Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!umix!umich!mibte!mcf!shan
From: shan@mcf.UUCP (Sharan Kalwani)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: VMS is not the evil empire
Message-ID: <181@mcf.UUCP>
Date: 14 Mar 88 22:07:24 GMT
References: <12067@brl-adm.ARPA> <707@hdr.UUCP> <20469@bu-cs.BU.EDU> <2504@decuac.DEC.COM>
Reply-To: shan@mcf.UUCP (Sharan Kalwani)
Organization: Michigan Cancer Foundation, Detroit, MI
Lines: 45

In article <2504@decuac.DEC.COM> avolio@decuac.dec.com (Frederick M. Avolio) writes:
>In article <20469@bu-cs.BU.EDU> bzs@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Barry Shein) writes:
>>DEC's pathological resistance to providing hardware service on Vaxes
>>running Ultrix or Unix is a good reason not to buy Vaxes, ...
>
>>This has been known for years as the "We can't fix it because it runs
>>Unix(Ultrix)" DEC field service standard excuse #1. ...
>>...it's just a good excuse that unfortunately
>>is accepted by their field service management.
>
>Not any more.  Ken Olsen has made it clear that we support UNIX and
>VMS equally, we fund them equally, and with the same level of
>committment.  (This in a *very* recent clarification statement on
>Digital's UNIX commitment.)

Maybe so, but Ken Olsen isn't going to come to my site and fix
things and I *still* have to deal with Field Circus Engineers who
love to bash UNIX to a point where even VMS-lovers would cringe and tend
to agree that UNIX just doesn't deserve such a bad rap. 

>If you are still getting that kind of garbage from field engineers,
>yell good and hard about it!  (Drop *me* a note...  I can't do
>anything, but I promise to yell also.)  VAX diagnostics run under
>Ultrix as well as under VMS. 

I've been yelling long and hard and finally my throat gave up.
I've been asking for *exactly* that kind of help but what do I get
- zilch!. All it got me was their Field man all dressed up nattily 
(it does seem DEC is beginning to look more and more like IBM these days)
come over and try to give me this BS about why VMS should been used 
in the first place, etc., etc.... and the hardware was fine and dandy
the whole fault was that of software (namely UNIX).

My advice to the person who originally asked the question:
Help save us from VMS - was that if you feel like being royally
scr**ed, sure go ahead and get DEC/VMS all the way thru.

Sorry for the vitriolic burst, but I had to get it off my chest.

Usual disclaimers apply.
-- 
sharan kalwani. mcf, 110 east warren detroit mi 48201. (313) 833-0710 x411
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