Vaughan,
Let me try and help with your clarifications.
SMAs do have priority. During this entire process, meaning from the
11th. to the 21st. only the SMA copies were made. When all the SMA CDs
were made than the copies for those that manually purchased the 8.0
upgrade were made. Again, all this happened on or before the 21st. So
by random, I was simply saying the serial numbers for all the SMAs were
made in numerical/alphabetical order. But rest assured, not a single CD
was made, other than SMA CDs until all SMA CDs were made...period.
You brought up the issue with Windows 8 meaning people needed the CD as
the web download wouldn't help. This is true. But also remember that
the public beta copy could still be used. It officially timed out on
January 2, 2013. But if anyone needed a full 8.0 CD because they have
Windows 8 and they didn't receive their 8.0 CD we do offer a full
download of the CD. This isn't made automatically available to all
users for several reasons but rest assured, if someone truly needed the
8.0 CD or they couldn't use their Windows 8 machine, we would have
worked with them regarding the full CD download.
If you must have all your upgrade SMA CDs next day and are willing to
pay for the next day air fees above the cost of an SMA charge, I'm sure
we could work something out with you. But even this, please remember
that we first release the upgrade to the public so the downloads are
immediately available and then typically don't start making the SMA CDs
until 3 or 4 days pass. So if you are willing to pay for overnight
delivery the worse case would be we wait 4 days to make it and mail it
and then 1 day for delivery so you are still looking at 5 days from
release to you having a physical CD in your hands. I'm not sure what
the cost of an overseas overnight letter envelope is but I'm guessing it
is pretty pricey. One final note, when I'm talking days, please know
that I'm talking business working days. So if a weekend gets thrown in
somewhere, that would add 2 more days.
Doug
On 1/10/2013 5:56 PM, Vaughan Dodd wrote:
Hello Doug.
Thank you for taking the time to explain things as seen from Gw
Micro's point of view.
There are several clarifications which I wish to raise in response.
It has been my long time understanding that SMAs were given priority,
so even if the production is random, is it not possible to randomise
SMA productions within the overall manufacturing process?
Whilst it is true that the upgrade download is available immediately
on release, this was made slightly more complicated because of the
support for Windows eight -- for which there could not be an upgrade
download. This has of course occurred on other occasions -- XP to
Vista (for example.) I guess that for good commercial reasons,
detailing when a beta version of software for a new operating system
expires cannot be disclosed, so whilst your key point in this regard
is valid, it isn't always going to be 100% correct.
The process seems to be taking longer for cds to arrive than they once
did. I can recall that new install disks arrived within 10 days of
release. I took care to acknowledge this in the early days - being
pleasantly surprised at the promptness of each disk's arrival. I
accept that my observation may be linked to an increased number of
individual disks to be manufactured and mailed. I do not know how easy
it is from your point of view to increase the scale of the production
and distribution process.
I actually believe that there is a solution, which can be implemented
when new Window-Eyes versions are released.
It might be possible to allow complete installs to be downloaded, once
verification against serial numbers and other details is confirmed.
This would in effect, evolve the current upgrade download into a
complete release download. Maybe for copy protection reasons -- disks
would still need to be mailed, but an electronic install off the
internet would, I believe, alleviate some of the pressure and delays
associated with wanting to run the new version.
Where we do disagree is that a month is too long, when measured
against time taken for international delivery of other products also
coming from the U.S. Braille has arrived within 10 days of purchase,
also conceding with the Christmas holiday season.
When the U.S. dollar was stronger than it is now, overseas customers
paid substantially more than we do now, and maybe the option to have
our disks airmailed is something which GW could offer. If the cd is
to be the mode of distribution for the Window-Eyes install for the
foreseeable future, I would add airmail as one of the requirements
when it comes time to renew my SMA. In reality -- Window-eyes has
become cheaper to purchase at its offered price than was the case two
years ago, so paying a little extra for better service is quite
acceptable to me. Please be assured that I am not adding currency
fluctuations to Gw Micro's list of problems to solve -- it is just
that actually, some GW Micro customers benefit because of the state of
the United States dollar.
It is unfortunate that you consider that I am alleging discrimination
against those of us who live overseas. Of course -- no one has
control over geographic location, but I do think that there are ways
in which customer service to those living outside of the U.S. can be
improved.
All of these complications are just part of a company which clearly
and fortunately for all of us has grown over the years, due to the
hard work and commitment of all who are involved. We all benefit
because of the entrepreneurship and talents of you and your
colleagues. I am sure that you know better than most of us that There
is the constant challenge of having to adapt to new pressures and new
ways of doing things. Thus: I hope that my raising of the issue
proves to be helpful, and that all Window-eyes customers can benefit.
All the best.
Vaughan.
*From:*Doug Geoffray [mailto:[email protected]]
*Sent:* Friday, 11 January 2013 11:11 a.m.
*To:* Vaughan Dodd
*Cc:* '[email protected]'
*Subject:* Re: Cd has arrived
Vaughan,
I'm a bit confused on what you are asking.
Window-Eyes 8.0 was made available December 5th. At that point anyone
with an SMA or paid for the upgrade immediately had web access to the
8.0 upgrade. There was no waiting.
Each SMA CD is individually made. They have to be because each CD has
a unique serial number. We can't just send a single master to some CD
duplication warehouse and have several thousand sent back to us to
mail out. We started making the 8.0 SMA CDs about 3 or 4 days after
the 5th. The CDs were simply made in numerical order of the serial
number. This is really random. As the CDs were made they were mailed
out. But this process continued until the 21st. of December. In
other words, all SMA CDs were placed in the mail on or before the 21st
of December. So best case an SMA CD went in the mail on the 11th,
worse case it went in the mail on the 21st. This is about 2 weeks to
make the CDs. I consider this an excellent time frame to get out that
many CDs.
As mentioned, as the CDs were made they were mailed that day. At that
point, it is up to the postal service. If the CD went to someone in
Fort Wayne, Indiana, they got it the next day. If it went to
California, it probably took about 4 to 5 days. If it went to another
country, it of course took longer. We also had a couple holidays
during this time so most postal services were not as fast as normal.
All this to say, we don't discriminate with people outside of Fort
Wayne, Indiana. Because it takes more than 1 day to ship is beyond
our control. I suppose we could go with next day air to everyone but
I guarantee this would greatly increase the cost of the SMA. If
everyone is willing to do this in order to keep it fair so that no
individual is punished because they live the furthest from Fort Wayne,
Indiana, we could do that but I'm guessing this wouldn't be acceptable
to most people.
We could also hold up the release of the version until lets say 1 to 2
weeks after all the SMA CDs have been shipped. But this means nobody
would be able to download the upgrade from the web which they were
able to do immediately. So I'm not seeing a way to make those outside
of Fort Wayne, Indiana to feel that they are not discriminated against
without punishing everyone and even that isn't true because if we do
mail the SMA CDs with anything other than next day air, somebody will
get it before somebody else and we are back to people thinking we are
discriminating against their mailing address.
So Vaughan, I'm at a loss of how you propose we resolve what you are
considering a discrimination against you all those outside of our home
city.
Doug
On 1/8/2013 3:11 PM, Vaughan Dodd wrote:
Hi all.
To confirm to the list and to GW Micro staff: My version 8.0 cd
arrived yesterday.
So: I can rule out the mail system as having it go astray.
Given that the previous CD took over a month to arrive however, my
submission continues to be that GW Micro may need to look at its
manufacturing and distribution systems as these relate to
international customers who have software maintenance agreements.
Those who urged patience are proven correct, and I do hope that
future disks when mailed as part of new releases of Window-eyes
will arrive in the two week period as they used to do.
Best..
Vaughan.
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