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From: dave@PRC.Unisys.COM (David Lee Matuszek)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: MacWarehouse absolved...
Message-ID: <15972@burdvax.PRC.Unisys.COM>
Date: 20 Dec 90 20:59:43 GMT
References: <49942@cornell.UUCP>
Sender: news@PRC.Unisys.COM
Organization: Unisys Corporation, Paoli Research Center; Paoli, PA
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In article <49942@cornell.UUCP> wayner@cello.cs.cornell.edu (Peter Wayner) writes:
>I've gotten plenty of mail about this and EVERYONE has been quite
>positive about their experience with MacWarehouse. I assume it
>is a fluke, although a bit of a pain. 
>
>This leads to the question, "How do you design networked database
>software so that databases are kept consistent?" Why don't people
>do this? The airlines can do it, why can't the software developers
>who coded up the stuff for MacWarehouse. 

You've obviously ordered software more often than you've flown.  :-)

Seriously, the airlines deliberately overbook.  Being off by one in
the amount they overbook is no big deal (for them, at least).

From my experience, I would guess that MacConnection and MacWarehouse
both have excellent networked databases.  However, this is a very busy
season, and there is a gap of a few minutes between the time when they
check the availability, and the time when they enter your order.  I
suspect this "hole" may account for at least some of the occasional
problems.


-- Dave Matuszek (dave@prc.unisys.com)
-- Unisys Corp. / Paoli Research Center / PO Box 517 / Paoli PA  19301
-- Any resemblance between my opinions and those of my employer is improbable.
< You can put a mouse on an IBM.  And you can put a radio on a motorcycle. >