Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mmlai!burzio
From: burzio@mmlai.UUCP (Tony Burzio)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp
Subject: Re: HP Customer Support...
Summary: Patches and yearly updates
Message-ID: <624@mmlai.UUCP>
Date: 8 Dec 89 22:27:36 GMT
References: <203@limbo.Intuitive.Com> <7810021@hpuamsa.UUCP>
Organization: Martin Marietta Labs, Baltimore, MD
Lines: 25

In article <7810021@hpuamsa.UUCP>, frank@hpuamsa.UUCP (Frank Slootweg CRC) writes:
>   Again, our current indication is that *most* customers do not want to
> get bug/patch information and associated patches for "all the problems
> they don't have". They do want HP to help them solve the problems they
> *do* have. This does not mean that we should not listen to the
> "minority" that does want the info/patches but we should get some grip
> on the number of customers that want this, how they want it, etc (see my
> earlier postings).

A graphics software company we deal with has an interesting way of
handling updates.  If some patches come out during the years between
their every-three-year-major-release, they send out a letter to the
support customers detailing the bug fixes/new features and a letter
to return if the customer wants the fixes.  I suppose you could set
it up so that customers can set a default either way, always ship or
never ship updates.  The major releases would incorporate all the changes
since the last major release.  With HP-UX file sets, this would be easy
to implement.  Personally, I would apply the patches, but we have others
who are running UNIXen that are four years old.

*********************************************************************
Tony Burzio               * Good heavens, it SNOWED!  How'm I supposed
Martin Marietta Labs      * to get home?!
mmlai!burzio@uunet.uu.net *
*********************************************************************