======================================================================== THE GRIPE LINE: ED FOSTER http://www.infoworld.com ======================================================================== Tuesday, November 23, 2004
LATEST WEBLOG ENTRIES ======================================================================== * Dell Sales Has Communications Issues, Too * Hidden Costs Lurk Behind "Free" Freeware CD * Infringement in the First Degree ADVERTISEMENT -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- BUSINESS SERVICE MANAGEMENT: CURRENT PRACTICES This white paper explores what IT professionals worldwide are saying about Business Service Management (BSM). In this valuable white paper, you'll learn how BSM solutions are being used to align IT operations with business goals. The insights are from a recent TechRepublic survey about BSM. Don't miss this chance to evaluate the importance of BSM within the IT community, as well as the value that it can bring to your own organization! http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A17485:2B910B2 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- DELL SALES HAS COMMUNICATIONS ISSUES, TOO ======================================================================== Posted November 23, 12:44 AM PST Pacific Time It's not news that it's become harder to get support information from Dell. But one reader's recent experience indicates the communications problems may be spreading to the sales side as well. The reader was in the market for new Veritas Backup Exec software and was exploring his supplier options. "Dell offers a product called the Dell PowerSuite Veritas Backup Exec Server," the reader wrote. "It appeared to include several of the Backup Exec options we needed at an attractive price. Unfortunately, my quest to find out exactly what it includes proved to be an exercise in futility. I spoke with four different representatives at Dell, three of them sales reps and the other from tech support." While some of the reps he spoke with had thick accents, the real problem was that none of them seemed to have any information. "What did I learn from these four people?" the reader wrote. "Absolutely nothing. I spent 90 minutes on the phone on hold and got nowhere. The sales reps just read the website to me over and over again. I guess they assumed that I couldn't read it myself. I explained to them exactly what I needed to know in terms a child could understand and they still could not grasp what I was saying. I got so aggravated that I finally hung up. Miraculously I got a call back five minutes later and spoke to another rep, but he turned out to be no more helpful than the others. After fifteen wasted minutes he told me he would research it and call me back." The reader says the information he needed about Dell's Veritas offering were basic things like what version of BackUp Exec it was, what options it included, and how many servers they could use with it. I ended up calling the Large Business Division at Dell," he writes. "After three calls to them and several e-mails, they finally provided enough information for us to realize it was not what we wanted. We ended up buying the software from CDW." A long-time Dell customer, the reader says that this type of experience has become all too common. "I used to buy everything from Dell, but their customer experience has deteriorated so badly that I have started to purchase more and more items elsewhere," he wrote. "I don't buy their desktops anymore and am probably going to stop buying their laptops and servers as well. Who has the time to be bothered with the kind of aggravation I went through?" Post your comments about this story here ( http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A1747A:2B910B2 ) and read what your fellow readers have to say. You can also write me directly at ... For the full story: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A1747B:2B910B2 HIDDEN COSTS LURK BEHIND "FREE" FREEWARE CD ======================================================================== Posted November 22, 10:06 AM PST Pacific Time In case you didn't already know that free stuff on the Internet can be expensive, here's another cautionary tale. As one reader recently discovered, a "free" freeware CD could possibly cost you more than just hefty shipping charges. "It appears that Manay Software is a gotcha' web retailer charging high shipping fees for free software," the reader wrote. "They say on their order form that you'll get $20 rebated back to cover the shipping cost, but it doesn't actually work that way. It's all classic bait-and-switch and smoke-and-mirrors." The reader had been interested in Manay's offer ( http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A17481:2B910B2 ) for four "free" software CDs because it included a suite of OpenOffice applications. Of course, the CDs weren't really free, and the reader was momentarily taken aback by the shipping charges of $19.92, which seemed rather steep. But the order form promised that he'd get that money back: GET $20 CASH BACK: Complete this final secure Yahoo! form and click "Send Order" on the next page to get your 4 FREE CDs packages plus 2 $10 Cash Back towards shipping & handling. Seeing that Manay was a Yahoo Store, the reader thought nothing could go too wrong with the deal, so he went ... For the full story: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A1747C:2B910B2 INFRINGEMENT IN THE FIRST DEGREE ======================================================================== Posted November 21, 11:16 AM PST Pacific Time Like me, you may have noticed an ad in your local paper this week from the Motion Picture Association of America. Lawsuits against those who illegally traffic in movies on the Internet begin this week, it warns. But I was particularly taken with the statement at the bottom of the ad saying that pursuant to the Copyright Act, "statutory damages can be as much as $30,000 per motion picture, and up to $150,000 per motion picture if infringement is willful." So does that mean inadvertent infringement can cost you $30,000? Well, hey, I guess we can take the MPAA's word for what the law says. After all, given the craven way Democrat and Republican politicians alike greedily line up to feed at the trough of the Hollywood's lobbyists, you can bet the law says exactly what the MPAA wants it to say on this issue. But that leads me to wonder. As many observers have pointed out, peer-to-peer file sharing of movies is not actually a serious problem yet, because very few people have the patience and the bandwidth required to download even one film. So when the day does come that movies can be shared in an instant, what kind ... For the full story: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A1747D:2B910B2 Contact Ed Foster at [EMAIL PROTECTED] . Ed Foster's "Reader Advocate" column, http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A1747E:2B910B2 , can be read exclusively at his GripeLog Web site: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A17484:2B910B2 ======================================================================== INFOWORLD PRODUCT GUIDE Get the latest reviews, news, product specs, and information on the products essential to your business today! http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A17480:2B910B2 ======================================================================== ADVERTISE ======================================================================== For information on advertising, contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] UNSUBSCRIBE/MANAGE NEWSLETTERS ======================================================================== To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your e-mail address for any of InfoWorld's e-mail newsletters, go to: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A17479:2B910B2 To subscribe to InfoWorld.com, or InfoWorld Print, or both, or to renew or correct a problem with any InfoWorld subscription, go to http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A17482:2B910B2 To view InfoWorld's privacy policy, visit: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=A1747F:2B910B2 Copyright (C) 2004 InfoWorld Media Group, 501 Second St., San Francisco, CA 94107 This message was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
