From: alek@spatial.com (Alek O. Komarnitsky)
Subject: Re: Re: trouble with HP-UX software support : solution idea
Organization: Spatial Technology, Inc. (Boulder, Colorado)
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1992 19:37:43 GMT

In article <1992Jul27.192604.12038@news.mentorg.com> gcagle@dracula.mentorg.com (Greg Cagle) writes:
>
>In article <Bs1w1u.D87@ef2007.efhd.ford.com>, mjo@ef2007.efhd.ford.com (Mike O'Connor) writes:
>|> Sorry if I seem a bit cynical, but this isn't that much different from
>|> vaporware promises.  It would be nice to see a LIST of patches freely
>|> accessible.  Will this involve a three-year survey to determine the
>|> ramifications of the elaborations of the machinations of the
>|> aspirations of Hewlett-Packard news?  There are people out there with
>|> problems NOW, who have to make purchasing decisions based on what they
>|> have in their hands *TODAY*.  I wouldn't want to be a customer who
>|> bought support playing a shell game with HP regarding patches.  The
>|> description of the patch tends to help in identifying the problem, if
>|> nothing else.  I realize that Greg Cagle, gcagle@mentorg.com is
>|> posting some sort of "list of patches" and this is a great service on
>|> his part.  However, I think this falls more properly in the realm of
>|> HP and support.
>|> 
>|> 					...Mike
>|> 
>|> (Yes, these are my views.  Yes, the HP SE I deal with has done a good
>|> job, IMHO.  No, this isn't necessarily reflective of Ford Motor Co.)
>
>I agree. I started posting my list after I went to the InterWorks
>sysadmin conference and realized that a lot of people didn't have the
>same access to information that I have (for whatever reason). I wish
>HP would own up to just sending the list that SEs get to the customer
>base. I wonder if they're stuck in "mainframe mode" and don't really
>realize the needs of the workstation market.

Apologies for the long inclusion, but I think some very good points
are made here. While I (and *many* others) do appreciate the inputs
from the HP'ers to c.s.h, this problem really needs high-level support.
It can't be technically difficult to mirror internal HP FTP 
repository of patches onto mayfield.support.hp.com, and give
people access to them (after all, this is patches for defects in S/W,
not new OS releases or products). Quite frankly, I do not understand
why that can not be done in the next month or so if some VP (even Lew Platt)
understands what needs to be done and just says make it happen. 

BTW, a short while ago, a P.S. in a posting of mine mentioned that HP 
really needed to get its salespeople on Internet - I've been telling
our rep since he started (over six months ago) that he should do it.
Well, 'lo and behold, someone apparently passed on my post to him
and/or his boss, and now he has an E-mail address. He says "its great."
Although I agree, it's kinda a shame that it took my continual prodding
to make a (fairly simple IMHO) thing happen that results in a win-win for
both HP and the customers.

In closing, let me affirm that I really do appreciate the inputs of the
HP'ers, and I strongly enourage you to pass on thoughts in c.s.h to the
powers that be. Yep, not everything is useful or constructive here, although
c.s.h doesn't seem to have a lot of undeserved vendor bashing.  But people
like Greg, myself, and others are out there in the trenches, and IMHO, we
have some good ideas that would help us and help HP. 

Alek Komarnitsky                                      303-449-0649
Software Tools Manager, Spatial Technology, Inc.      2425 55th Street, Bldg A
alek@spatial.com                                      Boulder, CO 80301-5704

P.S. Here's another "easy" one for the HP marketing types (yes, E-mail can help
     you to!). Sun has something called the Sun-flash that originates, I
     believe, from an office in Florida. They have periodic E-mailing's,
     couple a week, that talk about misc. announcements on Sun, 3rd party
     efforts, future directions, etc. Good way to communicate with your
     customers and build awareness ... (hint, hint HP).