[net.lsi] reaching Apps engrs by email

phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) (03/03/85)

Most of AMD's apps engineers have accounts on Unix systems where
they can receive electronic mail. Without making any commitment
to do anything, I would like to inquire as to whether there would
be any interest in being able to ask applications questions to
our engineers via email or whether the old fashioned way of telephone
calls is good enough. I am sure that many (most) of the users of
USENET are software types but there are enough hardware types to
justify groups like net.analog.

I had in mind publishing a list of chips and the mboxes of the engineers
responsible for supporting them. Send mail to me indicating:
1) whether you'd use this
2) how do you get applications assistance now
3) what chips you're interested in
4) estimate of the annual dollar value of AMD chips you buy now
(personally I don't care but I think management does)
5) general comments

If you consider this an exploitation of the net, don't flame me,
just let me know. We certainly don't want to offend anybody, just
possibly offer a service of value to people.
-- 
 Why, that's more useless than the left thumb of a touch typist!

 Phil Ngai (408) 749-5720
 UUCP: {ucbvax,decwrl,ihnp4,allegra}!amdcad!phil
 ARPA: amdcad!phil@decwrl.ARPA

liang@cvl.UUCP (Eli Liang) (03/04/85)

> Most of AMD's apps engineers have accounts on Unix systems where
> they can receive electronic mail. Without making any commitment
> to do anything, I would like to inquire as to whether there would
> be any interest in being able to ask applications questions to
> our engineers via email or whether the old fashioned way of telephone
> calls is good enough. I am sure that many (most) of the users of
> USENET are software types but there are enough hardware types to
> justify groups like net.analog.
> 
> I had in mind publishing a list of chips and the mboxes of the engineers
> responsible for supporting them. Send mail to me indicating:
> 1) whether you'd use this
> 2) how do you get applications assistance now
> 3) what chips you're interested in
> 4) estimate of the annual dollar value of AMD chips you buy now
> (personally I don't care but I think management does)
> 5) general comments
> 
> If you consider this an exploitation of the net, don't flame me,
> just let me know. We certainly don't want to offend anybody, just
> possibly offer a service of value to people.
> -- 
>  Why, that's more useless than the left thumb of a touch typist!
> 
>  Phil Ngai (408) 749-5720
>  UUCP: {ucbvax,decwrl,ihnp4,allegra}!amdcad!phil
>  ARPA: amdcad!phil@decwrl.ARPA

maybe instead of a netwide newsgroup, you might be looking more at a netwide
mailing list.

-eli

-- 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eli Liang  ---
        University of Maryland Computer Vision Lab, (301) 454-4526
        ARPA: liang@cvl, eli@mit-mc, eli@mit-prep  CSNET: liang@cvl
        UUCP: {seismo,rlgvax,allegra,brl-bmd,nrl-css}!umcp-cs!cvl!liang

zben@umd5.UUCP (03/04/85)

In article <122@cvl.UUCP> liang@cvl.UUCP (Eli Liang) writes:

>In article <766@amdcad.UUCP> phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) [Hi Phil!] writes:
>> Most of AMD's apps engineers have accounts on Unix systems where
>> they can receive electronic mail. Without making any commitment
>> to do anything, I would like to inquire as to whether there would
>> be any interest in being able to ask applications questions to
>> our engineers via email or whether the old fashioned way of telephone
>> calls is good enough.   
>
>maybe instead of a netwide newsgroup, you might be looking more at a netwide
>mailing list.
>

I think Phil is only talking about posting mail addresses, certainly not
a new newsgroup for these discussions.

Look, I play with chips, but I'm never ever going to buy any more than
ten or twenty of anything.  I would love to be able to contact your aps
engineers, but don't you need to concentrate on professionals, as opposed
to amateurs?

See what responses you get, then follow your conscience...

-- 
Ben Cranston        ...seismo!umcp-cs!cvl!umd5!zben    zben@umd2.ARPA

crs@lanl.ARPA (03/04/85)

> Most of AMD's apps engineers have accounts on Unix systems where
> they can receive electronic mail. Without making any commitment
> to do anything, I would like to inquire as to whether there would
> be any interest in being able to ask applications questions to
> our engineers via email or whether the old fashioned way of telephone
> calls is good enough. I am sure that many (most) of the users of
> USENET are software types but there are enough hardware types to
> justify groups like net.analog.
> 
> I had in mind publishing a list of chips and the mboxes of the engineers
> responsible for supporting them. Send mail to me indicating:
> 1) whether you'd use this
> 2) how do you get applications assistance now
> 3) what chips you're interested in
> 4) estimate of the annual dollar value of AMD chips you buy now
> (personally I don't care but I think management does)
> 5) general comments
> 
> If you consider this an exploitation of the net, don't flame me,
> just let me know. We certainly don't want to offend anybody, just
> possibly offer a service of value to people.
> -- 
>  Why, that's more useless than the left thumb of a touch typist!
> 
>  Phil Ngai (408) 749-5720
>  UUCP: {ucbvax,decwrl,ihnp4,allegra}!amdcad!phil
>  ARPA: amdcad!phil@decwrl.ARPA

I think it would be a convenience rather than "exploitation."  I have
wondered why this wasn't common practice.  Your comment about
"exploitation" may explain it but not to my satisfaction.  If e-mail
availability to someone who can help me get my job done more quickly
is exploitation of the net, then I say we should have more of it.

Consider the following:

1.  Some people (including me) are better at explaining what they need
to know in writing than via the telephone but writing a letter through
normal "channels" is slow and costly.

2.  If I do phone someone, they may be out, on another line, or their
phone may be busy.  I therefore must wait an appropriate time and then
try again.  If I send my query by e-mail, it waits for them.  When
they finish what they are doing now, they can then reply to *my*
query.  I don't have to do anything else (in the ideal).

3.  E-mail is non-intrusive.  It won't interrupt something important
that the recipient is doing so it is better on that end too.

I don't think that e-mail should *replace* the telephone as a means of
such communication but I *do* think it can be a valuable supplement to
it.

I would like to have e-mail access to other semi-conductor houses,
too.  If others think that this is "exploitation" *I* would appreciate
it if companies would e-mail path information to *me*.

Charlie Sorsby
...!{cmcl2 ihnp4}!lanl!crs
crs@lanl.arpa

phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) (03/07/85)

> maybe instead of a netwide newsgroup, you might be looking more at a netwide
> mailing list.
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Eli Liang  ---
>         University of Maryland Computer Vision Lab, (301) 454-4526
>         ARPA: liang@cvl, eli@mit-mc, eli@mit-prep  CSNET: liang@cvl
>         UUCP: {seismo,rlgvax,allegra,brl-bmd,nrl-css}!umcp-cs!cvl!liang

There seems to be some misunderstanding about what I was proposing
so I'd like to expand on it. I am not proposing a newsgroup or even
a mailing list. I am exploring the interest in publishing, maybe
once a quarter or so, a list of applications engineers and their
electronic mailboxes. We would encourage sites to get direct uucp
links to "amd" so that we would not rely on our neighbors forwarding
such correspondence.

It is not clear how the list would be distributed. Perhaps in net.micro,
perhaps as a mailing list mentioned in mod.newlists. Perhaps the list
would only be known by word of mouth. All this is to be worked out
depending on the responses received.
-- 
 Why, that's more useless than the left thumb of a touch typist!

 Phil Ngai (408) 749-5720
 UUCP: {ucbvax,decwrl,ihnp4,allegra}!amdcad!phil
 ARPA: amdcad!phil@decwrl.ARPA

woof@psivax.UUCP (Harold Schloss) (03/08/85)

In article <766@amdcad.UUCP> phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) writes:
>Most of AMD's apps engineers have accounts on Unix systems where
>they can receive electronic mail. Without making any commitment
>to do anything, I would like to inquire as to whether there would
>be any interest in being able to ask applications questions to
>our engineers via email or whether the old fashioned way of telephone
>calls is good enough. I am sure that many (most) of the users of
>USENET are software types but there are enough hardware types to
>justify groups like net.analog.

Well I am mostly a software type, and I must admit that I don't use
AMD parts in the systems I am working. I do use other manufacturer's
parts though. Mostly Intel's. While I am a software type, much of what
I do is low-level software that depends on really knowing the chips well.
(Self-test, device drivers, etc.) So I think it would be a great idea if
other manufacturers offerred the same service AMD seems to be offerring.
Obviously I would be mostly interested in Intel types of problems, but
I am sure that there are many others out there who would benefit from
this kind of service from the other chip manufacturers on the net. So
count me as interested in this kind of service, but from Intel and
not AMD. (I am afraid we are not in a position to switch.)

-- 
		Hal Schloss
		(from the Software Lounge at) Pacesetter Systems Inc.
{trwrb|allegra|burdvax|cbosgd|hplabs|ihnp4|sdcsvax|aero|uscvax|ucla-cs|
 bmcg|sdccsu3|csun|orstcs|akgua|randvax}!sdcrdcf!psivax!woof
 or {ttdica|quad1|scgvaxd}!psivax!woof

larryme@tektronix.UUCP (Larry Meneghin ) (03/11/85)

O.K. there seems to be enough interest.  If you're an apps. engr. and you want
to have your customers reach you through email, post your address already.

ski@sal.UUCP (Staffan Kjellqvist) (03/25/85)

In article <359@psivax.UUCP> woof@psivax.UUCP (Harold Schloss) writes:
>In article <766@amdcad.UUCP> phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) writes:
>>Most of AMD's apps engineers have accounts on Unix systems where
>>they can receive electronic mail. Without making any commitment
>>to do anything, I would.............

I think it is a very good idea. All semiconductor companys shold follow
up. We think it is good if we dont have to first explaine our problem
for the local agent who dont know what we are talking about because we
who uses the chips very soon comes much deeper into the cicuits than
salesmen ever do.

	ski@sal (Staffan Kjellqvist)