On Fri, 31 Jan 1997 12:19:00 -0800, James Trudeau <[log in to unmask]> writes: >Howdy, > >This is my last shot on this thread then I'll sit down and >shut up. Sure, sure <G> <snip good recap of software pricing> >Now that we (I) are through with this one, how about a little >discussion on value received for annual maintenance dollars >paid? > >James (don't need a flame suit. already carbonized) Trudeau Don't even get me started! Ooops, too late! Let's start with HP. We pay $ each month so I can call the response center and educate their people. Here's an example: This week, after upgrading to 5.5, we got the infamous spooler message after each spool file printed. I need the patch that fixes it. I call the response center and tell the person who answers "I've just upgraded to MPE/iX 5.5 and I'm getting erroneous spooler errors". HP: "Did you say spooler? How do you spell that?" ME: (sarcasticly) "S - P - O - O - L - E - R" HP: "And what kind of errors are you getting?" ME: "The last name component of the pathname does not exist in the directory. HP Directory message 1". HP: (slowly) "The.....last......name.... . . ." HP: "Is this a software problem or a hardward problem?" ME: "Software" HP: "What version of the operating system are you running?" This is the exchange almost verbatim. Now, I know its impossible for everyone to know everything (even about the HP3000), but sadly, this type of thing has become almost commonplace at HP. It didn't always use to be this way. You used to be able to reach at least semi- knowledgable people on the first try. In this case, I did finally get someone who knew exactly what patch I needed and sent it out post haste. Oh well <sigh>. Jim Phillips Manager of Information Systems E-Mail: [log in to unmask] Therm-O-Link, Inc. Phone: (330) 527-2124 P. O. Box 285 Fax: (330) 527-2123 Garrettsville, Ohio 44231