I was lying in my Master's office contemplating a nap when his phone rang. He reached out and punched the speaker button . . .

"Hello, this is Sean Chandler. May I help you?"

"Hi, Sean. This is Sam Palmisano with IBM."

"Errr, hi, Mr. Palmisano. I must confess I wasn't expecting this call. Did I miss a meeting request?"

"Sam. Call me Sam, Sean. No, you didn't miss a meeting request. I'm calling you with an informal favor."

"A favor?"

"Yes, I like to gather input from inside and outside the company before I make a decision, and I consider you a valuable source of information on IBM technology and markets. So with your permission, I'd like to use you as a sounding board. Is that okay with you, Sean?"

"Sure, go ahead ... Sam."

"I assume you saw the joint announcement from Intel and Compaq about Compaq's decision to abandon the Alpha."

"Yes, although I think Compaq would object to your use of the word 'abandon.'"

"Hey, I call them as I see them, Sean. Anyway, we think this is good news for IBM because it will let us pick up some of their Tru64 and OpenVMS users. But I must tell you, Sean, that we are very concerned about Intel amassing so much influence at the processor level."

"I can see that Intel is gathering solid support for its Itanium line of processors. But why does that concern you? Why not jump on the bandwagon?"

"Sean, Sean, Sean. IBM drives the bandwagon; we do not jump on it."

"Okay, fine. So what are you considering, Mr. Pal ... err, Sam?"

"We are considering abandoning support for Intel and CMOS processors in all of our products and converting to 100% PowerPC across all servers."

"Ummmm, that seems kind of extreme to me. What about conventional Windows 2000 server clients?"

"Off the record, we've already had discussions with Microsoft about reinstating support for the PowerPC in the Windows family of operating systems and related BackOffice products. Hey, they did it before, so it shouldn't be too tough to do it again."

"Do you think Microsoft will actually go along with that notion?"

"Sure they will! Microsoft isn't any happier about Intel dominating the processor market than we are. This will give them more leverage for their negotiations with Intel."

"What about the mainframe? Won't it be difficult to move from CMOS to PowerPC?"

"Sean, it's mostly software! All it takes is time and engineers - and we've got plenty of both."

"But aren't you concerned that you'll run into the same problem that Compaq is facing: Existing customers will see you as abandoning them, and your competitors will pick them off."

"That's not going to happen to us. I assure you that IBM customers are much more loyal than Compaq customers."

"Absolutely, Sean, absolutely. They stayed with us through our rebranding effort, didn't they?"

"Errr, I suppose so."

"So what's your bottom line on this, Sean? Should I do this or not? I'm ready to give the order right now, but I wanted to gather a little more input."

"Well, Sam, my advice would be to wait a bit. Watch how the market reacts to the Compaq decision, and see whether Intel can maintain its alliances."

"Good advice, Sean. I appreciate that. Say, do you mind if I call you back after I bounce this idea off a couple more people? I really value your input."

"Sure, Sam. Feel free to call whenever you want."

"Thanks! Ciao."

My Master pushed the speaker button again to end the call. He turned to me with a puzzled look on his face and mumbled, "I love this job, but it gets stranger every day." Personally, I was hoping that this Sam fellow wouldn't call back until after I took my nap.

Astro is a border collie with more than 35 dog years of data processing experience. During the day, he provides technical support to his master, Sean Chandler, who is a multiplatform computer and networking consultant. At night, Astro chases cats, sleeps on the off-limits couch, and dreams of a world where CDs are edible. You can reach Astro at schandler@as400network.com.