librarian@ADUS.ECN.UIOWA.EDU (ADUS librarian) (01/11/91)
With regard to obtaining information from HP about problems, etc.,
many of you may already know about HPSL, but I thought I would pass
this along. A more detailed discussion appears in the next ADUS RING.
The procedures invoked when you call 1800-2Apollo may sometimes
generate what HP/APOLLO refers to as "engineering notes", which are
saved by HP and used to answer future calls about the same problem.
You might think of this as HP's internal FAQ list. These notes have
been available for users with service contracts to browse for about a
year (via the HPSupportLine- HPSL), although I couldn't find any users
in our area who knew how to go about browsing. Approximately 1400
Apollo-related notes are currently on-line (along with many more
concerned with HP9000 series equipment). Topics include both software
(e.g., GPR, X-windows) and hardware (e.g., disks, memory).
The procedure to access HPSL is as follows:
1. Call 18002Apollo to get your "system handle" and "password", if
you don't already know them. You should have set up your "system
handle" when you set up your service contract.
2. Using kermit, emt, or some other communication package, call
1-415-691-3680. (1200-2400; 8 bits/1 stop; no/mark parity). I
prefer to do this from a DM window, so I can capture the text
which I find while browsing. (This facility is supposed to be
available via the Internet later in the Spring.)
3. At the prompt, type:
hello user.hpsl;term=18
4. After a lot of login msgs, it will ask for your "system handle"
and "password".
You are then able to navigate the system as you please, including
asking for on-line help (help subject). After a few minutes, I found
the following options to be useful in managing the amount of text that
came across the phone line:
set header off
set trailer off
set menulength 250
set textlength 250
save (saves these options for the next time I log on)
Browsing involves selecting the "problem-solving information" category
and then selecting a keyword search of their database. It is worth
noting that the text you eventually find may have varying degrees of
value. A "search domain news" generated text which included a msg to
the effect that "news" is in the public domain, and it is the
responsibility of each user to do their own port.waldram@WOLF.UWYO.EDU (01/12/91)
I recently made my first attempt to use the Supportline. Since it was after hours on December 31, I hoped it would give some help. I was under-impressed with the amount of information available on the critical problem I was handling. I also tried to search for items which had been referenced and closed out in previous support calls. I was unable to find this information. I am not experienced at using SupportLine, but still think there is not much information available. I seem to recall from previous email and phone conversations, that SupportLine and the internal Response Center databases are separate!