Conference 7.286::digital

    Somehow, you need to convey the spirit of NOTES to the rest of the
    world.  I've seen nothing like it elsewhere and have trouble explaining
    my addiction to outsiders.

    After 10 years of selling for Digital I could probably write the
    book.  There is one story which comes to mind which is 6 years old
    but just as valid today as it was 6 years ago.  I MUST ADMONISH
    YOU, AS I AM SURE YOU ARE AWARE, TO BE VERY CAREFUL OF USING CUSTOMERS
    NAMES, AND, CONTACT ME FIRST.
    
    In the early part of October of 1977 I was the defacto account manager
    of Texas Instruments in Dallas.  I had sold the first VAX and DECsystem
    2060 (and 2020) to TI.  A "footnote" is that I sold these to TI
    because my manager said I was wasting time selling to a competitor
    and I wanted to prove that I could, they have since done many millions
    of dollars of business with DEC.
    
    In any case, the inevitable "pseudo" corporate visit came up.  No
    big deal, just a nice quaint meeting with a vice president of Texas
    Instruments and Win Hindle and then dinner that night. The part
    that I will never forget is the initial meeting in Wins office.
    The vice president of TI was expounding the virtues of all of his
    IBM gear that he had bought and I was getting a little tired of
    listening to him!  With a total loss of decorum I simply asked (in
    exactly these words!) "..well, if you're doing so good with your
    IBM hardware just exactly what are you doing here...?"  I think
    that Win was reaching for the phone to call corporate personnel
    to have my termination papers drawn up when the vice president of
    TI answered....(again, in almost these exact words, I'll never forget
    them):
    
    "Well, Jerry, we can take a person out of school, or industry, and
    bring him to TI - if he's been working on IBM gear then in about
    six months or a year he will be productive for Texas Instruments.
    We can take a person, of the same caliber, out of school or industry,
    and if he's been working on DEC gear he will be productive for Texas
    Instruments in about 2 weeks.  When you consider the number of people
    we have in computer related activities you can imagine just exactly
    how much money that will save us".
    
    To say the least, Win was absolutely elated.  That was the best
    question that I could have possibly asked, the time was right and
    the answer was ABSOLUTELY UNFORGETABLE!  Not only that but I have
    used it as an example over and over again with other customers
    (obviously not using Texas Instruments name directly, unless
    unavoidable). Two to one that Win will recall that instance even
    to this date.
    
    Jerry Beeler
    Office: (806) 745-9294
    Home  : (806) 795-6069
    
    PS - I spent nearly 10 years as a DEC customer and have now been
    with DEC for 10 years.  I've got enough stories that I have even
    (seriously) considered writing a book myself.  I've even gone as
    far as actually starting to write!!
    
    Is the above the kind of stuff that you want?

    That should read "early part of October, 1981..."
                                             ----
    Sorry for the goof!
    	JB
    

    Get in Eric Postpischil's story about "Always Mount a Scratch Monkey!"

	I remember a story told to me by a veteran Field Service rep about 
"chicken bones".  It was about ten years ago, and the details are REAL fuzzy.
Anyone from FS out there can relate this tale?

    As one of the reviewers of "THE BOOK", let me try to add encouragement
    to those that are prone to write stories.  The authors need stories
    that gives a hint of what the 'digital difference' is.  The deadline
    is soon.  The first review has already gone out... and the comments
    back noted the need for more stories.  The desire is for 2:1 customer
    stories to internal stories.  Stories of why a digital solution
    made a difference.  Stories that reflect the attitude of the employees.
    Stories of how some of the more famous products came to be.  
    
    Please sit down on a rainy day, or anytime you feel prolific, and
    write your favorite story.  You may end up seeing your words in
    print!

    bill

    I hope that any story that mentions a customer by name will be cleared
    with that customer.  This is not a legal requirement as far as I
    know but it certainly seems to be "the right thing" to do.
    
    We may not, but in any story, the customer might be embarrassed.

    I remember one back in the PDP-8 days:
    
    The PDP-8/E had just been announced, with its "obsolescence-proof
    OMNIBUS."  I'd occasion to walk into a development area where people
    were discussing the follow-on PDP-8 product.  In those days, the
    OMNIBUS was quad-height, and these folk were talking about a
    dual-height version (memory's fuzzy here, but I think aimed at the
    OEM trade).  I said something like, "Didn't we just spend a lot
    of time, effort, and advertising trying to convince people that
    the OMNIBUS makes the PDP-8 proof against bus changes?  It looks
    to me like you're trying to change the bus. How will you fit quad
    boards into a dual-height backplane?"
    
    I don't know of there was a direct connection, but the PDP-8/M and
    the PDP-8/F both had quad-height backplanes and the PDP-8/A could
    accomodate hex-height boards.
    
    If there was a connection, as I suspect, it proves a flexibility
    and receptivity found in no other company I've worked for, since
    those folk were engineers and I was in Public Relations.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.

    This is a little story about Ken and his willingness to share and his
    expectations of people. It's this kind of thing that makes DEC great
    for the people that work here.

    I was involved in setting up a demo for the State of the Company a few
     years  ago. We did a lot of work to get several groups demo systems
    all connected via a local network. It was pretty neat when we got done
    and was probably one of the first demos that was completely connected
    this way.


    While the VIPs were giving their talks for the SOC the demo area was in
    the dark and no one was in there. Except me because I had one CPU that
    had a tendency to crash and I wanted it up for the next break. As I
    entered the demo area to make my check-up I found KO there, in the
    dark, casually looking things over. I asked him how he liked it and if
    he was aware that the entire demo was connect via the net and that one
    could view it as one system.He turned to me and said "Why that's great!
    I'd like you to come to the podium after the next break and explain
    this demo. Can you be ready to do that? What's your name? I'll
    introduce you."
    
        Well I was not one to say no to KO and felt well prepared to
    explain it, so when Ken introduced me I went up and gave a quick 5
    minute dissertation to the distinguished audience.


    I often think back on that occasion and remember that I was not wearing
    anything close to a suite (just cords, shirt & tie and a sport coat)
    and that didn't bother Ken at all. He expected it.

    Ken did not know my name or what I did but asked me if I could give
    a presentation. He didn't know if I could but, he expected it.


    Ken showed me that willingness to share in all aspects of the job is
    an important attribute that I will never forget. I also remember to
    be ready for anything when around him!

					Tom Beaudet
    

Re .1:

People who have used Usenet or the ARPAnet mailing lists (and probably
Compuserve, etc., for all I know) will know what you are referring to.
Notes is helping to maintain and propagate the company's culture as it
keeps growing.  That may be an angle to examine.

Re .5:

Do we really want to represent the spirit of Digital as the company whose
field service technicians are so eager to please that they accidentally
kill customers' laboratory experimental animals?

I like the story as much as the next person, but it hardly shows the
company in a good light.  I refer to the version in note 47.3 in
RSTS32::WAR_STORY (q.v.), for those who haven't heard it.
				/AHM

    Our lives are touched in so many ways by our association with
    DIGITAL, the company, and with DIGITAL, the family. 
    
    I remember the day a dear friend of mine, a single parent and DIGITAL
    secretary sat down and calculated that, with the help of DEC's
    benefits, her daughter would indeed enter college the next autumn. 
    I wonder how many college degrees have been under DIGITAL's sponsorship?
    
    I wonder how many employees have been touched as I was to receive
    a sympathy card personally signed by Ken Olsen when a family
    member passed away?
    
    I wonder how many of us who have worked at companys where layoffs
    and "Friday firings" were commonplace sleep better now?
    
    We moan about the re-orgs, the newest TLA, the space wars and
    budget games, and metrics which don't mesh but "there ain't no other
    place quite like this place so this must be the place."
    
    
    
    

Two stories about vice presidents.

An employee leaving the cafeteria with arms full of food and manuals
is ten feet away from a door to another level.  A VP coming from the
other direction is 30 feet away.  The VP breaks into a jog to reach
the door first so that he can open it for the engineer.

And a secretary tells of a VP who always has time to stop, say hello,
and chat about things.  He works in a different organization, and a
different building, but he never passes her desk without a bit of
friendly exchange.

Some people see DEC as arrogant, but it is full of some very nice people,
and I think it is they that create the open and encouraging environment
that brings the best work from people.

-- it's the little things that matter.

    How many companies have employees checking in on the latest discussion
    in NOTES at 12:38 AM on July the 4th?
    
    There is a feeling of communication and friendship fostered by
    Digital's policies and its open network that are unique. I find
    this electronic reality to have profoundly impact the dedication
    and intensity of thought. This is reflected in our products.
    
    Marshall
    

    Most of the replies have discussed the 'human-ness' of Digital which
    is certainly the key to the Digital Difference.  One very good story
    is the one about Ken cleaning up the litter in front of the mill
    on his way back from lunch one day.  I recall reading this in a
    conference many months ago written in the first person - possibly
    in RSTS32::WAR_STORY.
    
    Last fall at DECville I had occasion to feel Win Hindle's human-ness.
    I was one of the developers of the Ericsson banking connection which
    was announced at DECville and it was being held behind locked doors
    until the contract was signed during the show.  The VIP's from
    Digital-Europe where taken into the room for a demo and the techies
    were asked to wait right outside during the demo as there was very
    little space.
    
    Two of us stood in front of the locked door talking about some X.25
    problems we were attacking in the next phase when the hostess on
    duty came up and asked if we knew if it would be allowed for a Mr.
    Winston Hindle to get into the room.
    
    Win had followed her over to where we were standing and intervened
    by saying, "I'm very sorry to disturb you, do you know where the
    Ericsson demo is being held?"  We, of course, opened the door and
    let him into the demo.
    
    His attitude was that our time was vital and made it quite clear
    that he respected it.  Compare that with the attitude of the 'average
    company' where a senior VP _demands_ the time of menial techies.
    
    Having a ball,
    
    Don

One of my ex-collegues started her career at Dec punching paper-tapes
for the PDP-8.  She was walking upstairs when the tapes slid out of
the box and scattered all over the floor.  While she was picking them
up, a man stopped to help her and she said "I wish you engineers could
figure out a way to keep the tapes in the box."

The next day, the man came into the keypunch room with some clear plastic
cases and said "my wife sewed these up last night -- see if they help."

    
    Well, now that Win Hindle got in here ...
    
    There are people who were closer to it but I understand that Win
    came out to 3M (then and now one of our largest 20 customers - at
    least in a concentrated area - about 16 of them in 2 rooms) and 
    vouched for the follow up DEC20 product - about a week later,  we
    announced it's demise! 
    
    While we may not want to advertise that, at times, some of us don't
    know all that's going on, we may want it known that we are capable
    of deciding to pull the plug.
    
    Here's another one but I bet you don't use it!
    
    In early 1974, I was a manufacturing tech from Westminster at a
    customer meeting (at Electro-Nucleonics Inc I think - little 8F
    driven centrifuge?) in  New Jersey where there were a lot of DEC
    folks - PDP11 marketeers trying to convert the PDP8 customer, some
    of us working some QC things etc and we and  some customers went
    to lunch - there were maybe 16 people and we all  sort of introduced
    ourselves - well one of the things you do is make sure you know
    who are the DECees and who aren't so you don't say (or do) anything
    too embarassing - this was in the days of eating and drinking lunches
    - anyway I headed for the mens room at about the same time as one
    of the greater-Maynard (aren't those words mutually exclusive) DECees
    and, as we relieved ourselves at adjacent urinals, hw casually turned
    and said 'I pissed next to Ken Olsen'. (If that's not okey to say,
    just assume I misspelled it and it should read 'I relieved myself
    next to K.O.')  God, some of those headquarters types!
    

    Winston R. Hindle, Jr. held onto a conference room in New York passed
    the time he had reserved.  It was an internal meeting.  Someone came
    out to tell me that he was not going to give the room up. I had to turn
    away 15 customers from a meeting they had traveled some distance to
    participate in.  This is the only contact I've even had with him. 
    
    I'll ditto 337.16 on the Jupiter non-disclosure presentations made
    right up to the moment when the cancellation was announced.  May 1983
    was not our finest hour. 

Is this book going to show both sides of the story, i.e. the good and
    the bad stories. I am relatively happy at DEC but I know *lots*
    of people who aren't and a number of not-so-good stories appear
    right in this file! If you don't plan on mixing the good with the
    bad I believe the book will appear to be utopian in nature. 

    re: .18 
    
    I agree!
    
    A publication that's entirely one-sided (i.e. only the good side) 
    could too easily be dismissed as propaganda.  On the other hand there
    is no point in discussing aimless horror stories --- *BUT* nobody stays
    in business for 30 years without making mistakes.  A key to success
    is LEARNING from your errors.  A key to avoiding mistakes in
    the future is knowing what has happened - good and bad - in the
    past.  Digital is extremely successful and I would have a hard time
    believing our reputation would be damaged by an honest discussion
    of our past.  A balanced history would be truly valuable!
    
    
    -Gerry
    
                                                 

    Re .18, .19:
    
    I agree on the "learned lessons" story.  The PDP-16 register transfer
    modules would make a great case study, for instance.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.

    Re: .18, .19, .20:   TRAX

    VMCS...
    

    re: last few
    
    If there is a possibility that such "learned lesson" incidents
    would provide additional fodder for lawsuits pending or not,
    reconsider.
    
    

    re: .23
    
    Perhaps the details could be blurred enough to limit  
    liability, yet still impart a "learned lesson".  Even with
    reduced information such a work would be very valuable.  A
    "sunny side only" version would be half as valuable.
    
    -Gerry
     

        Several years ago we stoped making PDP-8s. Several months later
        a company ordered 100 or more PDP-8s. We said we couldn't fill
        the order. They asked Ken for them. We restarted, that is,
        rebuilt the PDP-8 production line. The cost of doing so was
        sizable as the people who had worked the line were now
        manufacturing something else, so retraining had to occur.
        
        I don't have all the details. The line was in San German, Puerto
        Rico. The customer was an OEM with his own FS staff. The 8s were
        used for new customers and for spares kits. Restarting a line
        for a customer shows quite a dedication.
        
        JimB. 

    	Any story about Digital ought to include the problems and lessons
    learned from:
    
    	o  The original PC development work and why it didn't crack
    	   the market.
    
    	o  The engineering and business considerations, and subsequent
    	   public relations disaster, connected with cancellation of
    	   Jupiter.
    
     	o  The disastrous financial results of Q1 FY84.
    
    	o  The decline in profits, the hiring of Osterhoff as financial
    	   VP, and the importance of financial controls.
    
    	o  The reorganization in the early '80s away from product lines,
    	   and the resulting exodus of many top people.
    
    This probably all would go in one chapter called "Digital Grows
    Up."

    	This all occurred in my first two years with Digital, and *it
    wasn't my fault!*  :-)
    
    			David

    Don't forget..
    
    DECtap
    
    k moeller

Continuing my argument that the "process" is more important than the
actual widgets we make, the book might touch on things we don't do
and the way we don't do them.

Sometime in the mid 1970's, someone in the commercial product line
(forgot his name) decided Dec ought to get into the computer-controlled
cash register business.

He put together a business plan and presented it to the executive
committee.  They turned him down, deciding this was not a good market
for Dec to be in.

The person felt strongly that this was the right thing, and decided to
leave Dec to pursue this on his own.  He was given permission to take the
business plan with him.  His company, Data Terminal Systems, started by
renting space in the Mill. 

It grew to become a major factor in what is now a low-profit
cutthroat market.

While the company is has survived, the original decision to stay
out of the market was good for the company.

Martin.

I think saying that DTS has survived is stretching things a bit.

I thought they filed Chapter 11, and were bought out by one of their major
creditors, National Semiconductor.

/john

  That's right. Several local supermarkets use cash registers 
labeled "Datachecker/DTS" and that appendage to the name is all
that is left of DTS.
  As an aside, DEC's Stow plant was built for DTS but never occu-
pied by them.

    Seems to  me  you  could  get  really  good  mileage  out  of the "High 
    Tech/High Touch" megatrend.    This whole company is oriented that way.  
    Consider two generic examples:
    
         Electronic mail
         Notes ("Electronic conferencing", the $25 word)
         
    Think about NOTEing;   that  the  expertise of the entire company is on 
    our network!  That blows  my  particular  socks  off!    If  I  need  a 
    technical question answered, some advice on  parenting,  or to blow off 
    steam about the Red Sox, I can do it via NOTEs.
    
    Instead of playing telephone tag, I can send electronic mail.
    
    What other company uses "High Tech/High Touch" to the extent we do?  To 
    me, that's a big part of the Digital  way  of working.  (Along with not 
    having to wear a tie, 3 piece suit, and white shirt...)
    
         Bill
         

    re .31
    
    Bill, I ran into a person from a support engineering group recently
    and the topic of a notes file came up.  He said that his engineers
    read notes, but were under ORDERS to not respond to problems raised
    in a notes file.  The purpose of their group was phone and visit
    support, and not notes.  (kind of 'we provide a service, and answering
    notes is like giving free info away')
    
    I personally disagreed with the organization's position, (not the
    *right* thing to do within DEC), but I also understand what they
    are funded to do.  Although there are a lot of knowledgeable folks
    who read and answer notes, and help others get a job done, it's
    not always those who are the most knowledgeable answering notes..

    Gil (who loves notes...and tried to change his mind...)
    
    
    

    The subject of notes as a support mechanism has been discussed before.
    I will try to be short because I don't know what this has to do
    with writing the book on DIGITAL.  
    
    Unless a conference specifically states that it is the support
    escalation method, assume it is not.  Assume that what you read
    in notes is of the nature of shared information of a user group.
    For the most part it is not in anyone's job description to respond
    to notes conferences and therefore these conferences are not reliable
    escalation paths for time-critical problems.
    
    My personal observation is that a safe path to follow is that of
    doing a formal escalation through standard channels and do a parallel
    problem description (without mentioning the customer) in notes,
    doubling your chances of resolution.  
    
    Marge

    Re (-1,-2):
    
    My point  wasn't  the pros/cons of NOTEs as a formal support mechanism.  
    It  was  NOTEing  as  a hi tech/hi touch MEGATREND implementation.   My 
    comment  wasn't intended to get into the space of NOTEing as a  support 
    mechanism, but  rather  the sociology of it, and our (Digital) culture.  
    I think NOTEing  typifies  the  Digital  way.    My  perception is that 
    someone (or group) had an idea,  and "did what's right" as an informal, 
    midnight project.  Look at what happened--DEC product.    Look  at  the 
    EXPLOSIVE  growth  of  NOTEing as a hi tech,  industrial,  sociological 
    phenomena.  Look at all the possibilities.  Look  at use of the network 
    & technology for human communication.  
    
    Would we (-1, -2 authors) even be discussing this prior to NOTEs?  
    
    I rest my case.

    Thank you for that further explanation.

    re: .32 When you see a note about a problem, just mail the name
    of the support engineering group person to the problem poser.
    
    On the other hand, it is clear that support engineering has no monopoly
    on correct answers, plus any hierarchical "system" is slow and lacking
    in dialogue.  Therefore, you could simply answer the question and
    the NEED for "support engineering groups" will dry up and blow away!
    
    	Rick
    	Merrill
    

      I have a couple anecdotes about the development of the VT278,
    alias DECmate I.  This product used the VT100 chassis and power
    supply, but due to the FCC laws taking effect during its devel-
    opment was required to meet FCC radiated and conducted emissions
    requirements, which the original VT100 did not have to meet.
    
      A small team of us spent a fair amount of time trying to make
    the VT278 compliant with the FCC radiated emissions limits.  
    During that effort, we spent some time working at the Nashoba
    test site, which was converted from a drive-in movie theater
    to 3-meter test site.  It was widely known that we were having
    difficulty achieving compliance.  One Monday morning we arrived
    at the site only to find capacitors tacked on some of the signal
    lines and connected to the chassis.  It turned out that over the
    weekend, K.O. had used his keys to enter the building and exper-
    iment with the VT278.  Apparently, unbeknownst to Ken, the alarm
    system had dialed the Acton Police, who arrived to find the 
    president of Digital filling the role of EMC engineer.
    
      Later in the VT278 development, we had still not achieved 
    compliance with the 3-meter radiated emissions limits.  The 
    reason was not technical.  We had developed several fixes, but
    product management had declared that they were too expensive or
    not implementable for some other reason.  Thus, the engineers
    and technicians were struggling under the edict "Fix it but 
    don't change anything".  Finally, on 11-JAN-1982, K.O. called
    one of the developers and ordered the VT278 fixed by Friday
    or he'd fix it himself.  Suddenly, all the non-technical hurdles
    evaporated and we were able to achieve FCC compliance.
    
      Most of us went on to work on the BA23 box or the 11/84 Box
    and System.  We took the lessons we learned about FCC compliance
    on the VT278 and applied them to these products.  I think all
    involved would agree that the BA23 (5 1/4 inch box for the Micro
    PDP11 and VAX) and 11/84 easily attained Class A FCC compliance,
    especially compared to our earlier experiences.
    
    Greg Opp