Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!apple!netcom!ergo From: ergo@netcom.UUCP (Isaac Rabinovitch) Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.programmer Subject: Re: BORLAND TECHNICAL SUPPORT (or lack of) Message-ID: <13696@netcom.UUCP> Date: 23 Sep 90 16:16:01 GMT References: <51330002@hpindda.cup.hp.com> Reply-To: ergo@netcom.uucp Organization: UESPA Lines: 45 In <51330002@hpindda.cup.hp.com> hardin@hpindda.cup.hp.com (John Hardin) writes: >ajai@sce.carleton.ca (Ajai Sehgal) writes: >> FLAME ON: >> >> Yesterday , I tried phoning Borland's so called hotline. After being >> shunted around my an almost efficient voice messaging system I was put on hold >> for 30 minutes before deciding that the call to the western U.S. from Ottawa >> at prime time was going to cost me more than Turbo C++! Wake up Borland... >I have never used Borland's hotline and make no excuses for however they >behaved on it, but I can heartily recommend Borland's support on CompuServe. >Borland seems to prefer to give service through CIS whenever possible and >they make it easy to get CIS by including an intro offer with each of >their products. Borland's support of customers on CIS has been terrific. Be that as it may, CIS is not a practical solution for many people. I know a guy who accesses it only through TAPCIS during off hours, and still ends up spending $50/month. That seems to be the bare minimum to do any serious participation there. Perhaps some people get their money's worth (though I suspect most CIS users get corporate discounts and/or pass the costs on to their employers), but if a $99 compiler is your main development tool.... GEnie may be an alternative for some. They recently slashed their non-primetime rates, and they also have Borland support. One thing that really bothers me is that Borland will not do support over the net. They claim this is because it's less effective than the conferencing setup on CIS and GEnie, but that doesn't prevent them from doing much the same thing through the Postal Service. I suspect that their arrangement with CIS and GEnie keeps them off the net. -- ergo@netcom.uucp Isaac Rabinovitch {apple,amdahl,claris}!netcom!ergo Silicon Valley, CA Collins's Law: If you can't make a mistake, you can't make anything. Corollaries ("Rabinovitch's Rules of Sane Dialogue"): 1. Everybody who matters is stupid now and then. 2. If I'm being stupid, that's my problem. 3. If my being stupid makes you stupid, that's your problem. 4. If you think you're never stupid, boy are you stupid!