Re: [cobalt-users] new raq 4r

[Bruce Timberlake <Bruce.Timberlake@xxxxxxx>]

> It's also quite probable that they ship them to the software level
> that the support personnel have been trained to.

While I like the _sound_ of this answer -- hmmm... think I might have to
use this one sometime!  :) -- it is unfortunately untrue.  Support
personnel are trained on each patch as it is released, so that they are
able to provide support to users when they are attempting to install
it.  The support group (among others) actually sees each patch as part
of the QA process...

The harsh reality is that the build image for shipping products is not
changed very often, and as a result, there are always patches which need
to be updated before placing the box into use.  The product part number
(not serial number) actually has a defined set of hardware and software
pieces associated with it in the distribution system.  And changing part
numbers frequently generally wreaks havoc with the distributors as well
as causes _great_ confusion among users (witness the number of queries
to this group asking what the difference between two part numbers is,
when in reality it's "transparent" to the end user - we might have
upgraded the hard drives to a bigger size due to Seagate EOLing a
smaller model, or (most unlikely) we actually updated the build image
and increased the number of software patches on it).

But, as someone else pointed out, the same thing is true with Windows,
or any other OS that isn't built directly from current sources via FTP
or something.

--
Bruce Timberlake
Sun Cobalt Technology Engineer
Sun Microsystems, Inc.