<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Mon, Jan 6, 2020 at 11:19 PM Ken D'Ambrosio <<a href="mailto:ken@jots.org">ken@jots.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif">
<p id="gmail-m_-6606735697368050097reply-intro">On 2020-01-06 22:44, R. Anthony Lomartire wrote:</p>
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<div dir="ltr">So I recently landed a job working in COBOL on HP-UX. It's been a trip!</div>
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<div dir="ltr">Oh, man. You just had to go there. Why, yes, as a matter of fact, I *do* have a COBOL on HP-UX story. I was working at a startup c. 2002, and we wanted to use the PointMan ERP system on our HP-UX hosts. (Linux wasn't yet an option for PointMan.) So I, a relative HP-UX neophyte, ordered COBOL for some thousands of dollars. I got, in a FedEx envelope: one (1) sheet of paper with one (1) serial number and a phone number to order more stuff.</div>
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<div dir="ltr">Period.</div>
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<div dir="ltr">I mean, silly me. For a couple of thousand bucks, I'd expected install media, release notes, some accompanying documentation. *SOMETHING* So I call the phone number and am like, "What in the world do I *do* with this??" They transfer me to another number. Which transfers me to another number. Which transfers me to another number. Who gives me a number they promise will be able to help. It's only after I hang up that I realize it's the first number I'd called -- the one on the piece of paper. At this point, I begin to doubt my sanity.</div>
<div dir="ltr">Oh -- and did I mention the ERP system, itself, cost something north of $150K, and I had the CFO breathing down my neck to get it installed, like, yesterday?</div>
<div dir="ltr">I finally find some poor woman who's at least, like, *heard* of COBOL. And she gets me to people who are willing to help me -- if I pay the $750 (? -- I think that's right) maintenance fee. So I do. And get connected with a very helpful engineer who explains the software is on the install media that *came with the system*; I just needed the serial number to activate it.</div>
<div dir="ltr">"Except, oh, yeah, YOUR version of the install media has a bug, and COBOL won't install. I need to mail you a file."<br>"So, you mean, even if I knew HP-UX super-duper well, I *STILL* wouldn't have been able to install it?"<br>"Yeah, that about sums it up."</div>
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<div dir="ltr">Again: release notes. Errata. An fscking URL. ANYTHING. I wrote our HP rep a letter the likes of which I generally try not to write. He called me up and asked what he could do to make it right. I said that was impossible, but implored him not to screw over other customers.</div>
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<div dir="ltr">That's a top-five most-frustrating-thing ever. I sincerely hope that things have changed in the intervening time.</div>
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<div dir="ltr">-Ken</div>
<div dir="ltr"> </div></div></blockquote><div><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:"trebuchet ms",sans-serif">That pretty much sums up most of my experience with HP support, going back to when they got into Unix workstations buying Apollo. Professionally, I've avoided them when I could because of it. If you're into used/retro computers (tape drives, etc) at home, its worse. You need support contracts for anything. It's almost easier to find manuals & tech materials for older Sun systems on Oracle's sites today.</div></div></div>