Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!lll-tis!ames!amdcad!phil From: phil@amdcad.AMD.COM (Phil Ngai) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems Subject: Re: ROM Replacement policies, bugs, etc. (was: Re: Firmware Piracy) Message-ID: <20916@amdcad.AMD.COM> Date: 23 Mar 88 08:17:54 GMT References: <2433@bsu-cs.UUCP> <3897@umix.cc.umich.edu> <176@octopus.UUCP> Reply-To: phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) Organization: Advanced Micro Devices Lines: 47 In article <176@octopus.UUCP> pete@octopus.UUCP (Pete Holzmann) writes: > - The new firmware is being developed anyway for new shipments. > The cost of development is R&D going into *new* product, > not *old already shipped* product. > > - Many (NOT all) changes that are 'new features' to the manufacturer, > are 'bug fixes' to the customer. For example, if I don't like the > interactive reponse, I think: "Lousy response time. Why don't they > use shorter packets? They should have done it right the first > time". A Non-Techie customer just thinks: "this thing is > slow. I don't like it". Now, when they come out with new roms > with better response time, both the Non-Techie type and I think > "ahhh- they've finally fixed *that* bug". I just recently had my company buy ten Trailblazer Plus modems. We are considering investing in even more modems. Previously, I wouldn't have touched them with a ten foot pole until the interactive response was improved. The availability of uucp spoofing was also an important factor. Previously, the Trailblazer served no useful function for us. The interactive response was slow so you couldn't use it with your terminal. UUCP throughput was lousy so you couldn't use it for mail and news. I used to hope Telebit would dry up and blow away. V.32 was the "right" way to go. But when they added uucp support, I thought, maybe this is my kind of vendor. Then I went to Uniforum, tried the TB+, and was sold. Therefore, for this site at least, Pete's claim that the new features were needed for new customers is correct. I can easily believe that Telebit is not making money off a $100 upgrade charge, much less a $50 one. It seems that what they are doing is acquiring an image of being greedy with their customers. I think a possible solution to this would be for Telebit to authorize the copying of their 4.00 EPROMs. I can't see how this would cause them to lose any profit. Revenue, yes, but the profit on a $50 order can't be very much. Possibly someone could even post the data. This site could do so easily but we wouldn't without Telebit's express permission. -- I love my VT-320. I speak for myself, not the company. Phil Ngai, {ucbvax,decwrl,allegra}!amdcad!phil or phil@amd.com