Microprocessors continue to make great strides in performance and scalability, yet hardware performance monitoring remains an area of dissatisfaction amongst those interested in better understanding the interactions of hardware and software. HPM technology has, at best, maintained the status quo for over a decade, though hope for better answers still remains. As it is, HPM is well-suited for some purposes, and everyone else tries to make the most of what is available. HPM will never be everything to everyone, and as new features are added, new users will adopt them in unforeseen ways.