Xref: utzoo comp.windows.ms:4656 comp.os.msdos.programmer:677 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!apple!altos!vsi1!octopus!stever From: stever@Octopus.COM (Steve Resnick ) Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms,comp.os.msdos.programmer Subject: Re: Microsoft Support (or lack of) Message-ID: <1990Aug28.171354.9452@Octopus.COM> Date: 28 Aug 90 17:13:54 GMT References: <1990Aug24.115708.5428@sisd.kodak.com> <1990Aug25.000547.5258@ug.cs.dal.ca> <1990Aug27.113618.7851@watserv1.waterloo.edu> <1990Aug27.132321.24161@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu> Reply-To: stever@octopus.UUCP (Steve Resnick ) Distribution: na Organization: Octopus Enterprises, Cupertino CA Lines: 38 In article <1990Aug27.132321.24161@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu> west@turing.toronto.edu (Tom West) writes: > > On the other hand, if you discover a bug in a Microsoft product, all technical >support will do is say "Yes, that's a bug". They will not: > >1) Give patches to fix that bug. >2) Give temporary updates so that you don't have to wait to the next release! >3) EVEN GIVE KNOWN BUG LISTS!!! >4) Give any indication as to when updates are coming to fix known bugs. > Once upon a time I was hired to write some comm software in QuickBASIC 4.0 I ran into a problem where I would occasionally get noise. (This was to operate in a metal plating facility where RFI was not uncommon) QuickBASIC's response to a comm error was to consider the comm port as an invalid device and ERASE the UART base address from the BIOS data area. It took me SEVERAL months to get Micorsoft to admit that it was their bug (meanwhile I am loosing hair and getting gray over the whole matter). When they finally admited it was their bug I was furnished with QuickBASIC 4.00(b) which fixed this. I appreciated the "upgrade", but, on the other hand, I am sure SOMEBODY within Microsoft knew of this and could have, at least, told me "We know, and we're working on it." Or, at a bare minimum, "This is what's happening: xxxxxxxx". Instead it took some digging around to determine what was acutally happening. (argh!) [Soap Box: On] It seems to me that a language vendor should be supportive of their users. Their developers are their bread and butter, and should, at least, be given the courtesy of telling them they're code is not broken. [Soap Box: Off] My $.02 ... Steve -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- steve.resnick@f105.n143.z1@FIDONET.ORG #include Flames, grammar errors, spelling errrors >/dev/nul ----------------------------------------------------------------------------