[cobalt-users] catalog.com

["Dean Wittman" <dean@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I had Catalog for about 6 days.  My server went down friday evening 
and I tried to contact support and to no aval.  I sent several emails 
and call their number all weekend long and no luck.  My clients 
were down for 3 days until monday when I finally got to talk to 
someone.  I found them via listhost.com or something like that and 
it said money back guarantee.  Well that didn't happen.  I lost the 
cost of the server.  I quickly switched to a new company.  I find this 
other companie's support to be great.  Free support and they even 
help you fix messes that you make yourself.  Plus true 24 hour 
support.  I got a raq3 with 8.4 gig hard drive and 64 megs of ram 
and 50 gig transfer for $0 setup and $200.00/month.  If you talk to 
these folks, please tell them Dean Wittman from JDwebsites 
recommended them.  Ask for Mike or Rob.

http://datapipe.com
toll free: 877-773-3306

*******
Dean Wittman
Http://jdwebsites.com
dean@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx


  Catalog is good but if you need help after normal business hours or on the
weekend your stuck. Other wise they are very helpful and their network is
fast and reliable.

Mike

----- Original Message -----
From: Frank Cubillos <cubillos@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <cobalt-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, May 26, 2000 8:42 AM
Subject: RE: [cobalt-users] CATALOG.COM


> I haven't used them yet, but after chatting with them for 30 mins. I am
> switching from Vservers. Vservers has the worst tech support, no live body
> just by ignore you email. Catalog's rates are much better too.
>
> Frank
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: cobalt-users-admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:cobalt-users-admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Michael Wass
> Sent: Friday, May 26, 2000 5:08 AM
> To: cobalt-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [cobalt-users] CATALOG.COM
>
>
> G'day folks ...
>
> Does anyone run dedicated servers with these people? Please email direct.
>
> Thanks,
>
> /\/\\/\/.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> cobalt-users mailing list
> cobalt-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> To Subscribe or Unsubscribe, please go to:
> http://list.cobalt.com/mailman/listinfo/cobalt-users
>


--__--__--

Message: 11
Reply-To: <dan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: "Dan" <dan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <cobalt-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: [cobalt-users] RaQ2 as primary DNS
Date: Fri, 26 May 2000 12:24:22 -0400
charset="iso-8859-1"
Reply-To: cobalt-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

> Can the "IP address (Network Interface)" be the same as the
> "Primary DNS IP" or can they be different?
>

I'll have to defer to one of the more expert RAQ users on that, but I don't
think it should matter as they're set up in two different areas of the GUI
under Network.
--
Dan Kriwitsky



--__--__--

Message: 12
Date: Fri, 26 May 2000 10:27:54 -0600 (MDT)
From: Brent Sims <brent@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: cobalt-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [cobalt-users] the GUI interface
Reply-To: cobalt-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On Fri, 26 May 2000, Dan so wrote:

} Great. Go back and read how Cobalt markets the product. It's specifically
} aimed at those that aren't geeks and makes it appear you need absolutely no
} knowledge of Unix/Linux to run one. But, the first time you run into a
} problem, they'll expect you to have been using Telnet and Pico for years.

	I have read it, I've worked at the command line since back
when the command line was all there was, and this is the exact 
point I was trying to make. For normal operation one does not need
any knowledge of Linux. The GUI handles it all. But stuff does
happen and when it happens expertise may be needed to correct the
problem. That the system admin does not posses that expertise is not
Cobalt's problem.

	Regardless of who made them or what their guarantee
promises, the equipment I have sitting here in our NOC is my
responsibility. The new Cobalts we bought have, as I recall, a full
year guarantee and while I expect that guarantee to be honored, I
also know that honoring it will take time. I can't expect Cobalt to
Fedx me a new machine simply because I say the one I have is
broke, nor would I expect them to take responsibility for a server 
which is hacked. I can, however, pay an extra fee for a "spare in
the air", if I thought I'd need help in these areas, I could buy
priority support and I could hire someone to secure the machines for
me. Nevertheless, while most of the fancy stuff is on fee basis,
Cobalt is quite obviously ready, willing and able to make using
these things as easy as using them can possibly be.

	But the machines are only capable of so much. 

} They're probably using them as Cobalt intended. With no knowledge of Unix
} and just using the web browser, (which actually takes care of 99% of my
} administration of my server.)

	And while I could be wrong, based upon my personal
evaluation of all the advertising I've seen, this is exactly what
Cobalt pitches.

	Each week we receive a huge stack of trade
journals. Cobalt's ads are in just about every one of them: "Cash
generating machines" I believe is how the ads read - a rack of RaQ's
standing next to an electronic teller in the picture.

	They do what they do well.

} It would if they would make and test .pkg files for all the "third party
} applications" they claim are available:
} http://www.cobalt.com/products/raq/faq.raq3.html#3
} (But if they can't even get their anchor tags right on that page, I guess
} I'm hoping for too much.)

	I mean you no insult Dan, and I'm not looking for a fight
with anyone. But just about everything that I've ever been asked to
install for a client can be found on Cobalt's site.

	This is complex stuff. Things can and will happen even to
the best of us. Every time I touch a live server I do so with the
knowledge that my next task may very well be trying to get that
server back online while people are running around yelling and
screaming, clients are calling threatening to sue, and prospects are
are laughing because our site may have went down too.

	I've reached the point where I can handle everything from
configuring the parameter router to sweeping the floors but that
doesn't mean the broom won't break or that some technopervert won't
find their way into the routers configuration. Nor does it mean that
PHP 4.0 will install without a hitch simply because it's been
released as a stable version.

	There is nothing I enjoy more than empowering people. I've
helped competitors design and fine tune their systems, I regularly
help people - some of which are sure to be competitor wantabees -
who contact me for this and that while not even being professional
enough to use a business-like email address. And I do most of this
without charge.

	The point is that I'm not trying to say that my mother
should not run a Cobalt simply because she doesn't have a clue, but
rather that if she does then she needs to assume some of the
responsibility for making that decision. 

	Cobalt sells a tool. Like any other tool, the tool works
best when used for it's intended purpose. As for support, everything
one needs - and the fastest way to obtain it is right here on this
or similar lists.

	The RaQs we bought are most certainly not the finest product
in their class. But nobody has yet inquired about the RedRaks -
which are much more my style - we installed along with the RaQs
which are now happily supporting a number of new clients who came
aboard simply because we had them.

	I suspect that it would not take a great deal of effort to
find a whole lot of people who are making a whole lot of money off
these things. From the looks of things there are a few on this very
list. 

	And that's what this is all about: money

	Use them wisely and the Cobalts will you plenty of it. 	

	Peace be with you,
	
	Brent
	
	Brent Sims
	WebOkay Internet Services
	http://www.WebOkay.net
	Brent@xxxxxxxxxxx
	(719) 595-1427 (Voice/Fax)                   
	  
	   		   		     


--__--__--

Message: 13
From: Dan Heller <argv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 30 May 2000 00:49:45 +0000
Reply-To: argv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: cobalt-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [cobalt-users] the GUI interface
Reply-To: cobalt-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I knew that what I said about the GUI interface would be misconstrued,
but it could not have been helped. Brent's reply was a gentle sort of
"I disagree with you" message, and he validated it with, "Cobalt is
doing a great thing by their marketing", and noting that their product
can by used "by anyone's mother."

The part that's being misconstrued is the perception that I have a
problem with the fact that there *is* a GUI. Nonono... that's a _great_
thing, and I wholly support it! In fact, I don't even mind that there are
limitations of the GUI. My problem is with Cobalt's policy that the GUI is
the *only* supported interface for doing system-administration on the box,
and the assumption that anything can be done (and therefore should only be
done) using the GUI is seriously flawed. So much so, that they are limiting
their own future potential with this policy.

At some point, any serious administration of a unix system requires
knowing the details of the applications that do the administration.
Thus, you're going to need to read the man pages to see the command-line
parameters and side effects, or related programs, associated with any
given task. Yet, this de-emphasis of non-GUI tools has caused their
main infrustructure of the system to begin to erode. For example, many
man pages are missing, incorrect, or out of date. There's not even a man
page for *csh* for cryin' out loud.

There is a fundamental design of good system architecture, and the GUI
is at the top of the pyramid. It's a UI-element, and its purpose is to
provide convenient access to lower-level functionality. However, Cobalt's
policy towards the GUI is analogous to Microsoft's and Apple's: that the
GUI is *part* of the operating system, rather than a discrete element
on top of it.

The Cobalt box is a fine value for the dollar. The way Cobalt markets
it is reasonable and understandable, given the early stages of where
the internet is today; there are early adopters, and people are flooding
into the market rapidly. There's no question that the Cobalt boxes are
useful and reliable by comparison to anyone else. If their marketing
gets them ahead of everyone else, more power to them. But, as I used
to tell my marketing staff, "be sure you know where the bullshit ends
and the reality begins: keep your eye on the longer-term strategic
direction so as to keep short-term marketing 'hype' in check." Cobalt's
success is going to depend on the same principle, but it'll only be
successful if they have a fundamentally sound technical strategy.

Microsoft gained monopolistic power NOT because of their operating system,
but because of the business-critical apps that run on top of them. They
maintained that monopoly by limiting competitive app companies from develop-
ing viable alternatives technically by closing off the OS, and by keeping
the "bundle" price of the OS/apps package so low that it wasn't viably
possible for competition to get their foot in the door. The connection
with Cobalt here is that MS tried to link the GUI portion of Windows to
the operating system itself in order to fend off competition, but Cobalt
can't do that. They don't own unix, and won't keep out competition simply
because they have a gui front end for system-administration. It might give
them an "edge" over competition, but they'd have to be very good about it.
And the one critical thing in the UNIX world is understanding the that
reality of real system administration requires flexibility for the admin's
benefit. Let him use scripts and hand-editing of config files as needed.
If they don't do this, they'll be leap-frogged by the company that *also*
provides a nice-convenient GUI to system-administration, but doesn't require
it.  In the UNIX world, good marketing only takes you so far -- without good
technology underneath it, you don't last long.

-- 
	--dan

Photo Gallery:  http://www.danheller.com/



--__--__--

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