Conference 7.286::digital

    how do you think the article in this week's PC Week. In which Jim
    Louderback concluded that "This machine is just not ready for the kind
    of heavy use a real road warrior can inflict."
    
    KL

    Any product can have temporary faults that a customer may be convinced
    have been corrected. His more damming statement was "Digital service is
    a joke". What did we do to this guy (aside from the fact that
    apparently he got four HiNotes in a row with problems) to tick him off.
    The fact that  he stated in the same article that he is leaving PC Week
    to become Editor-in-Chief of Windows Sources magazine does not bode
    well for our coverage there either. Extra efforts need to be expended
    with these media folsk to insure that we don't get this type of press. 
    
    -OFWAMI- 

    Windows Sources had been very bullish on the HiNote line.  The
    PCMCIA problems seem to have annoyed a lot of people.
    
    				Steve

>     <<< Note 3885.2 by GLDOA::WERNER "Still crazy after all these years" >>>
>                       -< No hits, no runs, one error... >-
> 
>     Any product can have temporary faults that a customer may be convinced
>     have been corrected. His more damming statement was "Digital service is
>     a joke". What did we do to this guy (aside from the fact that
>     apparently he got four HiNotes in a row with problems) to tick him off.

   Well, if we did to him what is happening to me, I'm not surprised at
   his statement that Digital service is a joke.

   I got a HiNote a while back, had it for a week and a half, and the
   hard drive died.  Sent it to Shrewsbury for service, and now, nearly
   two months later, I have yet to see it again.  In the beginning of
   May, I was told that the ETA for the replacement disk was June 1.

   Fortunately, the HiNote is not critical to my work.  It would be nice
   to use it, but I can work without it for a while.  But for a user who
   depends on a laptop, having to do without it for two months would be
   absolutely unacceptable.

> Fortunately, the HiNote is not critical to my work.  It would be nice
> to use it, but I can work without it for a while.  But for a user who
> depends on a laptop, having to do without it for two months would be
> absolutely unacceptable.

  That's why many other laptop vendors offer 24-to-48 hour turn-around
  on laptop repairs. You phone their (800) number; If you don't already
  have appropriate shipping materials, they express them to you, then
  you express the notebook to them. It comes back shortly thereafter.

  I can't give you any first-hand experiences with the service; my
  notebook has only needed one minor repair in its life and it was
  done "while I waited" at the original dealer.

                                   Atlant

	I thought about buying a HiNote sometime next year.. Now I'm
	not so sure..

							mike

I thought our "Passport" service did have some maximum turnaround time?
(Employees don't get it, I know that.)

					Steve

    Before everyone jumps on MCS as the problem for turn around on High
    Note repairs.  The real problem lies with the PCBU who is responsible
    to fill the spares pipeline for MCS.
    
    They have not been able to do so since day one.  MCS has made numerous
    request for spares and it has fallen on deaf ears.  
    
    Maybe now that Art ODonnell is the VP of Quality, the old MCS/PSMG VP,
    he turn that around.
    
    Ken
    

Ken:

> Before everyone jumps on MCS as the problem for turn around on High
> Note repairs.  The real problem lies with the PCBU who is responsible
> to fill the spares pipeline for MCS.
    
  The *REAL* problem is that any of this is visible to the customers.
  In all honesty, they don't care one whit what department of Digital
  is responsible for their pain. They just know that if you cause
  them enough pain, they'll make the source of the pain go away.

                                   Atlant

    So, is it just a coincidence that the hi-note ultra recently
    became available for employee purchase -- complete with a
    (probably us-only) pay stub banner?

    If I were a cynic, I'd be watching for the hi-note ultra
    to go end of life, and the hi-note ultra plus to be
    announced...just a few sacrificial employees take it up
    the...

    ...nose.  (But I know what you were thinking)

    Guess it's a good thing we didn't start manufacturing VCRs ;-}
    
    

What's the PCMCIA problem?

Bob

Many PCMCIA cards don't work, or cause the system to be unstable, or cause
it to lock up when the system goes into power-saver mode.  Lots of notes
in the DECPC_PORTABLES notesfile.

				Steve

    re .13  'Lots of notes in the DECPC_PORTABLES NOTESFILE'...
    
    WRONG!  Something has happened to make this Notesfile disappear, or
    should I say the Notesfile is still there - it's just that all of
    the previous notes are gone.  Maybe it'll be restored???

    The file is there - but someone created a new one in the same
    directory (due to a bug in VAX NOTES configuration).  Use
    AKOCOA::DECPC_PORTABLES.NOTE;1 until this gets fixed.
    
    			Steve

| I thought our "Passport" service did have some maximum turnaround time?
| (Employees don't get it, I know that.)

Wasn't there a recent note saying that one could get 20% discount on this
laptop as a shareholder, which I presume is the same as they employee
discount. What happens if you buy a laptop as a shareholder? Do you get
better service?

    A very good question....

                  I N T E R O F F I C E   M E M O R A N D U M

                                        Date:     19-May-1995 02:50pm EDT
                                        From:     PCBU Marketing
                                                  PCBU AT A1 at SALES at AKO
                                        Dept:     
                                        Tel No:   

TO: See Below
 
Subject: PC News Brief #95N-024 May 19, 1995                                    




Distribution: [deleted]
 
 
                             PC NEWS BRIEF
                             >>>>>>>>>>>>>
             News for selling Digital PCs into the Americas
             ==============================================
  Issue #95N-024				         May 19, 1995
  
  
  RESPONSE TO PC WEEK ARTICLE                                 
  
  A negative article on the Digital HiNote Ultra notebook has been 
  published in the May 15 issue of PC Week, written by columnist Jim 
  Louderback. In summary, the article highlights a series of 
  difficulties Jim experienced with early HiNote Ultra notebook review 
  units.  
  
  The following content includes background information, positioning 
  statements, key issues/talking points and key Q&A's, plus a copy of 
  the original article, to assist the sales force in successfully 
  handling customer and reseller inquiries that will result.
  
  Our net response is that this does not represent a broad-based 
  quality issue with the HiNote Ultra product line, but should be 
  recognized as an unfortunate series of issues with early review 
  units that need to be clearly understood within their proper 
  context.
  
  BACKGROUND:
  
  o  Louderback experienced intermittent problems with a complex set 
     of applications and communications software being used on an 
     early review unit.
  
  o  We swapped the unit so we could test it in our labs and were 
     unable to replicate his problems -- even with his assistance.
  
  o  The second unit we gave him contained a hard drive with a bad 
     sector -- we replaced it with a third unit and gave him the new 
     BIOS version that resolved many of the PCMCIA compatibility 
     issues we were experiencing.
  
  o  The fourth unit cited was a HiNote Ultra notebook purchased by 
     his father, which did experience a screen failure.
  
  o  This all happened in March.  During follow-up discussions with 
     Louderback since that time, he did not express any continuing 
     quality issues.
  
  
  OVERALL POSITIONING:
  
  o  We are not minimizing the importance of any issues experienced by 
     users of our HiNote Ultra notebooks -- Louderback's situation 
     represents an unfortunate set of circumstances.
  
  o  Digital, as well as all other vendors, makes an effort to supply 
     the editorial community with early units for review purposes.  
     From time to time, all vendors experience some problems with 
     these types of units, especially when dealing with new products 
     and technologies.
   
  o  It's important to note that we've had no reports from the field 
     of similar, simultaneous occurrences to indicate a broad-based 
     problem.
  
  o  It is also important to point out to customers and channel 
     partners that we have received numerous positive reviews and 
     accolades from leading trade and business press -- all based on 
     evaluations of early review units similar to those provided to 
     Louderback.  In fact, the reviews include extremely positive 
     reports in PC WEEK.  Here are some:
    
    	 -  PC WEEK (2/13/95):  "New Small Notebooks Finally Pack the 
            Power" - by columnist Jim Seymour
    	 -  PC WEEK (2/20/95):  "DEC Subnotebook Offers Everything 
            Gateway Unit Lacks..." - a favorable comparison against 
            the Gateway Liberty and the H-P OmniBook 600C by reviewer 
            Michael Caton (HiNote Ultra receives Analyst's Choice 
            Award)
    	 -  PC WEEK (3/20/95):  "IBM & Digital:  Two Cool Ones for the 
            Road" - a very positive comparison of the same three units 
            in the 2/20 review as well as the new IBM ThinkPad 
            "Butterfly," (HiNote Ultra again wins Analyst's Choice)
    	 -  WALL STREET JOURNAL (2/2/95):  "Computer Notebooks Get 
            Smaller, Lighter, Costlier - very positive review by 
            columnist Walt Mossberg
    	 -  PC MAGAZINE (4/11/95):  "Digital's HiNote Ultra Lights a 
            Fire Under IBM & Toshiba"
    	 -  PC MAGAZINE (1/24/95):  "Six Notebooks that Push the 
            Status Quo"
    	 -  VAR BUSINESS (1/95):  "The Portable Revolution...The 
            Digital Dynamo"
    	 -  GOVERNMENT COMPUTER NEWS (3/20/95):  "Plenty of Smart 
            Thinking Went into Digital's Ultra Notebook"	
    
  
  o  We remain committed to total customer satisfaction and are highly 
     confident in the overall quality of our HiNote notebook series.
  
  
  KEY ISSUES/TALKING POINTS:
  
  o  PCMCIA/Hard Drive/Keyboard/Screen Issues
  
     -  Each of these issues taken individually are not uncommon in 
        the notebook marketplace, and can and do occur.  
  
     -  Total PC Card compatibility is still an industry-wide issue 
        and we're not immune.  We have released a Flash BIOS update 
        that has resolved many PCMCIA connectivity issues and added 
        user enhancements.
  
     -  The most important thing is how a manufacturer supports their 
        products and we're committed to total customer satisfaction.
  
     -  Digital includes a worldwide, three-year limited warranty on 
        all of our notebooks; we stand by our products and we take 
        care of our customers.
  
  o  Battery Life Issues
  
     -	As we all know, battery life is highly dependent on individual 
        patterns of usage, system configuration and applications.
    
     - 	Considering Jim's usage patterns (heavy word processing), the 
        rich configuration of the unit and the fact that the PCMCIA 
        card was inserted and powered on at all times, 2-1/2 hours, 
        although a bit low, is not outside of the expected range of 
        notebook battery life.
  
     -	Independent testing firms and recent product reviews in 
        industry trade press continue to place the HiNote Ultra 
        notebook in the top 25% for overall battery life -- a recent 
        article in the Australian Windows Sources magazine rates the 
        HiNote as the leader in battery life against numerous 
        competitors.
  
     -	Louderback's article does raise a question on battery 
        charge/run-down when the system is not in use, which we are 
        investigating.
  
  o  Service Issues 
  
     -  For whatever reasons, the frustration his father experienced 
        should not have happened.
  
     -  We take this and all customer feedback regarding quality, 
        service and support very seriously.  Beginning in June, we are 
        expanding our notebook service with additional dedicated, 
        trained specialists to handle notebook service calls. 
  
  KEY Q&A
  
  Q1.  Do you have an overall quality problem with your notebook 
       products?
  
  A1.  No.  As with any PC manufacturer, issues can and will occur.  
       What is most important, however, is how the vendor supports 
       their customers and works to resolve their issues and concerns.
  
  Q2.  If you don't have a problem, then how can you explain the 
       number of problems noted in the PC Week story?
  
  A2.  Jim's situation represents an unfortunate set of circumstances 
       with some early review units that he received.  It's important 
       to note that each of these issues taken individually are not 
       uncommon in the notebook marketplace, and can and do occur.
  
       We continue to be dedicated to total customer satisfaction and 
       are highly confident in the overall quality of our HiNote 
       notebook series.
  
       Let me point out that we've had no reports from the field of 
       similar, simultaneous occurrences to indicate a broad-based 
       problem.  In fact, we've received numerous positive reviews and 
       accolades from other reviewers at PC WEEK, and other leading 
       trade and business publications from reviewers using similar 
       early review units.
  
  Q3.  What happens if a HiNote customer is experiencing these same 
       issues, or issues other than those highlighted in PC Week's 
       story?
  
  A3.  We're dedicated to providing our customers with total 
       satisfaction and support all of our notebook products with a 
       full three-year warranty, worldwide, including parts and labor.  
       If a customer has any problem with a Digital product they 
       should contact their sales representative or call our service 
       department at 1-800-354-9000.
  

  ARTICLE IN DISCUSSION:
  
  Opinion: DEC's HiNote strikes a dissonant chord
  
     From PC Week for May 15, 1995 by Jim Louderback
  
  I really wanted to like DEC's new HiNote Ultra. The keyboard felt 
  great; the ultra-thin, 1-inch-thick case fit perfectly in my 
  briefcase; the screen was big and bright; and the innovative 
  flip-down battery created just the right angle for typing.
  
  After working my way through four HiNotes, however, I've concluded 
  that this machine is just not ready for the kind of heavy use a real 
  road warrior can inflict.
  
  I ran into many problems while using the HiNote. The first problems 
  I encountered came from using the Auto-On mode. Apparently, 
  communications applications just don't get along with the PCMCIA 
  drivers. About every third time I turned on the machine, either 
  Notes, E-Mail Connection, or Microsoft Mail would result in a 
  General Protection Fault.
  
  After visiting DEC, I got a new machine that included an updated 
  BIOS. But that didn't solve the problem.
  
  Then, in response to my auto-resume problem, DEC suggested that I 
  don't turn the PCMCIA slot power off. Ever. Well, that turned 
  auto-off into sort-of off. Battery life dropped from 100 percent to 
  27 percent overnight, even after turning the machine off. This 
  wasn't really a workable solution.
  
  I encountered another battery-life problem, too. For some reason, 
  even after fully charging the lithium-ion battery, I'd only have 
  about 60 percent life available. In addition, the machine would be 
  warm.
  
  I never did figure that one out. However, given that the power 
  button on the outside of the HiNote is so sensitive, I suspect that 
  normal jostling in my bag turned on the system.
  
  Even when I got everything working just right (usually by removing 
  the battery when fully charged), I still got only about two-and-a-
  half hours of battery life. No wonder DEC used a lithium-ion 
  battery! Nickel-metal-hydride must have lasted only an hour and a 
  half.
  
  The HiNote's hard-drive subsystem also seemed unusually fragile. 
  Hard-drive problems caused me to exchange two systems. I've never 
  seen Norton Disk Doctor get half way through a surface scan and then 
  respond "No disk in drive C. Please insert disk in drive C." That 
  did nothing for my confidence, so I sent the system back.
  
  Even the keyboard, which I loved, caused me grief. I had to do an 
  emergency triage at 40,000 feet when the space bar stopped working. 
  Sure, I got it working again, but how many of your users would be 
  comfortable dissecting a keyboard? Or typing without a space key?
  
  Finally, and probably worst of all, I convinced my father to spend 
  his hard-earned cash on one of these machines. After two weeks, the 
  LCD panel simply stopped working.
  
  And, to add insult to injury, DEC's field service was a joke. They 
  caused my dad untold frustration in getting a replacement. DEC 
  better resolve the field service problem quick, because the HiNote 
  Ultra will be a particularly demanding puppy.
  
  Bottom line: Beauty truly is skin deep, and the HiNote Ultra just 
  can't deliver on its svelte exterior. I wish I'd told my dad to buy 
  an OmniBook.
  
                                - End -

>    The file is there - but someone created a new one in the same
>    directory (due to a bug in VAX NOTES configuration).  Use
>    AKOCOA::DECPC_PORTABLES.NOTE;1 until this gets fixed.
>    			Steve
    
      I tried 'modify entry DECPC_PORTABLES/name=DECPC_PORTABLES.NOTE;1',
    and got exactly the same result as before, the empty conference. Does
    this not work from All-in-One?
    
      On the Hi-Note PCMCIA issues, we have been bitten several times by
    these. Several (non-Hinote - do they know something?) portables were
    stolen at some point in the repair loop here, and we had to give the
    customers replacements, so we gave them new Hinotes. Nearly all had
    PCMCIA problems with cards and software that had worked without any
    problems in their old notebooks. The BIOS update seems to have fixed
    some of these, but I still have two to sort out (one I think is a
    comms/Windows software prob.). I still like the Hinote, but PCMCIA
    still seems to be very much a case of 'Poor Customers Mostly Choose
    Incompatible Adaptors'.
    
    Ken Ricketts
    Support Engineer, 
    PRC Winnersh, UK
                                                          

    re .19:
    
    > I tried 'modify entry DECPC_PORTABLES/name=DECPC_PORTABLES.NOTE;1',
    
    That should be /file= instead of /name=.
    
    John

	MODIFY ENTRY/FILE=AKOCOA::DECPC_PORTABLES

    My take on Louderback's column was simply a cheap shot taken with one
    foot out the (PC Week) door.  He may have had some legitimate problems,
    but using his last column to throw arrows at Digital was beyond low.
    PC Week will be the better for his departure...  My response to his
    column will be, read some of his other work and you will be equally 
    unimpressed...
    
    Brad.

    RE: .22
    
    Louderback's real problem, it seemed to me, was that he felt like he 
    screwed his dad by suggesting that he buy the Hi Note. Had his dad not
    experienced the disk failure, Jim might have been more forgiving.
    However, since his dad had that problem, the way to salvation was to
    rake Digital over the coals in print, so that he could go back and say
    "see, dad, I got'em for you." 
    
    The fact that he is leaving to become Editor-in-Chief of Windows
    Sources means that he will have even more power in the future. There
    are a number of these columnists who have become pompous and overly
    self-important lately, IMHO. Dvorak is another Ziff hack that can
    quickly get on one's nerves, too. 
    
    But, that's just my opinion...and I could be wriong.
    
    -OFWAMI-
    

    FWIW, there are two bogus DECPC_PORTABLES.NOTE versions on AKOCOA::
    
    Use DECPC_PORTABLES.NOTE;-2 to get the correct version for now.
    
    I have mailed to the moderator-list and AKOCOA::SYSTEM regarding
    this several days ago, but I haven't heard a peep back (except
    that half of the moderators aren't where they are listed in
    the conference, if anywhere in the company ;-).
    
    ...petri
    

    
    The PCBU team is looking into this problem. thanks.
    
    gb
    

> Louderback's real problem, it seemed to me, was that he felt like he 
> screwed his dad by suggesting that he buy the Hi Note. Had his dad not
> experienced the disk failure, Jim might have been more forgiving.

  I agree with this part of this note.  Personally, I'm willing
  to experiment, especially if I think I'm going to get some
  sort of "bleeding edge" performance advantage.  And I'll ac-
  cept the downside if the experiment is a failure.

  But if you ask me for a recommendation for *YOU*, then I want
  to be able to give you a recommendation that I can be fairly
  confident of. And if it turns out my recommended choice falls
  falt, then my reputation is diminished.  I'm sure Jim felt
  exactly that, and in his *DAD'S* eyes, of all people!

                                   Atlant

> And, to add insult to injury, DEC's field service was a joke. They 
> caused my dad untold frustration in getting a replacement. DEC 
> better resolve the field service problem quick, because the HiNote 
> Ultra will be a particularly demanding puppy.
  

> o  Service Issues 
> 
>   -  For whatever reasons, the frustration his father experienced 
>      should not have happened.
> 
>   -  We take this and all customer feedback regarding quality, 
>      service and support very seriously.  Beginning in June, we are 
>      expanding our notebook service with additional dedicated, 
>      trained specialists to handle notebook service calls. 


  Does anyone think our response to this point is "on-topic"?

  I don't.

  Where are the details of the incident that led Louderback to
  conclude that service was "a joke"? Where is the rebuttal
  (WITH FACTS) that proves this was not the case?  This section
  is written in a distinctly different style than much of the
  rest of the response to Jim's concerns.

                                   Atlant

>  Does anyone think our response to this point is "on-topic"?
>
>  I don't.
>
>  Where are the details of the incident that led Louderback to
>  conclude that service was "a joke"? Where is the rebuttal
>  (WITH FACTS) that proves this was not the case?  This section
>  is written in a distinctly different style than much of the
>  rest of the response to Jim's concerns.
 
    I picked up on this too and noticed that we are/remain "committed
    to total customer satisfaction" (twice), "dedicated to total
    customer satisfaction" (once), "take our customer feedback seriously"
    (once) ever so slightly acknowledge that there is a problem with a 
    single "it shouldn't have happened" phrase and prove conclusively
    that we're going all out to solve the problem (that really isn't
    there) with an extensive single sentence that we are "extending 
    service in June".
    
    This memo lead me (for one) to believe that (1) the support issue
    is a more serious problem than I initially believed and (2) the
    lack of detail on solving the issue may imply that solutions may
    not be being as vigorously implemented as the issue calls for...
    
    re roelof
    
    

re .last few



Hey Let's not kill the messenger!

If you were in business for yourself, not just hacking around (not to imply
that I know your personal situation), counting on our stuff to work and 
it DID NOT work. 

----> 

You would be in a panic just trying to recover!
You would be doing WHATEVER IT TAKES to keep your business going.
One day down is a nightmare let alone 1 week!
You would be missing business opportunities galore!

 You would be  _upset_.




Now the point!

  What Jim did was to warn people about a REAL problem that he experienced!

  I did that same for my friends about PHONE CD and Gateway 2000 support 
  problems that I had and I appreciate when other's help me in kind and 
  I am confident that you would do the same.

 --> Lets NOT kill him for telling us about _OUR_ problem lets figure out
what when wrong without recriminations, fix the problem and set up a way to
ensure that it doesn't happen again.



I used to work for a manager that encouraged "brutal honesty" he didn't kill us
for mistakes, just surprises, that is: When he heard about your problem from 
someone other than you. It encouraged us to listen for problems in our areas of
responsibilties, quickly respond and to report them.

I realize that this is tough to do in our current environment, but there really
is no other way. Besides, as we have seen over the past four years, doing a 
good or great job doesn't count for much when you are in the wrong place when 
the axeman commeth! 

All in all it is still true:

		Anything worth doing, is worth our best effort!

So let's just keep that ears open and brains cranking.

   Dave

    There was a time in this industry when I would respond to this kind of
    situation by saying, "Wait to see how this is resolved."  In the
    PC/laptop business, however, this has just cut our throats.  A few
    notes back someone suggested that the HiNote Ultra plus would be
    suddenly released.  I 'm sorry but the name HiNote is, in my opinion,
    dead.  I toyed with buying a laptop because the 5 desktop PCs I have at
    home just don't offer the kind of portability I want.  I was swallowing
    the press-released information on this exciting product.  But now, I
    will NOT be putting my money into one of THOSE.  I expect that I am
    more generous than many non-DEC buyers. 

Re: .30

Luckily for us many other buyers will also take into account the steady stream
of praise we're getting in other publications.

				Steve

    I believe the official reply has been posted in DECPC_PORTABLES.

	Got a catalog from Tiger software yesterday and was flipping through
it and said "oh, there's an ad for the HiNote."  flip... flip... flip... 
<Screech!>  "Waitaminute!  That was an AD(!) for the HINOTE(!) in a **mail order
catalog(!)**"

	Finally!

Tracey 

Not an ad, really - rather a description of the product which they sell.  They
also have the Celebris and Venturis line, though their blurbs for those are
hopelessly confused.

					Steve

  Actually, Steve, there's a fair possibility that it was an "ad".

  When you look at a catalog like "PC Connection/Mac Connection",
  "PC Warehouse/Mac Warehouse", what you're looking at are actually
  paid adverts. And I don't mean just the stuff at the front. EVERY-
  THING in the catalog is a paid advertisement.

  The manufacturers (or distributors, e.g., Ingram) pay these catalog
  houses every time their product appears in one of their catalogs,
  and it's pretty big bucks.  A little box (ad) in "Mac Warehouse"
  costs something like $3,000 per insertion.

  That's why there are a lot more products in the catalog "index"
  than you see described in the apparent editorial content.

                                   Atlant