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Only the sales literature. When it comes
down to selling features based on performance,
we tell the demoable truth or we get sued,
fail to make the final five, or protested.
I don't know what other vendors do, but in
our business here, we tell the truth or
stay silent. One thing the assertion counters
don't do is aggregate the silence. Consultants
do that. :-) Does our reputation count? You
bet your bippie it does. Worse than that, we
worry about our customers because in our case,
they are employed to worry about us (public safety).
This is the worst gig I've ever had for that aspect.
I thought DoD and NASA were bad, but they don't
usually run 24x7x365/99.99. Police, fire,
rescue, dispatch, etc. do. Scary. Scary.
We warrant our software. We have to because
the contracts demand it. We are very very
careful when reading RFPs to look for such
requirements. It is what is causing some
of us to lose our hair more quickly than
our genes demanded. Sometimes they ask
for impossible things or champagne on a
beer budget. We try to sort these out
early and not bid them. We do lose
business that way. We prefer it.
Admittedly, systems sales are different
from buying shrinkwrap from Best Buy or
Office Depot. In those cases, the rights
are usually reserved to and protect the
vendor from the customer. Those are caveat
emptor markets. I work in a caveat vendor
market.
While many RFPs do get down to Office, most of
the time they specify the operating system.
len
-----Original Message-----
From: John Cowan [mailto:jcowan@reutershealth.com]
"Bullard, Claude L (Len)" scripsit:
> See Chanute, Lilienthal. Hang gliders are the original form.
> The engines of the day couldn't deliver the horsepower
> to overcome the weight.
Ah, okay.
> Scalar or vector, I need the assertions of the
> vendor, not the opinions of its competitors.
The assertions of the vendor are what the courts call "puffery",
the timid call "marketing", and the bold call "lies".
They are never to be trusted.
> I will have it in writing somewhere
> that the software does what is advertised or
> otherwise, remediation is available.
Then you want what never was and seemingly never will be. I know of not
one vendor of software who does anything but disclaim all possible liability,
and warrants its software only for its utility as a coffee-cup coaster.
> If Google used RFPs as source, MS still wins by virtue
> of the number of times it is cited in procurements.
If so, then the procurements are bogus: they are procuring Office XP,
whatever it does or doesn't do, and not something that serves a specific
function, since Office XP isn't warranted to serve any particular function.
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