Genera 8.0 Announcement STINKS

[MILLER@vax.cam.nist.gov (Bruce R. Miller)]

In-Reply-To: <19900302220608.8.SWAB@CHARON.arc.nasa.gov>

    Date: Fri, 2-Mar-90 17:27:05-EST
    Date: Fri, 2 Mar 90 14:06 PST
    From: Swab@CHARON.arc.nasa.gov

    Dear Gary,

    >  Please note that in order to receive new software release distributions,
    >  all Symbolics systems at your site must be eligible to get the release.
    >  The Genera 8.0 distribution will not be sent to customers for whom any
    >  of their systems are ineligible, unless Symbolics has agreed in writing
    >  that such systems are "deactivated".

What in the !@)$#*)!@ is "deactivated"? And in QUOTES, no less!!!!

    The above note worries me...  Do we have any machines, or better still,
    does Symbolics think we have any machines that are not under maintenance?
    If so, I would like to be contacted now to resolve this instead of finding
    out in June that I didn't get 8.0 because one of twenty or so systems we ...
	...

That is not good  enough. What this  means is that  if you let  hardware
maintenance lapse on a machine because that machine is not critical  and
you let software maintenance lapse on a machine because you are  content
to let that machine run an old release, say, it still gets the job done,
(I assume this is what a  non "deactivated" machine is?)  and  maybe you
dont have  the  resources  to  pay  the  exhorbitant  maintenance on ALL
machines, then, you CANNOT HAVE NEW RELEASES ON ANY MACHINES!  no matter
how much you paid for maintenance on the "active" machines!

This raises the following questions:

  1) If we pay maintenance for some machines, but Symbolics refuses
to maintain them, isn't that breach of contract? (not (equal me lawyer))

  2) If you want to drop a machine from maintenance, you have to
"deactivate" it? With a hammer or what?  In other words, you either feed
symbolics or cannot use the machine AT ALL?

  3)  Is  the  implication  that  we  are  thieves?  If  we  get 8.0 for
maintained machines, Symbolics ASSUMES we will then immediately  install
it on machines without maintenance?

    Please clarify this for me and other concerned administrators.

    Thanks, Rod Swab  swab@pluto.arc.nasa.gov

Please do!

Let us hope that this is just another example of Symbolics misstating a
new policy, as has happened many times in the past.

I have enough trouble  as it is  keeping any machines  maintained, given
tight budgets  and  high  prices.   If  this  is  really the policy, the
outlook is pretty grim.

miller@cam.nist.gov