Notes on Hewlett Packard’s decision to drop the PC business and cancel the TouchPad. (Pt. 4 in the cloud series) Stills are from HP commercials featuring Serena Williams youtu.be Shaun White youtu.be and from KickthePJ’s entry into a Hewlett Packard competition youtu.be You can search out other spots and entries on YT. There are dozens. “The Computer is Personal Again” is a photograph by Duncan licensed under (cc). www.flickr.com HP. Giant corporation. They’re the world’s largest manufacturer of PCs and they suddenly said they want out of the business. Spin off or sell? They didn’t know. Or they weren’t saying. It came as a surprise to customers… to retailers… and to employees. Way to handle an announcement, HP. Disclaimer: I’ve done some contracting with HP’s Personal Systems Group through Michael Witlin Associates. I worked with some current HP employees at other companies. I’m a little upset they were treated so rudely. Look. Strategically, this is probably a good idea for HP. Margins on PCs are razor thin. Other parts of the company are much more profitable. But HP built up a huge brand. Remember: “The Computer is Personal Again” The snowboard guy. The tennis lady. The dress designer. Dr. Dre. The YouTube contest. And behind marketing: An efficient supply chain. A responsive channel. Strong design. Variations for every market. And then they just dumped a tankerload of doubt and uncertainty on the whole business. Oil spill. Everyone’s rattled. And then the TouchPad …