Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!ucsd!ucbvax!hplabs!hpcc01!hp-ptp!hp-ses!wunder
From: wunder@hp-ses.SDE.HP.COM (Walter Underwood)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp
Subject: Re: Netpower: OPEN LETTER to HP, Draft #1
Message-ID: <920064@hp-ses.SDE.HP.COM>
Date: 11 Jul 90 22:33:11 GMT
References: <1990Jul11.124826.22519@metro.ucc.su.OZ.AU>
Organization: HP SW Engineering Systems - Sunnyvale, CA
Lines: 32


   Note: Internet guidelines would prohibit HP use of the Internet for
   its commercial purposes (for example, advertising or billing).  But
   this does not exclude HP customers from using the net to obtain
   information from HP to further our own purposes -- academic,
   research, etc.

Worse than that.  We might be able to provide information to academic
and research institutions, and to provide services over e-mail and 
FTP that are already available by other means.  If it is significantly
better than the service available via other means, then it is probably
NOT the same service.

We want to be responsive to customers, but we can't do it by breaking
the rules.  HP just doesn't work that way.

The most likely transport is one of the new commercial IP networks:
ALTERNET or PSI.  Those are coming along, but don't yet have the 
coverage needed.

On the other hand, we can do some things over the research networks,
and we need to move quickly on electonic support.

One good way to have an effect is to say "I want support in my native
environment, TCP/IP, e-mail, etc.  X.25 and modems does not cut it."
Explain how much more it would be worth to you, how much time it would
save at your site, what other vendors are doing, then sign it and send
it in.  Try to be constructive and quantitative -- what response time
will make you happy, what kind of feedback you want about progress on
defects (what release, when), etc.

wunder