[Info-vax] Disclaimer of Warranty and Limitation of Liability

[Richard B. Gilbert]

AEF wrote:
> Greetings,
> 
> ECO kits come with the disclaimer given below. Is anything warranted
> in VMS, or in the software world, for that matter? TIA. (The all-
> uppercase text below is verbatim. Please don't complain about it :-)
<snip>

Not really!  You are supposed to determine that your hardware, software, 
procedures, and staff are adequate to get your system running and keep 
it running.

No company is about to assume liabilities which might exceed its net 
worth!  If the system they sold breaks during the first ninety days, 
they will fix it under warranty but that's about all.

What this means to you is that you DO NOT install an ECO in production 
without testing it first.  Many companies keep a development system, a 
test system and a production system.  When the developers think they 
have got it right, they put it on the test system and get the users to 
put it through its paces.

So when the ECO comes in, you apply it to your development and/or test 
system(s).  Only after you have assured yourself that the ECO does fix 
what it's supposed to fix and doesn't break anything else, do you move 
it to production.

If the ECO fixes a problem that has not yet manifested itself on your 
system, you may just put the ECO on the shelf in case of future need.

When I last had support from HP, ECO's were classified using a numerical 
system.  1 meant that the ECO was mandatory and should be installed 
ASAP.  2 meant that you installed the ECO only if your system exhibited 
the problem the ECO was supposed to fix.  ISTR that there were also 
values of 3 and 4 but I've forgotten the significance.