Conference 7.286::digital

I start:

I got a VT100 and a modem when I joined the Marketing group, in September 84,
as it was a way to gather information through the MARKETING notesfile I asked
for. When I moved to IS land, as the Infocenter implementer, I had to buy a
Pro, so now I have still the modem, and the Pro at home to practize it and
its layered products.

I also have a terminal (and modem) at home, but for the following reasons:

	- If the data center needs help, I can work them through a problem 
	  without having to drive 66 miles to go into work.

	- I have three kids at home, and if something happens that I need 
	  to be home with them, my work does not fall behind, I can asses 
	  work from home.

	- If I need to help a user and I am at home I can see what his/her 
	  problem is right away without driving in 66 miles to check out an 
	  immediate problem that needs to be fixed.

	- during very bad winter weather (ie the storm of '78) I can 
	  continue all my work from home.

	- if a pressing problem comes up, I can devote all the hours needed 
	  to it, (which may be more thatn 9 hours straight) and still be 
	  able to leave the office, and still be able to take care of 
          care of commitments at home.


I soon plan on purchasing my own pro and modem, so I will not have to use 
the companies, but until I do it has been a lifesaver to me.

hang on! If you use it for your job, you DON'T have to buy your own material!

Didier...

No, I DO NOT HAVE to buy my own equipment, I want to own my own. Besides,
I would like to be able to do more at times at home, and sometimes that 
requires software I do not have access to. If I own it myself, I would have 
the access when I needed it. Plus I could expand my knowledge, and grow
professioanlly.

Gale

For MIS people, with support responsibilities, it is often fairly easy
to get a terminal and modem. It may only be a VT52 and DF01 but it will
be better then driving in to work in the middle of the night. I served
some time in MIS and had a terminal then. I was on call if any system
problems came up I was called. A terminal at home saved a great of driving.

In field offices (software/hardware support), even at the office a terminal
is often hard to get. One on your desk is unheard of in many offices. Home
equipment is totally out of the question.

I'd never take a job that did not come with a terminal at home. Again.

Alfred

Re -1:

I agree about not taking a job that didn't provide a terminal from home. I 
am, among other things, a system manager. On partial sick days (when 
feeling marginal) I can monitor activities, answer mail, and even debug 
lengthy problems without the other hassles of the office. (This happened to 
me a couple of years ago. I was at home as the result of some surgery. Well 
enough to work for a few hours here and there, not well enough to handle 
the drive, etc. We had a thorny disk and I was able to assist the 
operations folks.)

Right now I have a Pro at home and use it off-line for various 
applications, but about 3/4 of the work I do from home is by way of 
dial-ups. I do all my Notes work in the evening and on weekends. The 
network traffic during the workday makes long-distance NotesFiles 
unbearable.

BTW, my group is a documentation group. We have, and have had for several 
years, writers and editors who work nearly exclusively from home. The size 
of the documents and the range of application software makes use of PCs 
impractical; those folks have terminals.

kh
                                   -30-

The security policy here in Paris asks that all privileged accounts must
be dial-up disabled.

Didier
				    -31-	:-)

re: -.1

That policy as well as setting the UAF entry to disable network
access to priviledged accounts makes sense in most cases.     For
the case mentioned previously where the system manager is confined
to his home, there are ways of maintaining the spirit of the policy
whilst permitting someone in such a position to render assistance.
One possibility is to allow only one user on the account (UAF setting),
before allowing dialup and when the particular user has logged off
reset to DISDIALUP.

Rigid total adherence to policy regardless purely because it's policy
indicates ignorance and lack of understanding that in some cases
a certain flexibility is justified.    Unfortunately I see too many
examples of this type of rigidity.

Howard   

I have a Pro350 and Racal Modem at home. I didn't have to buy it.

I asked for the machine for out-of-hours support calls and the modem was
a  consolation from a mananager that turned down a relocation.

fun, isn't it!

New York: Getting a modem or a terminal for working at home is absolutely 
impossible. We hardly have a terminal per 5 specialists in the office! I have 
one, because I was in the right place in the right time...

						- Victor -

	Here at the Customer Support Center - Massachusetts, it is very easy
to get a VT100, VT240 (Blue, Amber or Green screen) and/or Modem (DF112) for
the house.

	In Jan 85, I bought my own PRO/380 and have never regretted the 
purchase yet!

EINIS! 

 At Spit Brook, engineers and writers alike can easily get VT100-type
 terminals and DF03 or DF112 modems for home use.  Note .11 is the first 
 I've heard that VT200 series terminals were available to take home -
 took me long enough to get one of those for my office!

 Neil

When I first joined DEC in June, 1981, the PDP-10 Software Engineering cost
center (CC341) had a mix of VT100s and VT52s in the office and a mix of VT52s
and VT05s at home.  There were not enough 100s to go around for everyone at
work.  (I got mine because my manager moved to Hong Kong for 2 years).  However,
some die-hards hung onto their 52s because they didn't like the feel (and
layout) of the 100 keyboard.  Also, there weren't enough 52s for homes, and
new people had to make do with an 05.  Everyone had 300 baud acoustic couplers.

I never used my 05 much, because of line noise, slow speed and general lack
of features.  Because I got in line early for a 1200 baud modem, I rewired
the 05 to work at split speed 1200/300 once the modem came in.  But the 05
burned out shortly afterwards (I swear it wasn't me), and I think I had to
wait for a 52.  Also, the modem (a Racal) died on me at some point, and was
lost in transit to the manufacturer's repair center.

Because of all of this pain and suffering, my supervisor endorsed my getting
a 100 at home, and so I got one of the very first to be released for that
purpose in my CC.  Also, I got a DF03, though I had to try two before I figured
out that they didn't work connected to the Dimension PBX in MR1, but worked
find connected to the step switch central office service in my home in Hudson,
MA.  Also, I got a VT100 terminal stand for home (beats having a $n000 terminal
perched precariously on cardboard boxes).

I had gotten an AVO for my 100 at work, to read 132 column Bliss-10 listings
(and try out VTTREK).  When someone with a 102 at work left DEC, I took his
102 for my office, and swapped my 100/AVO at work for my 100 at home (its
keyboard was starting to lose anyhow).  The 100 from home went to someone
else in my office area (and probably had the keyboard fixed).

220s and 24xs have been available for a while now in my CC (over a year?).
By now, I think they are available for the asking, though you once had to
beg, or participate in the field test.  Few people have 220s, actually.
However, some people (including me) will hold onto our 100s until they pry
them from our cold dead hands solely because of the LK201 keyboard.  Also,
I'd hate to try to switch between a 102 at home and a 2xx at work daily,
and I don't think there are many 2xxs in homes yet.

Some people might have DF112s now, but I haven't heard of anyone with a DF124.
Maybe I should get on a list?

If we ask long and hard enough, we can get a Rainbow or Pro for our offices,
but probably only 10% of the offices have them.  We don't have the money
for Microvaxen yet, though we would hopefully leapfrog to the neat successors
of the MVII/VSII and Rainbow when they are in production, and we have the
bucks.  If we ever get the bucks (you might imagine that PDP-10 land has
some groups in search of work).

As a sidelight, a friend of mine who was a VT100 hater/VT52 lover was about
the first to get a 100 at home around '82.  He had 52s in both places, but
wanted the better EMACS screen performance of a 100 at home because of the
1200 baud limit.  100s were only allowed at work then, because of the shortage
in our CC, and the capital equipment person initially gave a flat refusal
to handing one out for home.  However, our supervisor (Sara Murphy)
really supports her people, and she forced the issue that if someone was
entitled to 1 100 and 1 52, that it didn't make any difference where
the terminals were.

I know this was long, but I think it represents the level of support that
we get, which might be an interesting contrast with other's experiences.

(For instance, I had no problem getting the terminal stand, but I heard that
ISWS/ISSG people were not allowed stands at home after a manager visited
someone's house during a party and discovered one being used as a plant stand).

We aren't being dipped in workstations, but at least we all have our own
terminals (some schizophrenics have an extra 52 or 100 at work).  It is a
real difference from the horror stories of sharing terminals and restrictive
timesharing accounts I hear happens in field offices and other companies.
				/AHM

Shortly after I joined Corporate Product Safety in late 1981, we got a
WS200 system for the office and VT100/AVO's. We had a few VT52/62's, a 
VT05 and a LA30 as surplus. My boss begged me to take a VT and the LA30 so 
they could get rid of them, but I declined. I purchased the MPG offer of a 
VT100, RX02, and 11/03 system and borrowed a LA34 from the office plus a 
DF01. 

In Low End Product Safety, each engineer has a PC100+ and LA50 in the 
office, plus a duplicate set-up at home. Only this year was our budget cut 
so it has been difficult getting systems for the new engineers. Oh yes, 
everyone has a DF03 for home use. Our technicians have a VT100 or VT220 at
home (as well as a PC100+ with LA50 in the office). 

In the Mill, groups have thrown out VT100/102's, VT278's, etc when they 
get newer equipment. Those of us in Engineering get spoiled and have to 
have the latest toys.

In contrast, a friend of mine who is a Marketing Manager in MK had trouble 
getting a VT100 for his office and had to settle for a VT52 in his home.

re:  .12

"All groups are not created equal..."

Terminals and modems are NOT easily obtainable by all groups here at Spitbrook.
Some people are still using VT52's at home (better than nothing, I guess) and
some even have 300 baud modems (yuch!).  I guess it is all a matter of what
group you belong to and the budget thereof.

-Joe Melvin

[Since this note still seems to be active, I'll through in my $.02 worth.]

I am in SWS out of the San Francisco District (that's in California :-) and have
a PRO350 & LA50 at home courtesy of DEC.  Terminals (& Rainbows, Pros, DECmates)
are not much of a problem in out district, maybe one screen to every 1.5
persons.  But getting a hold of modem is almost impossible!!  For "my" PRO, I
had to borrow a friends DF03 because the office didn't have any!!  Finally, I
broke down and bought myself a DF224 (which is what I'm using right now). 

The only reason I have a PRO is that I convinced (conned) my previous manager
that I needed one.  I tend work far away from our office and rarely visit
it.  (Right now I am 372 miles away, have visited the office only once during business
hours in the last (almost) seven months, and about 6 times during non-business
hours.)

Without this PRO I would be lost!! No mail, no notes!!!  I'd be in withdrawl!

Have SWS work (& $$)?  Will travel...
	Matt Thomas (aka the wandering guru)

    EVERYONE in my group has their own terminal (VT100/VT102) and a
    modem.  The management here seems to understand it makes for a 
    higher level of morale when the engineers know that an emergency
    at home will not stop them from getting any work done.  Even the
    secretaries have terminals at home, and they seem to make effective
    use of the terminals at night.
    
    I met someone in ZKO who has a uVax II workstation in his bedroom;
    he and his roommate are going to try and construct the world's first
    personal cluster.
    
    
    The Mad Chinaman
    

    
      I had a VT125 at home...
    
      Just yesterday it practically blew up...
    
      Time for another, this time a VT100.
    
    
                      Pete