[rescue] Vendor software support [was Re: RPi vs SS20 benchmarks (interesting)]

[Dave McGuire]

On 01/01/2016 05:01 PM, Mouse wrote:
> Yes, I'm more than a touch cynical of vendor support.  I have two main
> reasons for that.
> 
> One is that I went through my larval phase under VMS, back when DEC was
> still DEC.  I/we submitted something like a half-dozen SPRs, and the
> only one we ever receved _anything_ back in response to was brainfade
> on my part.
> 
> The other is that I once did a little consluting on a gig for JPL
> (someone else was primary; I was ancillary).  This was back in the days
> when the Sun-4/110, I think it was, was a going concern.  JPL had
> bought the right to "internal support" from Sun (which, supposedly,
> meant that you could reach one of their internal techs) - and, every
> time we called, we already knew the system better than the person we
> spoke with did.

  In my experience, "in the old days" (this may have improved later on)
when SPARCstation-10s were current, Sun employees were the people who
knew the least about Sun hardware.  In one particular instance, I was
told that what I was proposing categorically COULD NOT WORK.  No way, no
how.  Trouble is, on that phone call, I was leaning up against a rack in
which I had built up the suggested configuration; it was running in
production.

  That was my last support call to Sun.  I'll figure out the hardware,
thanks.  (OS support was a much better situation, fortunately!)

               -Dave

-- 
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA