CompuServe Messages

Hi Dan, I've been away for a week, so I am catching up on this thread, but I will try to address all the points you, and others, have brought up. <<Brian, that press release is over 10 months old… any news on the progress, or is this going to turn out like the spline modeler in R4?>> Yes, the press release is old. That press release was announcing the _agreement_ to create a product, not the product itself. Since it was a joint venture between SGI and Autodesk, a press release was called for. In fact, that was posted prior to the first line of code being written. The product is currently in the final stages of development, however I do not have any specific release dates as of yet. When specific dates are announced, a "Product Release" press notice will be posted to the forum. << and would be happy to help with testing of the product if you are interested.>> At this time, I beleive all the BETA sites are chosen, however if you would like to discuss it with the Product Manager, that would be Bob Bennet. I doubt that a BETA site would be added at this late stage, but if you had something unique to offer, who knows? Bob can be reached through the main number (415-507-5000) or bobb@autodesk.com. << I am not located in LA, or even close (Orlando), but would rather deal with a knowlegable and interested dealer like yourself than any other normal Autodesk pinhead dealer.>> "KEVIN"<< While SGI will let me sell all over the place, adherence to Autodesk's face-to-face policy means you'd have to purchase from your local, pin-head dealer>> Actually, this is not quite true. (sorry Kevin) Not every Autodesk dealer or Multimedia dealer will be allowed to sell the SGI product. There are strict requirements which include demonstrated expertise on both the PC and SGI platforms in order to sell this product. The MM dealers who will be selling the SGI renderer will have previously demonstrated advanced technical skill. << I do not understand. How can a company like Digimation sell 3DS if Autodesk has a "face-to-face" policy? >> Digimation no longer sells 3D Studio via mail order. Digimation and other companies like Digimation that have some mail order products are carefully monitored to insure they are not violating this policy. << Exactly my point, Kevin. Customer Service is great, ASOFT is great, but many people have problems with their dealers. That problem is compounded by this "face-to-face" policy that you have introduced me to. I had planned to purchase all future Autodesk products thru knowledgable and helpful folks like yourself. I guess that is out of the question…>> Let me take a moment to talk about the "face to face" policy. The "face to face" policy is really designed to curtail the efforts of mail order houses who buy product in great numbers and offer a price that no one can match, with no support. Many customers wound up not understanding what they were, and were not, purchacing. The "face to face" policy basically states that a dealer must be able to provide "on-site" service, i.e. "face to face" technical support, if required by the customer. It doesn't mean that you have to purchace software from dealer A instead of dealer B just because Dealer A is 10 miles closer. But it does mean that if you live in Maine, you can't purchace from a dealer in Florida, unless there are extenuating circumstances. And we do listen to all circumstances presented to us, and give exceptions to this policy. Autodesk can not control where a customer shops. A customer is free to purchase from whatever dealer they wish. However, Autodesk feels that in most cases a customer will be better served by a dealer that can provide face to face technical support. So if the customer wishes to purchase from a dealer who is not able to provide face to face technical support, we want to insure that the customer is aware of the implications of that decision. Many times a non-local dealer can provide specialized technical knowledge or a unique service that local dealers can not provide. (In one specific example, a customer who was working in a hybrid PC/MAC environment wanted to work with a multimedia dealer that had specific experience creating cross platform multimedia applications using Autodesk products as well as MAC products. That dealer was not local to the customer, so an exemption to the rule was allowed. This scenario is not unique.) In these cases, written statements from the dealer and customer outlining each others expectations were provided. I hope this helps clarify our intent with the "face to face" policy. If you have other questions, of course post them here. Anything I can't answer I will forward to the Multimedia Sales division for a specific response. -Brian