Zortech problems

[Peter Nelson]

 Walter Bright posts...

:DOS programming, graphics programming, and C++ programming are all
:complex subjects. All the 'problems' you're having appear to be caused
:by lack of familiarity with these topics. I recommend that you read:

 But remember, that ALL of these questions, and many others, were
 brought to the Zortech tech support staff first.   And were only
 passed on to the net when they didn't know the answers! 

 [ Btw, 'graphics programming' is what I do for a living; I'm quite
   certain I know at least as much about it than anyone at Zortech. 
   This does not mean that I know much about what passes for computer
   graphics in the PC world.   And the "flash graphics" library
   is Zortech's creation so it isn't unreasonable to assume that 
   they know how to make it work. ]

  ...and Peter da Silva posts
:>    Zortech itself had no helpful suggestions on this either except to 
:>    reboot the machine (gee, thanks) but one of their experts is 
:>    going to take a closer look at this issue.
:
:Sounds like Zortech needs a few new experts.

 Zortech clearly needs to bolster their tech support.  The people
 I've spoken to there have seemed sincere but I don't think there
 is a *single case* where they knew the answer to any of my 
 questions!    

 I've had better luck with their BBS.  Walter Bright and Joe Huffman
 monitor the board (I think its Walter's board) and have proven 
 very knowledgable.   But I'm unclear what their relation is with
 the company.  The company is in London, UK, and Alington, Mass. 
 Why is the BBS in Washington State?   The people in Arlington
 are a little vague on what Walter and Joe's relationship is with
 Zortech; I get the impression that they are some kind of consult-
 ants who write a lot of their code.   But Walter's "Organization:" is
 listed as "Data-IO Corporation; Redmond, WA".   Also calling a BBS
 in a distant state, and then calling back several times to see
 if anyone might have left an answer on the board and then doing
 followup questions/answers is very expensive compared to a short
 phone conversation with knowledgable staff.

 They seem to have a good product.  It is certainly much improved over
 vers. 1.07.  But their customer support is easily the WORST that
 I've ever encountered in this industry!   Given that this was the 
 single most expensive piece of software that I've ever bought I
 think I could have expected more professionalism.

 Zortech must develop an IN-HOUSE source of technical expertise.  It is very 
 unprofessional for a tech support staff to send people to a private
 BBS to answer questions about their product.   I feel like their company
 is being run as a hobby.   They can get by like this only as long as 
 they have no serious competition in C++.  That won't be for long.
                             

 Latest stumper:  My new VGA card supports 640X480 X 256 colors.  I
 called yesterday to ask them how I can write code to use more than
 16 colors.  They said they would "get back to me".    Stay tuned.
                                 
                                                 ---Peter