herbw@midas.UUCP (06/05/87)
--------
I offer the following chronology, so that the reader may draw his/her own
conclusions:
* As the owner of a Dataframe XP40 and a LaserWriter, I was frustrated
by a spooler that works only with an ImageWriter. Thus, I was pleased
to see advertisements for SuperMac's Laser SuperSpool software. Since
SuperMac offers lifetime free software upgrades to DataFrame owners,
I wrote to SuperMac on February 18 requesting a copy. No response!
* I phoned SuperMac on March 5 and was told that Laser SuperSpool was
not yet shipping, but that it was scheduled to start shipping on
March 9 (I spoke to Julie). Since I had already requested a copy,
one would be sent out.
* March 25: Still no response. I phoned and spoke to Marcia and Wendy.
Wendy promised to send it out "with the next mailing", and told me
that "I should have it early next week."
* May 7: Still waiting. I phoned and spoke to Marcia, Valerie, and Wendy.
They could not understand why I had not received my software, but a
"replacement copy" would be sent out "right away".
* May 20: Is SuperMac's promise just a myth? I phoned and spoke to Elveeh
(everybody was in a meeting, and she just picked up the phone). I told
her that if I did not receive my promised software within one week,
I would spread the word, so here it is.
Some comments:
* If SuperMac wanted me to get the latest software from my dealer or from
a network, they had ample opportunity to tell me that when I phoned.
However, each time I called, they politely promised to send me the software
on disk.
* One of my coworkers had a DataFrame XP20 which died. The dealer (same
dealer I use) prompty exchanged it for a new drive with (you guessed it!)
new software. That's how I finally got my new software. However, I'm
still waiting for SuperMac to make good on their promise of lifetime free
software upgrades by sending an upgrade directly to me.
If anyone has actually gotten a free software upgrade directly from SuperMac,
I would be most interested to hear about it.
-- Herb Weiner (...!tektronix!midas!herbw)korn@cory.Berkeley.EDU.UUCP (06/06/87)
In article <1483@midas.TEK.COM> herbw@midas.TEK.COM (Herb Weiner) writes: >...[a story detailing his attempts at getting software updates from SuperMac, his frustrations, etc.] Herb, you probably should have gone to your (or some other) SuperMac dealer to get your software update--just as you go to your Apple dealer (or a friend or User's Group) to get the latest version of the System/Finder. I don't mean this as an excuse for SuperMac--they told you that they were going to ship it to you, and they didn't. I've personally had his problem with them numerous times (and I'm speaking as an employee of a store that carries their equiptment!), SuperMac has horrible USnail performance. This is something they need to fix. But the nature of this industry is such that most companies just cannot afford to individually support all of their users--especially when updates are coming out every few months. MicroSoft is one of they very few that does--you'll note that they issue very few updates. Apple, the company that you would expect would be best suited to issue software updates, doesn't. So, in return for a computer dealer's 10-40% markup, the dealer has the responsibility to maintain current versions of all software that s/he sells and issue updates to his/her customers that come in the store w/proof of purchase (unless the company prefers otherwise). In the case of both Apple and SuperMac (and numerous other companies), this is the way it's meant to be done--all too often you'll find dealers that aren't capable of helping a customer who wants to purchase ONLY a box of disks, much less let them copy a folder off of the demo hard drive that contains the latest release of hard drive software. In recognition of both SuperMac's problems in getting software out to people, and many dealers' inability to support their customers, I'm maintaining an archive of SuperMac software. Those with arpanet access can telnet to ucbvax.berkeley.edu and get all the good stuff (save DiskFit, which I haven't had a chance to upload yet--being between CPUs right now) from the ~/ftp/pub/mac directory. Again, I don't mean this as an appology for SuperMac-they broke a promise, and quite probably lost a customer. But in general, it's a good idea to try the dealer first (after all, what's the point of going through a dealer instead of mail-order if you can't get even this much). Peter -- Peter "Arrgh" Korn Oh when, oh when will my MacII korn@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU arrive? Oh where, oh {decvax,dual,hplabs,sdcsvax,ulysses}!ucbvax!korn where can it be?
mrh@Shasta.UUCP (06/08/87)
In article <1483@midas.TEK.COM>, herbw@midas.TEK.COM (Herb Weiner) writes: > > If anyone has actually gotten a free software upgrade directly from SuperMac, > I would be most interested to hear about it. > > -- Herb Weiner (...!tektronix!midas!herbw) I have always fetched the latest version of the SuperMac software from the local store where we bought our drives (ComputerWare). The same was true for the update you are refering to. I called SuperMac to report some bugs which I found in the 1.01 (I think) version of SuperLaserSpool. These bugs were noted and I was told that a new version of the spooler would be available soon. I asked if they would send me a copy of the new version when it was available, they said yes and they did! The bugs I was running into were fixed and they made good on their promise. I have had very good luck when I've talked to them on the phone (this last time was Gordon) and I've been happy with the software they've provided. After hearing about all the hassles with Jasmine discussed over the net I must say I've never heard of ANYONE who had problems like that with their DataFrame. Every case I've heard about where the drive konked out has been dealt with swiftly and correctly. David Gelphman daveg%slacvm.bitnet@forsythe.stanford.edu
moriarty@fluke.UUCP (06/08/87)
Well, because I got my Dataframe through ComputerWare's mail-order division,
I have had to call and ask them to ship new software out. And, each time,
they have mailed it out to me quickly, and been extremely pleasant on the
phone.
In other words, I have nothing but good things to say about the company,
especially after owning a 20 Meg hard drive that has worked like a charm for
a year now.
"I'm going to have you wrapped in a U.S.
flag and burned personally by the President,
in high octane American gasoline!"
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
INTERNET: moriarty@fluke.COM
Manual UUCP: {uw-beaver, sun, allegra, sb6, lbl-csam}!fluke!moriarty
CREDO: You gotta be Cruel to be Kind...
<*> DISCLAIMER: Do what you want with me, but leave my employers alone! <*>socha@drivax.UUCP (06/10/87)
In article <1483@midas.TEK.COM> herbw@midas.TEK.COM (Herb Weiner) writes: [A sad discussion of bad actions by SuperMac re: LaserSpooler Software] >Some comments: > >* If SuperMac wanted me to get the latest software from my dealer or from > a network, they had ample opportunity to tell me that when I phoned. > However, each time I called, they politely promised to send me the software > on disk. > >* One of my coworkers had a DataFrame XP20 which died. The dealer (same > dealer I use) prompty exchanged it for a new drive with (you guessed it!) > new software. That's how I finally got my new software. However, I'm > still waiting for SuperMac to make good on their promise of lifetime free > software upgrades by sending an upgrade directly to me. > >If anyone has actually gotten a free software upgrade directly from SuperMac, >I would be most interested to hear about it. > -- Herb Weiner (...!tektronix!midas!herbw) Well, I have had good experiences. After having my first Dataframe 20 die. (Well, It started after I used some very old 128K software.) And after re-formating, etc. seemed to help but the problems re-appeared, I started calling SuperMac. They were helpfull. Received new software by mail. But, the disk just would not fully recover so it was swapped out. (Purchased an XP upgrade from them at the same time BTW.) Anyway, I sent in the new registration card as well and in a period of about 3 months I received about 6 copies of their latest software. Some I am sure are due to the old and some to the new disk drive. (Maybe for the XP upgrade as well?) Anyway, I have no complaints in that respect. Now, if DiskFit could only do Archiving as well as backup, I'd be all set. -- UUCP:...!amdahl!drivax!socha WAT Iron'75 "Everything should be made as simple as possible but not simpler." A. Einstein
cosmos@druhi.UUCP (06/10/87)
I called to ask for a new version of LaserSpool. I had 1.0 and it didn't work right. They said they would send out 1.1 and that it would fix the problem. I got it (with two disks and all of the new software) and it did fix the problem. It arrived in less than one week. Ron Guest ihnp4!druhi!cosmos
waltervj@dartvax.UUCP (06/11/87)
Distribution:world -------- ---- Herb Weiner wrote about "The myth of Supermac (DataFrame) support" and ---- asked: >If anyone has actually gotten a free software upgrade directly from SuperMac, >I would be most interested to hear about it. Yes, I have had very good responses form Supermac. I called them last Monday asking for the latest software updates and received two disks & a long letter explaining what was on them that Wednesday. I then updated my Dataframe20 and all has been well since. This has been the experience of everyone that I know around here who have Dataframes. -Walter Vose Jeffries, a satisified Dataframe owner & user.
julian@riacs.edu (Julian E Gomez) (06/11/87)
In article <1483@midas.TEK.COM> herbw@midas.TEK.COM (Herb Weiner) writes: > ... > If anyone has actually gotten a free software upgrade directly from SuperMac, > I would be most interested to hear about it. > -- Herb Weiner (...!tektronix!midas!herbw) Sounds like you ended up in an anomaly. I've gotten software from them five times. The first time I talked to them on the phone and they said they would mail the disk; it arrived the next day. Since then I've just driven over there to get software, since it's not far, and with the Mountain View postal service, saves up to three days. Once a transistor in the power supply went away, and they fixed it in half an hour. Another time I had a beef with them about something and the company president handled it personally. I've also spent hours on the phone with their technical people getting my Novy board to work. I have never had less than instant, courteous and complete cooperation from SuperMac staff. (I'm not working for them, consultant or otherwise) -- "Have you ever wondered if taxation without representation was cheaper?" Julian "a tribble took it" Gomez julian@riacs.edu || {...decvax!}ames!riacs!julian
pgn@osupyr.UUCP (06/13/87)
I have an XP 20 and an XP 40. The 20 is almost a year old (it was upgraded from the original version, I forgot what it was called), and has been running with no problems whatever. The 40 is three months old, and failed after 2 months. There were some directory problems, and then it failed to reformat. I called SuperMac, they told me to take it back to the dealer. I did, and the dealer (MicroCenter in Columbus, OH) replaced it with a new one immediately. Since then everything is fine. Regarding software: I had some problems with SuperSpool and SuperMac solved all my problems promptly. I also have a 2Meg RAM update from SuperMac. It works flawlessly. Summary #1: SuperMac is one of the finest companies I have ever dealt with. They have a great line of products and provide superior after sale support. Summary #2: MicroCenter in Columbus, OH, is the best Mac dealer I have ever seen. They are competitive, curteous, fast, informed, reliable and friendly. I hardly ever use mailorder companies anymore. (Just in case one wants to contact them: call 614-481-8041.) Disclaimer: My only connection with SuperMac and MicroCenter is that I am a satisfied customer. Have Orthogonal Polynomials Will Travel Paul Nevai pgn@osupyr.uucp (PREFERRED) Department of Mathematics nevai-p@osu-eddie.uucp The Ohio State University 73057,172.Compu$erve 231 West Eighteenth Avenue TS1171@OHSTVMA.bitnet Columbus, OH 43210, U.S.A. 1-614-292-5688