From: west@ntmtv.UUCP (Andrew West)
Subject: Re: Why is Supra able to sell?
Originator: west@herald
Organization: Northern Telecom Incorporated
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 19:46:53 GMT

From article <1992Nov23.134815.13328@phillip.edu.au>, by t9114145@phillip.edu.au:
> In article <1992Nov16.184545.7952@ntmtv>, west@ntmtv.UUCP (Andrew West) writes:
>> From article <1992Nov16.114600.13310@phillip.edu.au>, by t9114145@phillip.edu.au:
>>> In article <17375@mindlink.bc.ca>, David_Hunter@mindlink.bc.ca (David Hunter) writes:
>>> 
>>> Hypothesis: People who write for magazines generally use lots of different 
>>> products and can make things work even if the manual doesn't spell it out.
>>> People who have been complaining heaps about their modems either can't work
>>> it out without detailed, step-by-step instructions and lots of hand-holding,
>>> or just like to whinge a lot. That's my idea anyway. My Supra has caused no
>>> trouble. I have had prompt replies from Supra in all my dealings.
>>> Basically I don't understand how some people have stuffed things up to the
>>> extent that they report here.
>> 
>> Get a life...
> 
> Get a real computer...
> 

Listen junior, after you've been on the net for a few years, you'll
probably realize that the "my computer is better than your computer"
comments and flame wars aren't worth the trouble.  There's nothing
inherently "better" about the Mac, the PC, the Amiga, etc. expect that
you may prefer one over the other.  I like my Mac just fine.  I also
use the PC when it is the most appropriate tool for the job.

>>> The net may be more honest, but just how reliable is it? You would think
>>> that on the net lots of computer professionals would make opinions more
>>> reliable, but there are heaps of Mac-using humanities-stream people here
>>> too. (Not me though!)
>> 
>> I've met a lot of humanities-stream people who seem pretty
>> knowledgable about their computers.  Furthermore, a lot of them aren't
>> pompous jerks...
> 
> You seem a bit sensitive about this. I don't see it as belittling. I know 
> bugger all about English Lit, and I don't care if someone tells me so.
> Humanities people don't generally specialise in communications.
> 

This isn't as much an issue of "specialization" as of experience.  The
point is that, with PCs and modems so available, many people are using
BBSes and on-line services daily.  I know some people who rarely use a
PC at work who spend much of their free time doing so as a hobby.
Conversely, I know some who spend their days on a computer terminal
and can't stand the thought of touching a computer at night.  All
regardless of whether they are "technical-stream" or
"humanities-stream" people or what computer they use.

Also, I forgot to ask you how you configure your modem differently
than a "Mac-using humanities-stream" person might.  Do you use a
different font when you're typing "AT &F2" (etc.) than the Mac user
would?  Or do macros on your machine work better than they do on the
Mac?

By the way, by the time you get to your senior year, I think your
school will see to it that you know know a little more than "bugger
all" about English Lit.

> And that's the point. It's what you have to do to make it work, and if
> you're not prepared to, then spend and extra $200 on pretty manuals and
> hand-holding support. Your choice.

The extra "$200" isn't just spent for "pretty manuals and hand-holding
support," it's spent for a modem that works as claimed.  When using
the first high speed modem I tried (a loaner), I plugged it in and
connected to the remote service--no manuals, no hand-holding, just a
modem that worked.

As manuals go, the Supra's isn't too bad.  It's just that the modem
fails to connect in many situations in which another modem will easily
connect, especially if you do what the Supra's manual tells you to.
It means that every attempt to connect to a new service is a new
adventure as I have to mess around with the settings to get the thing
to connect and stay connected, often at a lower bps or with reduced
features (e.g. no auto-rate negotiation, retrain, etc.).

I'm happy for those who have never had a problem with the Supra.  I
still have mine and it works well enough (given the amount of time I
spent fooling with it) that I can use it for my day-to-day needs,
connecting to a limited number of services.  I wouldn't buy the same
modem again if I needed to connect to a larger variety of services--a
few extra $ for a better modem would outweigh the time spent getting
the modem to connect each time.

> 
> Adam Eberbach    Computer Science student, RMIT.   t9114145@phillip.edu.au
>                "We don' need no stinkin' signatures!"

Sure looks like a signature to me...

Andrew West
Northern Telecom    UUCP: {ames, amdahl, hplabs}...!ntmtv!west
Mt View, CA   USA   Internet: ntmtv!west@ames.arc.nasa.gov  or
			      ntmtv!west@ames.arpa

Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems