Trailblazer Setup for HDB <--[NO! NO! NO!] for the UNIX PC

[Mark H. Colburn]

In article <1377 at sialis.mn.org> rjg at sialis.mn.org (Robert J. Granvin) writes:
>>It is ALMOST ALWAYS the case that it says that you pay money to REPORT bugs,
>
>I'd suggest you start looking at other vendors.  I've reported many
>problems and bugs to several vendors and manufacturers for supported
>and unsupported products alike.  I've found a global willingness to
>listen to the problems you have discovered, and in many cases received
>a fix or upgrade even though I don't have a current maintenance
>contract.  Where I may have had to pay was when requesting
>informational support on a product that had no conrtact.  That is a
>reasonable thing to expect.

Hmmm.  Bob, I would suspect that you have not talked to the likes of
Microsoft, Informix, Unify, and several other well known companies.
Microsoft is the most notorious.  A conversation that I had with Microsoft
one time went something like this:

Microsoft Tech: "Hello, Microsoft Technical Support"

Me: "Hello, I would like to report a compiler bug in your Microsoft C
     compiler, Version 3.0"

MT: "Ok.  Do you have a developer support contract with us?"

Me: "No.  I would like to report a bug and get it fixed."

MT: "I'm sorry, sir, but I can't help you unless you have a support
     contract.  Would you like me to transfer you to sales?"

Me: <getting exasperated> "No!  Listen, I just spent the better part of a
    morning tracking down this problem which is holding up a project that
    is critical..."

MT: "I'm sorry, sir, but I can't help you unless you have a support
     contract.  Thank you.  Goodbye."

Me: "Wait a minute!  Are you saying that I just spent $500 for a package
     which doesn't work and you won't fix?"

MT: "No, sir.  If you would buy a support contract then we would be happy
     to consider your problem."

Me: "Okay, how much is a support contract?"

MT: <Something about the size of Uraguya's GNP>

Me: "Screw it, I'll find a work around..."

Sad, but true...



-- 
Mark H. Colburn                          mark at jhereg.mn.org
Minnetech Consulting, Inc.