Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!pasteur!agate!garnet.berkeley.edu!ked
From: ked@garnet.berkeley.edu (Earl H. Kinmonth)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.xenix
Subject: Re: technical support from different vendors?
Keywords: tech support
Message-ID: <22465@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: 1 Apr 89 07:31:04 GMT
References: <7377@spool.cs.wisc.edu> <22314@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> <2894@spdcc.SPDCC.COM>
Sender: usenet@agate.BERKELEY.EDU
Distribution: comp
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
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>NBI stands for "Nothing But Initials".  (I'm not making this up, you know...)

Gee, I would of thought this stood for "Nothing but Idioacy." Some
examples. Do a search for a pattern in a 500 page manuscript. If the
pattern happens to be in the last line of 499th page, the software will
show you each line, each page until the match! (Talk about going to the
laundromat and watching your shorts in the dryer....)

Naturally, the authors of the editor have never heard of making a copy
of the text, and editing it. With NBI, it is ultimate WSIYIG. There is
no buffer, and no backup copy. Perhaps the teminology should be
WUFUIWUG.

(HINT: F stands for a common Anglo-German obscenity pertaining to
hetrosexual intercourse.)

One of our secretaries came to me last week. She was certain that since
there were Norton Utilities on her "MSDOS" NBI work station, she would
be able to recover a trashed file. I had to spend a half hour (which I
should have billed to NBI) explaining that NBI had such a schlock
product that they could only make money by selling proprietary disks,
not by competing head on with other software firms....

Talk about a company that offers you "conversion software" between NBI
format and MSDOS format for $xxxx.xx that takes 10-15 minutes to
convert a xxK file, removing all format commands. For $xxxx.xx, they
sell you a program that does NOT remove the format commands. In other
words, they charge you MORE for the simpler program! At last check,
they diddled you $1800 for a program that would give you a binary
version (what I want) of the file.... Maybe there's something special
about NBI hardware, but under **IX I would write (not considering
effiency)

while((cx = getc(ifp)) != EOF) putc(cx,ofp);

Anyone who wants to send me $1800 for this piece of software
brilliance, can send their payments in/care of Wells Fargo, Davis,
California, 95616.

Talk about a company that charged the better part of a grand for a UDS
Modem (hey kid, you want to buy an Edsel?) and some of those dumbest
software this side of a beginning Basic Class....

Every so often, I see a posting where someone actually lists their
address as NBI (albeit with disclaimer). Maybe others have had better
experience with NBI, but from my perspective, to indicate that you work
for this outfit in your signature is rather like admitting that you
have to register with a parole board....

Disclaimer: I plan on being in England next year, so you'll have to sue
my arse off.... Or, as the natives say, "When in doubt, bugger out!"