Conference ulysse::rdb_vms_competition

    Richard,
    
    You might want to try to get in touch with Pam Buzzerd in Washington
    DC.  She is currently on site at a customer delivering a Sybase
    solution.  She might be able to copy docs or binaries for you.
    
    Patti

	Literature, etal. is available from 1-800-8SYBASE (800/879-2273).

	Although I received genric non-platform-specific literature in
	less than a week after calling the above number (the 6 marketing
	documents mentioned in 1259.0), two attempts to talk to sales
	reps resulted in unreturned voice mail.

	The 1-800-DEC-SALEs support hotline was worthless.  I talked to
	two groups, and after being on hold for ~15 minutes cumulatively
	someone told me that "they've never heard of Sky Base."  I
	politely told them this wasn't something from "Terminator 2"
	and explained that this was one of our major competitors in the
	world and that any database person should recognize it.  Apparently
	not X-[  

	I registered for one of their travelling, day-long seminars in
	Atlanta, a list of which you can get from the information number
	above.

	I don't know what the problem is with our non-DEC competitive
	support, but it is *incredibly* lame.  I did the same drill with
	Lotus information and wound up calling directory assistance for
	Atlanta and got any listings for Lotus Development Corp. and
	went from there because all of the VTX infobases were YEARS stale.  
	It is NO WONDER we can't compete in the field -- it is a miracle if
	most of the sales reps in our office can SPELL our products,
	let alone sell them.  We also have the "glad rags" like
	"Digital Today" internally and tow the party line completely
	devoid of the real world.  Perhaps people in big cities actually
	have competent people in sales, sales support, or marketing ;-)

	Regards,
	rcs

(better late than never...)

I teach sybase, specifically the "Fast Track Course for Programmers", have
been using/developing on it since V3.2.

As far as materials go I don't want to get in to the copy center business, but
our group provides them when the class is taught (here in NYC);  as far as
binaries are concerned, as of V4.8, it requires an encyrption key to install
that you can get from Sybase directly;

I'd start by contacting Ken Wilson (see Sybase conference) or Dick Anderson
(the MRO competitive dbms relationship mgr) how to go about get site copies;
Sybase as a company benfits by having us know they product, and sell it.

/los

for those interested in this class/docs, please send mail to 

	Elaine Greenberg @NYO (HOCUS::GREENBERG)

we could/do teach the class in NYC, but no date on the next one
(schedules are based on demand)

/los