Lexmark - are you HP in disguise?

Subject: IBM dusts off Lotus Notes

ROFL,

I am forced to use Lotus notes at my office and after not touching notes in about 6 years. I hope it is a significant client upgrade for IBM's sake because after 6 years it is still the biggest POS I have ever been forced to use. Cutting and pasting is a nightmare. Weblinks are a pain. Search never finds the words in the message body even if I cut and paste them myself at times. I occasionally miss an attachment because it appends at the bottom instead of the top or where its more visible. Plus the nightmare this application must be on the helpdesk with its lousy pre-created database structure they should have abandoned years ago. It has such lousy performance that I open task manager to try to figure out what its doing or did it hang up.

It eventually comes back but all I did was cut and paste some text into it and I run on a pretty hard core Intel system with tons of ram. I surf the web until notes decides to come back. The servers crash every month or two and not to mention (IBM = I Blame Microsoft)

BTW I am a messaging engineer that did messaging with Merck, Lucent, AT&T, Pfizer, IBMGS, Merial, and Phillip Morris/Altria/Kraft/Nabisco/Miller and am currently with a large dow 50 corporation working on wireless messaging solutions.

Dirk

Subject: Microsoft girds loins for console price war

Mark

As usual, Microsoft uses its large pile of cash from profits of its Windows/Office divisions to outfund and break competitors. And no one says anything.

Jim

Subject: Microsoft girds loins for console price war

Unlikely Microsoft can compete on price. The big difference between Sony and Microsoft, is that Sony MAKE the drives, and can bundle them for cost to win the war, Microsoft have to absorb the cost from Toshiba or whoever they buy the drives from...

Mark

Subject: RIAA sues radio station

Er

by my back of an envelope calculation, XM should pay the money, and go global as a legit download service! Assuming that the $150,000 gives them unlimited user rights of course

Peter

Subject: Rumor is Intel eyes up ATI's butt

If Intel buys ATI I'll never buy another ATI product and you can tell ATI I said so. I'd be willing to bet tens of thousands of other consumers if not millions, feel exactly the same. We want nothing to do with the convicted criminals at Intel or any subsidiary of Intel.

Name supplied, as was email

Subject: Hitachi hard drive makes firm go nuts in May

Well, the article stunned me with "made of an indium, manganese, chromium alloy..." Yes, I am geeky enough to be stunned by such a statement.

It should be "Iridium, manganese, chromium alloy...". If HGST could make a reader with Indium, then that would be something special.

See here.

By the way, your team does a superb job - timely, opinionated, perceptive, etc. Please keep up the good work.
paul m

Subject: Hitachi hard drive makes firm go nuts in May

Hitachi has been way to excited about getiing Perpeddicular for a while. See here

"Hitachi GST said a 160HB Travelstar 5K160 2.5-inch drive it announced today is so perpendicular it is "super pendicular". 160 hectobyte* ... why, that's a huge, steaming 16kB! Super pygmycular, more like. *grin* Or maybe it just uses (lots of) miniature graphite pencils for the write head. Explains the tiny capacity, but the MTBF must suck. Jon

(*) Yes, I know it should be 'hB', not 'HB', but don't let's spoil a good chuckle, eh?

Ooh, I am so sad for Nvidia. Really, those naughty hacks get off lightly. A slap on the wrist. They should be in jail for breach of contract, no ? Reality check : journalists exist to report news. If you don't want it known, DON'T TALK ABOUT IT. By the way, Nvidia, your stance is pretty much ridiculous. You can't keep from blabbering about your future projects because you need market awareness, but you make journos sign NDAs (is that actually legal ?) and wail and gnash your teeth when they talk about you. The solution is simple : shut up or open up.

As for me, I think it will be a relief to only have reviews of products I can actually find in stores. And I fully support those hacks who did their job, which is to inform the public. Otherwise, what are those product previews for ?

Pascal

Subject: Misleading

Sir,

Re: No critical cocktail will force operators over to IP

I believe your article to be somewhat misleading.

The real key point is that eventually operators will need to deploy myriad services in a rapid manner. They will have to know location and service profile and will have to be able to cross access network boundaries.

Here is where the IMS value lies. If you just want IP Telephony, you don't need IMS. If you just want to run your EVDO or UMTS network, you do not need IMS.

However, when you want to manage session hand-off between wireless and wireline, or add intelligent media to a VoIP call, or stream your Tivo to your cell phone, IMS can become very valuable.

The cliché of the moment is that there is no killer application, but there is a killer network [IMS]. Really IMS is an enabler. Once it is deployed (very costly) operators will be able to sew lots of seeds.

They will be able to build, deploy, and manage services that may only touch a fraction of a percent of their market, while still turning a profit. If operators wait on IMS, they will definitely feel the pain when their competitors have it up and running.

And by the way, IMS is specified enough to have IMS applications today. I know - my team has built them.

Eric

Terrell Solutions

Tony Dennis replies: Only in the USA can it be said that operators have to know a subscriber's location because of E911 (Emergency Services) requirements. I'm glad your team have built an IMS application. Perhaps they could finish your Web site, now? See the Terrell site, here

SUBJECT: MPAA gone to the dogs

So we have PIRATE-HUNTER trained dogs that "sniff out counterfeit DVDs" ...

How can a dog tell the Difference between a licenced DVD and a bootleg? Seems that they can't.

"none of the packages and parcels the dogs sniffed out on their first visit to Stansted Airport turned out to be fake. ""All were legitimate."

But the MPAA says...

"highly effective means of detection for counterfeit discs" And FACT say...

"The results were amazing," Another brilant idea from the retards who think copy protection works, and DRM is a good idea...

Tas

Subject: Lexmark Finnished

The in a way disturbing fact, that a driver from Lexmark's competitor Hewlett Packard works flawlessly with the E321 highlights Lexmark's indifference towards customer support (post due payment by the customer).

Unfortunately, according to my recent experiences, this is not an isolated incident, but rather a reflection of a widely adopted, predominantly US sourced business strategy represented, in addition to Lexmark, by i.e. Intel, Logitech and Microsoft. Fortunately, again solely according to my own experiences, there are pleasant exceptions like HP, AMD, NVIDIA (excellent Linux support), Creative (SoundBlaster), VIA (non US) and others.

To my pleasure, an increasing consumer crowd is putting pressure on their suppliers by addressing problems publicly. If you cannot approach your hardware/software vendor with directly monetary related sanctions, going public is the only alternative. Corporations generally highly dislike unfavorable but true reprimands, as they see those threatening their holy source of incomes.

Needless to say, Lexmark Finland has not replied to my email, contrary to their automated claim to do so within 1 day. Regards
Peter

Finland MY LETTER TO LEXMARK FINLAND:
Hi Miia!

A thousand thanks for the kind Lexmark support/help. You and Lexmark Finland make me feel like the fortunate king of consumers. Your rapid support has completely scattered my unpleasant “Lets Collect from the Consumer and Count Him Out (LCCCHO)” -feeling.

In an attempt to partly compensate for Lexmark Finland's philanthropic and unselfish effort to solve the problems of a long time faithful customer, I politely supply the following link to HP Finland's website pointing to a driver which works perfectly (in Win XP x64) with my Lexmark E321 laser printer (HP LaserJet 4300):

Should Lexmark Finland be keen to further improve their excellent customer support I suggest placing a link from Lexmark's website to HP Finland's website. Please keep me up to date in matters concerning further improvements of your customer support. I am forever Your's and Lexmark's and I will categorically recommend Lexmark products to all of my CEO friends at small and medium sized businesses in Finland.

In order for us to establish fruitful and intimate cooperation in driver related matters:

I request a written permission from Lexmark Finland to publish translations of this email, together with Lexmark's earlier reply, widely on the internet in Swedish, English and German languages.

Unfortunately, due to my limited skills in foreign languages, I'm forced to request Lexmark's help in translating this public release into other European languages. Waiting for Your swift reply,
Wishing You a nice and warm springtime
Peter

FINNISH ORIGINAL OF MY LETTER ABOVE: Heippa Miia!
Kiitos tuhannesti ystävällisestä Lexmark tuesta/avusta. Lexmark Finland ja Sinä saatte minut tuntemaan itseni hyväonniseksi kuluttaja-kuninkaaksi.

Ripeä apusi on tyystin hälventänyt epämieluisan "Rahastetaan Kuluttaja ja Jätetään Hänet Silleensä (RKJJHS)" -tunteen.

Yrittäen edes hieman korvata Lexmark Finlandin epäitsekkäitä ja pyyteettömiä ponnistuksia uskollisen asiakkaansa ongelman ratkaisemiseksi tämän parhaaksi, toimitan Sinulle kohteliaimmin seuraavan linkin HP Finland-sivuston kautta ajuriin joka toimii mainiosti Lexmark E321 tulostimen kanssa (HP Laserjet 4300): Jos Lexmark Finland haluaa edelleen parantaa erinomaista asiakaspalveluaan, suosittelen linkkiä internet sivuiltanne HP Finlandin sivuille. Pidäthän minut ajan tasalla asiakaspalvelunne suotuisan kehityksen osalta. Olen ikuisesti Sinun ja Lexmarkin sekä tulen painokkaasti suosittelemaan Lexmarkin tuotteita kaikille toimitusjohtaja-ystävilleni Pk-yrityssektorilla Suomessa. Jotta voisimme oikein kunnolla puhaltaa yhteen hiileen ajuri-asioissa, pyydän Lexmark-Finlandin kirjallista lupaa julkaista tämä sähköposti, Lexmarkin oheisen vastauksen kera, ruotsin-, englannin-, ja saksankielisin käännöksin laajamittaisesti internetissä. Valitettavan puutteellisesta kielitaidostani johtuen pyydän samalla apuasi käännöksissä muille Eurooppalaisille kielille.

Pikaista vastaustasi odottaen.
Iloista ja aurinkoista kesänodotusta toivottaa:
Peter

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