Well, as I mentioned to the list last week I intended to do an impromptu
review of the Rumba for HP product from Wall Data.  I have finished all
that I am going to do with the product and thought I would forward my
comments.
 
First, the GUI is pretty slick, at least as good as Reflection with some
interesting additional features.  Those features are what I would class
in the "bells and whistles" category and don't add appreciably to my use
of the product.  I should mention here that I was far more interested in
actually using the product as a terminal emulator and file transfer
mechanism than for anything else.  Just simple, basic HP3000 needs.
Nothing fancy.
 
As a terminal emulator the product works fine.  No problems running with
a "generic" Winsock stack over TCP/IP.  I didn't try it serially or for
dial-out but I imagine it functions fine.  Character mode, block mode, HP
line drawing set all work fine.
 
The file transfer aspects of the product leave me speechless.  They do
not support a proprietary HP3000 file transfer protocol.  They provide
only FTP.  Now, our experience with FTP is that it is actually faster
than Reflection file transfer but I can't imagine actually paying real
money for an HP3000 terminal emulator that doesn't support the whole
process of moving files from the PC to the 3000 file system and back
transparently.  Besides, I think that FTP sucks (does that qualify for an
"old dogs/new tricks" citation? If so, I will proudly hang it on my wall!).
 
A comment about installation of Rumba:  ARGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
 
In the interest of family reading I will try to contain myself.  The
process of installing this product is simple.  However, it *horribly*
screwed up my Winsock environment!  I still can't fix it.  Maybe I am an
idiot about this stuff but I told the installation procedure to leave my
Winsock stuff as is.  Silly me, I expected it to do so.  I don't think I
have been so frustrated since my oldest son's senior year in high school!
 
A comment about sales support:  ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
 
Stan belabored that point last week but I can't help but echo the
sentiments. You don't want details, believe me.
 
A comment about techical support:  ARGHHHHHH<except for Heinz
Lottermoser>HHHHHHHHHHHH!
 
Heinz, BTW, is the technical lead for the product and was the only person
at Wall Data who seemed to actually give a <fill in your favorite
expression> about the HP 3000 world.
 
These guys in general don't seem to have any concern/interest in the 3000
market.  For example, they have no intention of developing a proprietary
file transfer protocol and believe that FTP is the way to go.  However,
there is no MPE host type to specify in setting up FTP.  That seems to me
to be an indication of where their hearts are.
 
In the interests of being fair minded, I think that their intention in
the HP3000 market is simply to offer enterprise-wide solutions for large,
mixed environments.  In that, they seem to excel, but I don't know for
sure because I don't have as AS400 to test on (and if I did, I would
probably intentionally hurt myself anyway : ))
 
What else can I say?  Oh, yeah... it managed to crash my pc several times
which *never* impresses me anyway.
 
For any of the Wall Data guys who now read this list (at my suggestion):
 
If you guys are serious about being in this market, I would suggest that
you ask us what we would like.  I may be in the minority but my fellow
netizens are typically generous in their offerings of opinions.  If you
do survey this list and come away with meaningful suggestions and decide
to implement them, I will be happy to look at the product again if you
PROMISE TO NOT SCREW UP MY WINSOCK ENVIRONMENT EVER, EVER AGAIN!!!!
 
Feel free to post or private-email any comments.
 
Bill Lancaster
Lund Performance Solutions
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