Null Date Separator in pre-710G.

[Chris Sharman]

>Chris, I have to take exception to your remarks. We have acknowledged that
>there are some problems with 7.10G and we are dealing with them. We have an
>RBF in the works. I know of no major software release from any vendor that
>has not had some issue. I urge anyone having problems to contact customer
>support and specify what issues you're having. Announcing them on this list
>is not the same as filing a formal problem report with customer support.

Take exception if you like, but I stand by my remarks. I, and other customers
I believe, feel we're running out of time, and we're not in control: Cognos is
(I hope).

I didn't suggest 7.10G should be bug-free, I asked that the problem list should
be available. I've got several calls into support, and I've repeatedly asked
over the last fortnight for a problem list - I'm informed the request has been
passed to Canada.

Without this information, I have to install the new version, compile
everything, configure mysystem to be usable with parallel dictionaries and
code, and have people test the new version. When they find a problem, I and my
team put in time isolating the cause and creating a test case, then call
telephone support. So far I've discovered in this way bugs 240195, 244198, and
245296. The first two of these were already known to Cognos, so I wasted a lot
of time on them unnecessarily. I know there are other bugs, but I don't know
what they are: Quick bugs are easily identified, but Quiz/QTP bugs aren't
necessarily so easily brought to light.

I'd like to feel we as supported customers have Cognos' full cooperation to get
7.10Gn running in our production environments, rather than being left in the
dark, just given a new version with problems (known to Cognos) which make it
unusable for some/most customers.

If this information was posted in real-time, either to the supported customers'
area of the website, or to this list, it would help a lot.

I don't intend to get at anyone: I appreciate the responses from Cognos people
like you and Alison Hamilton. You often have more up-to-date information than
UK Telesupport, which is why I sometimes cross-post. This appears to me to be
at least as good a way to talk to Cognos, Canada as UK Telesupport.

Regards, Chris.

>> Possibly because it has serious problems, Cognos aren't willing to own up to
>> them, and time is running out fast.
>> 
>> Upgrading requires a lot of time and effort, and nobody wants to upgrade to a
>> version which may be unusable. Time pressure is forcing us to either "do our
>> own thing" with an earlier version, or gamble that we'll still have time to
>> finish our year 2000 projects _after_ Cognos finishes 7.10Gn.
>> 
>> If you want us to go with 7.10Gn then come clean and let interested customers
>> know what problems you're aware of, and when (version, date) you plan to
>> address them.
______________________________________________________________________
Chris Sharman			Chris.Sharman@CCAgroup.co.uk
CCA Stationery Ltd, Eastway, Fulwood, Preston, Lancashire, PR2 9WS.
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