Q & A Repository

Subject: Re: generalized hello

Posted By: Thomas Junker
Date: 7/15/02 at 4:51 a.m.

In Response To: VS SURVIVAL (Thomas Junker)

Subject: Re: generalized hello

Date: Thu, 30 Oct 1997 13:41:35 -0500

On 30 Oct 97 at 8:40, xxxx wrote:

> I am a WANG admin type at [...] in the
> wilds of Utah. I have been struggling with the
> wang manuals for my 8430 system for almost
> two years, and it it weren't for other
> administrators at the Logistics Centers, I
> would have floundered long ago.

It's not uncommon these days for a Wang VS system to be in the hands of an admin or manager who inherited the system along with taking the job. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if there were some provision for training and manuals in the Wang government contracts. Amid all the things we perceive the government to be bad at, I suspect that the fine print of those supply and maintenance contracts may contain some protection against the contingency of future training and documentation without having to make new budget requests.

You probably have a contract manager somewhere in the government who is responsible for knowing what you're entitled to under the contract, and you can probably also contact the appropriate part of Wang for the same information. I'd do both.

It's increasingly common in the commercial world, even with "current" systems, that high personnel turnover rates cause loss of knowledge to such a degree that the organization no longer has any awareness of its entitlement to use software options and/or third party products already paid up and sitting on a shelf somewhere. In many cases the vendor tracks the licenses, probably moreso in cases of government contracting, and a simple request for a printout of licensed products may reveal some pleasant surprises. Asset tracking systems on the customer side sometimes provide clues to unused software assets.

> It is nice to see that there are other WANG units about and the
> company is still strong.

The company is strong, but 2/3 of it is uninvolved in the VS in any way. Some think that the behavior of that 2/3 indicates its embarrassment at being associated with something as clunky as the manufacture of hardware and its desire to see the VS and everything associated with it "go away." I can't say for sure, but there are mixed signals being given. The VS group, which accounts for some $350 million of Wang's current $1.3 billion in revenue, is working hard to sustain the VS market and provide new products. At the same time the continuing loss of experienced CEs is not being stemmed, but I believe that Wang need not lose a single CE it wishes to retain unless the individual actually expires.

There are 10,000 VS systems under Wang maintenance, which means the full total, including systems under third party maintenance that have no contact with Wang, must be between 15,000 and 20,000. Of course those UCOs (Unidentified Computing Objects) probably aren't much of a factor in the life cycle of the VS, as they have cut themselves off from the source of engineering updates and new hardware and software products.

> Thanks for being here.

You're very welcome. Thank you for taking the time to say so. It's messages such as yours that sustain my determination to make a positive impact on the remaining life of the VS.

News: If you have any disks larger than 2gb (or even 2gb if a drive is mostly full or mostly empty) you need the new disk utility that Wang is distributing and that will be in the next release of the OS.

News: The VS has been TCP/IP-capable for several years. Most customers don't know how easily the VS can be connected to LANs and do ftp, telnet and, if you have Wang Office, SMTP mail.

Please stay in touch, and let me know if I can help in any way. I have 13 years of intensive VS experience in system admin, system software development, application development, and am proficient in COBOL, BASIC, Procedure, PACE DD/AB/HLI.

What OS version are you running? Are you networked with other VS systems?

Regards,

Thomas Junker

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