HP... busted?

The first computer I ever programmed was made by Hewlett-Packard.

The model was the HP 2000 Access system. We accessed it at my high school using 2 HP CRT terminals (black-and-white monitors, of course) and a printer with a keyboard so we could sign on and print out our listings and get our program output on hardcopy to turn in.

I was stunned when I started hearing last week that HP had an ethics crisis and allegedly had its own director members and members of the press who do not even work for them - spied upon.

The scandal revolves around the claim that people's private phone call records were obtained by stealing their identities. Purportedly, certain sleuths got ahold of the social security numbers of the victims, impersonated them, and got their private phone call records from their respective phone companies.

Not too chic.

In fact, for me - it is an outright turn-off.

HP was instrumental in my early learning of how to use computers.

It looks like they have learned how to use people now, and it does not sound very nice.

This company really needs to turn around.

I bought a computer from HP a little over half a decade ago. It crashed a couple times during the first four hours that I used it. I was not impressed.

This somehow, seems even worse.

Because now, somehow, the company itself has crashed.

Calif. AG: HP Insiders May Face Charges: Financial News - Yahoo!Finance:

California's attorney general warned for the first time Tuesday that company insiders are likely to face criminal charges."We currently have sufficient evidence to indict people both within Hewlett-Packard as well as contractors on the outside," Attorney General Bill Lockyer said.

Technorati tags: hp, crime, california