[comp.unix.i386] Monochrome VGA not supported by SCO

ron@mlfarm.uucp (Ronald Florence) (06/12/90)

This is a sad tale of broken promises and false assurances.

In August of last year, I ordered an upgrade to Xenix 2.3.2, which I
was assured by the salesperson at SCO "would fully support the VGA
display."  When I installed the upgrade, I discovered that the VGA
modes do not work with a monochrome display on a ps2 or other IBM
VGA.  I reported this to SCO, and after some investigation, they
assured me that it would be fixed.  The following note from Louis
Imersheim, the head of their Microchannel Support, was typical of
many.  This was written on November 4, 1989:

     The modifications are being made to the SCO UNIX System
     V/386 Release 3.2 kernal and will be backported by
     engineering as soon as the code is completed.  I was told
     they ran into some glitches.  Its not slipping under the
     rug, its being worked on.  The last time I wrote you, about
     a month ago, engineering had just begun the work.  I can't
     guess at how long it will take but I'm hoping they'll have
     this fixed and ported to XENIX within the next 7 weeks.

In April, I received a phone call from "Daniel G," the Escalation
Coordinator at SCO, informing me that the monochrome VGA fix was
done and on its way.  I waited two more months, asked again, and got
the following response:

     Yes the problem was identified, and one of our engineers
     spent the time to fix it, but a decision was made not to
     roll it into the product or distribute it as a fix because
     we are not going to continue the product. It was a decision
     made by product marketing, and they are the only ones who
     make those determinations, and there is nothing I can do to
     change their minds.

In other words, although they have the needed fix, SCO will not
release it -- even to bring Xenix up to the level of functionality
they promised when they sold the upgrade to version 2.3.2.  Those of
us with monochrome displays are left in the lurch.  On the strength
of SCO's repeated assurances that they would eventually support
monochrome displays fully, I went out and spent a small fortune on a
large IBM 8507 display which is semi-functional on my system.

Ironically, I have been a major booster of SCO's CGI, writing and
releasing to the newsgroups ports of Gnuplot 1.0 and 2.0, Starchart
3.0, and a Tektronics emulator.  Yet I cannot display a proper grey
scale from any of those CGI programs on my monochrome VGA.

I have been a loyal SCO customer for many years.  If broken promises
are the reward for that loyalty, I will think long and hard about
where to look for the next version of Unix.  This is no way to treat
a friend!
--

Ronald Florence			{yale,uunet}!hsi!mlfarm!ron

fred@cdin-1.UUCP (Fred Rump) (06/13/90)

In article <RON.90Jun11184055@mlfarm.uucp> ron@mlfarm.uucp (Ronald Florence) writes:
>This is a sad tale of broken promises and false assurances.
>
>In August of last year, I ordered an upgrade to Xenix 2.3.2, which I
>was assured by the salesperson at SCO "would fully support the VGA

[discussion of promises made deleted]

>In other words, although they have the needed fix, SCO will not
>release it -- even to bring Xenix up to the level of functionality
>they promised when they sold the upgrade to version 2.3.2.  Those of
>us with monochrome displays are left in the lurch.  

>I have been a loyal SCO customer for many years.  If broken promises
>are the reward for that loyalty, I will think long and hard about
>where to look for the next version of Unix.  This is no way to treat
>a friend!

This is not nice!

I would have thought more of SCO 'marketing' folks had I not read the above 
note.

We, too, have several mono VGA's waiting here for functionality.  I just
assumed it was just a matter of time, not policy, before the fix was made
available.

I can certainly understand that somewhere along the way the line is drawn as
far as enhancements go with Xenix, but this is a product deficiency that needs 
to be resolved before the curtain can be drawn.

I hope marketing at SCO will not fall victim to buraucratic bungling just to 
make a point and release this fix to those who request it.

fred




-- 
Fred Rump              | UUCP:  {uunet dsinc}!cdin-1!fred  
CompuData, Inc.        | "Beware of cats for they are subtle and will .... on
10501 Drummond Rd.     |  your computer."
Philadelphia, Pa. 19154| Internet: fred@COMPU.COM         (215-824-3000)

kabra437@pallas.athenanet.com (Ken Abrams) (06/14/90)

In article <RON.90Jun11184055@mlfarm.uucp> ron@mlfarm.uucp (Ronald Florence) writes:
>This is a sad tale of broken promises and false assurances.
>
[sad tale deleted]
>
>I have been a loyal SCO customer for many years.  If broken promises
>are the reward for that loyalty, I will think long and hard about
>where to look for the next version of Unix.  This is no way to treat
>a friend!
>--
Incase you missed it, about a month ago, SCO left a post on here briefly
describing their intentions for XENIX support (ie None after about 1/1/91).
They said "Tell us what you think; we are listening".  I told them both
in a post and mail.  Several others did too.  I have missed a few days of
news along the way but so far, I see no evidence of any response from them
either public or private.

Based on your story, it appears that they have dropped support much sooner
than anticipated.  Since you have written commitments, I would be tempted
to drop them a short note telling them that the next letter they get will
be from a lawyer.

I didn't think too long at all about where to get my next UNIX system.
I don't know where it will be but I am positive that it WON'T be SCO.
I will not do business with a company that leaves it's customers with
"orphans".  Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

This is what happens when a company built by technology is taken over
by marketing types with a firm eye (only) on the bottom line.  They will
undoubtedly milk the customer base 'til it is dry (alienate a good portion
of them) and then move on to another virgin company.


-- 
========================================================
Ken Abrams                     uunet!pallas!kabra437
Illinois Bell                  kabra437@athenanet.com
Springfield                    (voice) 217-753-7965