Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site decwrl.UUCP Path: utzoo!utcs!lsuc!pesnta!amdcad!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-kirk!williams From: williams@kirk.DEC (John Williams 223-3402) Newsgroups: net.jokes Subject: The "DEC" internal memo Message-ID: <617@decwrl.UUCP> Date: Mon, 18-Feb-85 12:39:16 EST Article-I.D.: decwrl.617 Posted: Mon Feb 18 12:39:16 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 18-Feb-85 22:43:38 EST Sender: daemon@decwrl.UUCP Organization: DEC Engineering Network Lines: 93 OK, pal. Where did you get this? Yo in a heap o trouble, boy. This stinks of the same sort of mentality that made the NY times print an article intentionally misleading the public into believing that we were discontinuing the RAINBOW. LIES! ALL LIES! 1) This memo is OLD! The problems it refers to have been corrected for the past two years! None of this is presently applicable. 2) This was seen as a "beginner's" project. We obviously do not have the same people who repackage products developing VAX's, etc. It is a case of ONE subdivision making mistakes, which evidently WERE detected, and subsequently corrected. We understand the concept of time to market, and realize that not all of our designs will be perfect. We compensate for this by supporting our customers with services, so that any problems can be corrected close to immediately. Unfortunately, Schools do not provide the kind of education you need to do THIS. Digital has been a trailblazer in computers, and has done so by allowing mutations. It would be ridiculous to assume that all these mutations would have the same degree of success as the PDP11. There are a zillion flaws in any organization, if you wish to identify them. The mistake we choose not to make is to overmanage. This means we need to support our customers, and we have historically responded expediently to complaints. 3) This memo was strickly confidential. You have broken several laws. I do not know whether you will be prosecuted. If you really want to know what happens when the shit hits the fan, stick around. I will be sending this to our legal department. They will want to know where you got it. You are in a lot of trouble, whether this memo was fabricated, or NOT. The article in the times proclaiming that the Rainbow was being abandoned was deliberately misleading. The microVAX project needs the experience of the extensive Quality Assurance group located in Westfield. The production of the Rainbow has stabilized, and can be safely transferred to a less experienced production facility. This unfortunately leaves the Westfield staff with little to do until the microVAX comes into full swing. I am not sure where the Rainbow is being transferred, but I recieved a memo stating that the Rainbow would definitely continue as a Digital product. We find ourselves with a new problem. That of dispelling vicious rumors concerning the quality of our products. One of the best ways of doing this is by telling you the quality of our services. We answer to all complaints. Our primary interest is the CUSTOMER. We spend on support what any organization would consider overkill. Our field service makes no sense, financially. What it does, however, is to give us a reputation reflecting our commitment to the satisfaction of our CUSTOMERS. You will find an underlying philosophy in all our products. As a sidenote, the times probably got it's story from one of the employees in Westfield, who was obviously too confused to get his/her facts straight. The article in the times was obviously misleading, and the discontinuation of the Rainbow applies ONLY to the Westfield plant. Now, with your piece of outdated slander, concerning ONE product that we had some initial problems with, you are misleading everyone into thinking that we experience these problems with all our products. We DON'T! The amount of talent we have committed to the microVAX product sets will soon be apparent, and YOU, among others, will be eating words. The investment we have made in the Hudson facility will reap BIG rewards. AND I would suggest that you get out of our way. We are ready for the competition in a very BIG way. Our commitment for excellence should not be underestimated, and it would serve you better to work with us, rather than against us. The micrVAX will be the product of commitment to excellence in an area in which we have complete dominance. You should prepare yourself towards the idea of working behind one of our workstations. The dream of interactive design will come to fruition with these products. It was Digital who introduced the concept of "interactive", and we believe very strongly in it. Our goal is not to make people more like machines, but to make machines more like people. It is this that will ensure our continued success. John Williams Digital Equipment Corperation " Engineer " Engineer is a title that I am proud of, for it is the engineer that brings matter into life, to extend man's sense and intelligence. Technology is life, and the natural course of evolution is to bring the universe to life.