Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ncar!ico!haddock!ima!cfisun!tonym
From: tonym@cfi.COM (tonym)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Sybase still around?
Message-ID: <856@apollo.UUCP>
Date: 27 Jul 90 15:07:03 GMT
Reply-To: tonym@cfi.COM ()
Distribution: na
Organization: Price Waterhouse, Waltham, Mass.
Lines: 43


 
     This is in reference to a previous posting on the subject of Sybase
 terminal support, or lack of it.  We purchased close to $60,000 worth
 of software from Sybase for a SUN network of workstations and TeleVideo
 dumb terminals.  The salespeople were informed of the fact that we have
 "un-supported" Sybase terminals.  The told us "that's no problem, we'll
 work it out and provide support for them."
 
    Well it took us several months of phone calls to our salesperson,
 technical support rep, and the CA tech support center to get much less
 than FULL support for these fairly common terminals.  After 2-3 months
 we did receive a termdef file which did not work properly.
 One of the senior programmers here had to "emacs" the compiled
 termdef file and correctly map the defined keys to the TeleVideo
 escape sequence.  Unfortunately, Sybase (the "database leaders") could
 only provide termdef definitions for 4 of the 16 function keys and 3 out
 of 4 arrow keys!  What a deal!
 
     The latest news, 8 months after we purchased the product, is that
 we can get all the function keys working for the terminals as long as we:
 
       1)  Send a TeleVideo 955 terminal to the tech center
 	  (Boston to CA)
       2)  Pay $1,800/day for a programmer to build a 1K termdef
 	  file that works!  (They say this should take 2 days.)
 
 This is after 3 months of NO SUPPORT, 5 months of less than half support.
 
     ? What do other database users think of this situation ?
 
     ? What do Sybase employees think of this arrangement ?
 
     ? Why can't Sybase provide the termdef compiler/program
       to build these files to the users OR just BUILD what the
       users need/want.  It's only a termdef mapping file!
 
     I welcome all suggestions, help, and/or criticisms for believing
 a salesperson without something in writing!
 
 
 Tony Morsey, Unhappy Sybase User!