stage 4 ovarian cancer; the illness could have been a contributing factor to the decision to resign.
[edit] Diversity
Hewlett-Packard received a 100% rating on the Corporate Equality Index released by the Human Rights Campaign starting in 2003, the second year of the report. In addition, the company was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers in 2004 by Working Mothers magazine.
Hewlett-Packard is also involved in the NEPAD e-school program to provide all schools in Africa with computers and internet access.
[edit] Ad campaigns
Hewlett-Packard has used a number of innovative commercials to sell its products.
[edit] The Computer is Personal Again
In May 2006, the company launched a new campaign designed to bring back the fact that the PC (Personal Computer) is a personal product. The campaign utilized viral marketing, sophisticated visuals, and its own web site <ref>http://www.hp.com/personalagain/us/en/index.html</ref>. Some of the ads featured well-known personalities - Pharrell, Mark Burnett, Mark Cuban, Jay-Z, and Shaun White. Rather than show a bunch of talking heads, each advertisement showed a neck-down view in which the endorser, aided greatly by graphics, visually showed how they used HP products. All these personalities weren't paid millions of dollars but brought a deal with HP to sponsor their or a selected charity group.
Two months after having created The Computer Is Personal Again, Dell followed up with its own campaign entitled "Purely You," which seems to piggyback off the HP idea.
[edit] You + HP: digital photography
A television ad campaign for Hewlett-Packard's digital photography (titled "You + HP: digital photography") has been noted for its simple special effects and choice of music. It won "Campaign of the Year" from Adweek magazine in 2004.<ref>http://www.adweek.com/aw/creative/best_spots_04/cam04.jsp</ref>
Songs used in "You + HP" Campaign:
- "Picture Book" by The Kinks
- "Out of the Picture" by The Robins
- "Pictures of You" by The Cure
- "The Rainbow" by The Apples in Stereo
- "Across the Universe" by The Beatles
[edit] Acquisitions
[edit] Data Systems, Inc.
A small 5-person company called Data Systems, Inc. Owned by a chemical manufacturer, Union Carbide, who failed in their diversification efforts, HP bought the group and this helped to launch the HP 2116A in 1966. A computer designed to automate the collection and processing of data from the company’s test and measurement devices, it marked HPs entry into the growing computer industry.
[edit] Apollo
In 1989, HP Acquired Apollo computer for $476 million. HP was able to achieve a growth in market share after the merger; with the market at the time valued at $4.1 billion and the fastest-growing area of the market.
[edit] Verifone
On April 23, 1997, HP announced plans to acquire VeriFone, the leading provider of card-swipe terminals on retail countertops to approve purchases, in a $1.18 billion stock swap. On May 102001, Gores Technology Group acquired VeriFone from HP.
[edit] Dazel Corporation
On June 7, 1999, HP acquired Dazel Corporation, located in Austin, Texas, a leading provider of Output Management software.
[edit] Bluestone
On January 18, 2001, HP acquired Bluestone Software, Inc., a leading provider of B2B, B2C, and wireless open platform solutions.
[edit] Indigo
On March 22, 2002, HP acquired Indigo N.V., a leader in digital offset color printing systems.
[edit] Compaq
On May 3, 2002, Hewlett-Packard merged with Compaq Computer Corporation, a controversial move intended to make the company the personal computing leader. The merger opposition was led by Walter Hewlett, son of HP founder William Hewlett; and by David Woodley Packard, son of co-founder David Packard.
[edit] PipeBeach
On August 23 2003, HP acquired PipeBeach to strengthen its leadership in the growing VoiceXML interactive voice market.
[edit] Snapfish
On April 15, 2005, HP acquired Snapfish, a leading online photo service based in San Francisco, California, USA.
[edit] AppIQ
In October of 2005, Hewlett-Packard acquired the private company AppIQ (short for "Application IQ"). The company was founded in 2001 by Ash Ashutosh and David Chang, and offered several digital storage solutions. The company had employed up to 235 people by June 2005.
[edit] OuterBay
On February 7, 2006, HP agreed to acquire OuterBay, a leading provider of archiving software for enterprise applications and databases. OuterBay is headquartered in Cupertino, California, USA, with offices in the US, UK, and India.
[edit] Silverwire
On June 6, 2006, HP announced it was acquiring Silverwire Holding AG, a commercial digital photography solutions and software provider with a strong presence in the retail photo market. Silverwire is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland.
[edit] VoodooPC
On September 28, 2006, HP announced it will expand its presence in the gaming market by acquiring VoodooPC, a maker of high-performance gaming, luxury, and entertainment PCs based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This acquisition closed early in November 2006.
[edit] Mercury Interactive
On November 7, 2006, HP announced that it had completed the acquisition of Mercury Interactive (MERQ.PK), a company that provided Business Technology Optimization software (i.e. software that helps a company govern, develop and maintain its technology stack).
[edit] Competitors
Major competitors of HP in the computer business include Apple Computer, Dell, Gateway, Lenovo (Purchased IBM's Non-server Personal Computer Business), Sony and Toshiba. Major competitors of HP in the server business include Sun Microsystems, IBM and Dell. Major competitors of HP in the printer business include Brother, Canon, Epson, Lexmark and Dell (who rebrands and repackages Lexmark products). Upon acquiring Voodoo PC, HP and its newest subdivision will compete in the enthusiast market against Falcon Northwest, Alienware (A division of Dell), WidowPC and other manufacturers.
[edit] HP pretexting scandal
For more details on this topic, see 2006 HP Spying Scandal
On September 5, 2006 Newsweek published a story<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14687677/site/newsweek/</ref> revealing that the chairwoman of HP, Patricia Dunn, had hired a team of independent electronic-security experts that later spied on HP board members and several journalists, to determine the source of leak of confidential details regarding HP's long-term strategy in January, 2006. They used a technique known as pretexting to obtain call records of HP board members and nine journalists, including reporters for CNET, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Dunn has claimed she did not know beforehand the methods the investigators used to try and determine the source of the leak. <ref name="HP.TMP">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/09/HP.TMP</ref> Board member George Keyworth was ultimately outed as the source and on September 12, 2006, along with HP's announcement that Mark Hurd, the current CEO, will replace Dunn as Chairman after the HP board meeting on January 18, 2007. On September 22, 2006 Hurd announced at a special press conference that Ms. Dunn had resigned effective immediately from both the Chairmanship and the Board; no statement was issued to indicate whether Dunn's departure was connected to the pretexting scandal or not. On September 28, 2006, Ann Baskins, HP's general counsel (head attorney) resigned<ref>"HP general counsel Ann Baskins resigns", BusinessWeek, 2006-09-28. Retrieved on 2006-09-28.</ref> hours before she was to appear as a witness at which she would later invoke the Fifth Amendment to refuse to answer questions.<ref name="HP.HearingCNN">"HP: Grueling day for Hurd & Dunn", CNN, 2006-09-28. Retrieved on 2006-09-28.</ref>
[edit] Investigation by the government
On October 42006, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer filed criminal charges and arrest warrants against Kevin Hunsaker, Dunn and three outside investigators.<ref>"Now, HP is a criminal case", CNN, 2006-10-04. Retrieved on 2006-10-04.</ref> On September 11, 2006, the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce wrote to Patricia Dunn stating that they have been conducting an investigation on Internet-based data brokers who allegedly use "lies, fraud and deception" to acquire personal information, and allow anyone who pay a "modest fee" to acquire "itemized incoming and outgoing call logs", and when had learned about HP's use of pretexting through their September 6th SEC filing and through their own inquiry of HP's Nominating and Governance Committee, stating they are "troubled" by the information, "particularly that it involves HP—one of America's corporate icons."
The committee requested, under Rules X and XI of the United States House of Representatives, information from HP by September 18, 2006:
At the September 28, 2006 hearing, Dunn<ref>Dunn's prepared testimony</ref> and Hurd<ref>Hurd's prepared testimony.</ref> both testified extensively about the investigation. Dunn testified that until June or July 2006, she did not realize that "pretexting" could involve identity misrepresentation. Dunn repeatedly insisted that she had believed that personal phone records could be obtained through legal methods.
Other witnesses refusing to answer questions due to the ongoing criminal investigations.<ref name="HP.HearingCNN"/>
[edit] Perceived impact on the company's operations
It is interesting to note that, despite intense media coverage, investors continue to show faith in the company. As of October 23rd, the price of the company's stock had actually increased from $36.50 to $39.87 per share <ref>http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=HPQ&a=08&b=5&c=2006&d=09&e=10&f=2006&g=d</ref>, a six-year high, apparently reflecting a belief in the investment community that the events described here will have little to no impact on the company's financial results.
An October 8, 2006 Reuters story noted that Hewlett-Packard is hardly the only company to benefit from information gathered via such "rogue" <ref>http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/061008/investigations.html?.v=2</ref> pretexting methods.
[edit] Traceable E-mail
Fred Adler of HP revealed before a U.S. Congressional Inquiry that HP Security used an e-mail tracking service called ReadNotify.com to trace a bogus leak in an e-mail sent to CNET reporter Dawn Kawamoto.<ref>http://news.com.com/How+HP+bugged+e-mail/2100-1029_3-6121048.html</ref> The e-mail contained a Web bug. Adler said HP Security considers Web bugs to be a legitimate investigative tool, and has used them a number of times.<ref>http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,127444-c,onlineprivacy/article.html</ref> The California attorney general’s office has said that this practice was not part of the Pretexting charges. <ref>http://www.cio.com/blog_view.html?CID=25624</ref>
[edit] Criticism
[edit] Calculators
In March 2002, HP announced that it would no longer manufacture financial and scientific calculators – a product line and, indeed, a market, that HP had started thirty years before.[citation needed] HP later recanted and stated in a press release, "The bottom line is that HP calculators are here to stay and they are going to be better than ever, giving our customers more than ever."<ref>http://h41111.www4.hp.com/calculators/aa/en/news/index.html</ref> The extremely popular HP-12C financial calculator, introduced in 1981, still remains in production today.
[edit] Iraq
During the Iran-Iraq war, according to the Financial Times, HP was among the companies accused of shipping militarily useful technology to Iraq before Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990.<ref>http://www.cjr.org/archives.asp?url=/93/2/iraqgate.asp</ref>
During the 2003 invasion of Iraq HP shipped militarily useful technology to US forces. In August 2006, a video was widely distributed showing a soldier "repairing" an HP printer/fax/copier by destroying it with a machinegun, saying that HP wanted to charge him for the information he needed to fix it. HP responded with the statement: "HP was aware of the issue and resolved it back in March. HP responds to each customer service request individually as appropriate and that response is confidential. We take customer service seriously and are committed to providing good customer service." [2] It is not clear from either the video or the article why the soldier did not use whatever system the Army has for supporting equipment that it buys and ships into battle zones.
[edit] Outsourcing
In 1994, HP decided to outsource its manufacturing to third-party vendors and overseas countries to lower costs and raise profits. Today, desktop computers are assembled in Guadalajara, Mexico where HP employs approximately 1,500 workers. Notebook computers are assembled in China from third-party vendors. Servers and workstations are still assembled in the United States.
In 2003, HP had 140,000 employees world wide. Under HP's current restructuring program, HP began reducing its workforce to lower its costs. By 2006, HP experienced a record profit of $1.5 billion in just one quarter.
[edit] HP and the environment
HP have been criticized by Greenpeace, among others. Greenpeace and other environmental groups have alleged HP of poor environmental standards, specifically in relation to the elimination of hazardous substances from products as specified by the European Union's RoHS guidelines for brominated flame retardants and PVC. Greenpeace is also accusing HP of not doing enough to recycle computers and other technology equipment.<ref>greenpeace.org</ref>
Greenpeace's criticism of the technology industry is not limited exclusively to HP, as competitors such as Dell and Apple have also come under fire for alleged similar practices.<ref>businessweek.com</ref>
[edit] See also
- List of Hewlett-Packard products
- Packard Bell - A similarly named radio and TV manufacturer, with no connection to either HP or the Bell System. The name was resurrected in 1986 as a manufacturer of personal computers. Now owned by Gateway, Inc.
- Packard Instrument - A similarly named nuclear instrumentation company with no connection to HP. Now owned by PerkinElmer.
- DeskJet printers
[edit] References
<references />
[edit] External links
- HP corporate homepage
- HP History and Facts
- HP Printing and The Science Museum of Minnesota
- HP Creates RFID Technology for Data Centers
Hardware companies: Acer - Alcatel-Lucent - AMD - ASUS - Cisco - Dell - Freescale - Infineon - Intel - Juniper Networks - Matsushita - Motorola - NXP - Philips - Samsung - Sony - STMicroelectronics - Texas Instruments - Toshiba -VIA Technologies
Software companies: CA - Microsoft - Oracle - SAP - Adobe
Hardware/software companies: Apple - EMC - Fujitsu - HP - Hitachi - IBM - NEC - Nokia - Sun - Siemens - Thomson
Dot-com Companies: Amazon.com - AOL - eBay - Google - Yahoo!
Technology Consulting companies: Accenture - Infosys - Wipro - CSC - TCS - Satyam - EDS - Cognizant - Capgemini - LogicaCMG
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