Xref: utzoo comp.sys.apollo:5911 comp.sys.hp:5696 Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!VAX1.CC.UAKRON.EDU!math-cs.kent.edu!news From: bkgray@encore.kent.edu (Brian Gray) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apollo,comp.sys.hp Subject: Re: Netpower: Support via Internet (was: Apollo/HP contrast) Keywords: FTP email commercialism profit Message-ID: <1990Jul23.120147.25435@math-cs.kent.edu> Date: 23 Jul 90 12:01:47 GMT References: <1990Jul14.085541.18550@metro.ucc.su.OZ.AU> <5570451@hpfcdc.HP.COM> <1990Jul18.102038.22220@metro.ucc.su.OZ.AU> <43111@apple.Apple.COM> <1990Jul19.071243.5012@metro.ucc.su.OZ.AU> <1002@limbo.Intuitive.Com> <1990Jul23.100007.2429 Organization: General Tire, Inc. Lines: 30 In article <1990Jul23.100007.2429@metro.ucc.su.OZ.AU> jimr@maths.su.oz.au (Jim Richardson) writes: > >It should be possible to support paying customers by email on a public >network, provided those customers are using the equipment being supported >for purposes acceptable to the network. > But what about customers who don't meet the "acceptable purpose" test? It seems to me that you are asking HP to develop and maintain one support method for academic/research installations and another for comercial (for-profit) installations. If I worked for HP and were involved in providing support services, I would want methods that works for ALL customers. It seems that customer access to the HP internal network via a local HP sales office machine would come closer to serving the needs of both for-profit and non-profit installations. >Secondly, if routine support questions, which hundreds of different customers >might want to ask, can be answered by the customers themselves through >reference to a public archive, HP support resources will be freed to process >tricky non-routine questions more effectively. That should make life more >interesting for support engineers, apart from anything else :-) > That's what SupportLine does (although HP needs to keep it a bit more up-to-date). brian