>>> Jon Cohen <[log in to unmask]> 07/03/97 08:04am >>>
[snip]
>So, I guess I don't understand what the problem is.  Why do you
>need to understand more than this?  Other than insuring that
>later V.UU.FFs sort higher than previous V.UU.FFs, why are you
>concerned about these version numbers?  Would you prefer an
>enhancement that spells out "Release 5.5 Express 1" to appear
>somewhere in the :SHOWME output?  Why is this important?

The problem is that even when talking to many of the HP support folks,
there is considerable confusion on how to describe the version of the
operating system that you are on, or that you want to be on.  Having just
gone through this with my HP contracts person and two HP people at the
Responce Center (three if you count the person who answered my call and
tried to figure out what is was that I wanted so that I could be
transferred to proper support personnel), I can tell you that the users
aren't the only ones who are confused.

Regarding your suggestion above, my answer is "yes, change SHOWME so that
it uses  the same terminology that HP and the users use."  When I talk to
other HP 3000 users, when I read articles in Interact or in HP's own
publications, I read about "MPE/iX 5.5, Express 2".  Not "C.xx.y" or
whatever.  I would certainly vote for having a SHOWME that stated in plain
English the version of MPE and the patch level that you are currently on.
If you need "C.xx.y" information there as well, that's fine, but give us an
English (or Native Language) version as well.  Either that or stop refering
to releases as "push", "pull", "express", "powerpatch", etc., and just call
them "C.xx.yy".  What we need here is some consistency.

Gary Dietz
Whitman College
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