Re: How uncommon is my viewpoint?

["Lloyd R. Prentice" <pai@xxxxxxxx>]

Hello Greg,

Greg Alexander wrote:

> I happen to think that MISC is great, and I'd love to use the x21 chips.
> But since the documentation sucks they aren't really usable without
> interacting with Jeff (which is not an option) or Ting (who doesn't answer
> questions thoroughly or accurately, I think he doesn't care at all about
> his english audience -- I wish I'd known that before, that Jeff's an
> asshole and that Ting doesn't care about this part of his customer base).
>
> Is this a common viewpoint?  Are there a lot of people who like MISC but
> are not on the small list of people who Jeff doesn't insult?  Or is it as
> Jeff thinks it is that everyone who hates him hates MISC?
>
> Because if we realize that we love MISC and that MISC is going nowhere
> with Jeff at the helm, we might be able to take it places ourselves.

I have followed this discussion now ad nauseum. The declining ratio of
informative technical exchange to invective and rant is distressing and
irritating. And the scatological name calling is totally unacceptable.

I know both Jeff and Dr. Ting and the outstanding work that both have done. I
also know that each has put far more effort into sharing his hard-won
knowledge through conference presentations and papers than any 100 other
people I can think of.

Yes, it is hard to understand how the P21 works and how to integrate it into a
working system. Yes, the documentation could be better relative to what you
might get from a large merchant semiconductor house. Yes, there are errors in
the documentation and bugs in the chips and software. But what have you
produced, Greg? Anything on the scale and quality that has come out of Offete
or UT? How many years did you put into it? Was perfect? Without errors or
bugs? Are you willing to give it away? What can you do to build on -- improve
what Chuck, Ting and Jeff have offered the world?

It sounds to me like you are looking for Heath Kit level hand holding. Forget
it. You simply won't find this from Offete or UT as they are currently
structured and funded. Both firms are essentially one-man part-time efforts
where most of the precious time and money resources go into the hard creative
work of producing creative chips, software and systems. Neither has a
professional marketing department in their emply nor are Jeff and Ting
full-time professional technical communicators. The documentation that they
have produced is remarkable in my view, given the severe constraints they have
working under. And, in fact, I have seen much worse coming out of billion
dollar companies.

I have spent many hours studying Ting's manual. It was strange and difficult
at first. But the more I studied, the more I understood. What I didn't and
don't undedrstand, I'm confident I could find out by asking respectful
questions.on this list or by sending e-mail to Jeff and/or Ting. If I still
don't get an understandable answer from Jeff or Ting, then, I'll know that I
have to do the same thing that they did when they started out -- learn what I
have to know the hard way through rigorous literature review, deep and hard
thinking, and exhaustive experimentation. But, if I were to set out on this
path, I would do so with the confidence that I'm far ahead of where Jeff and
Ting were when they started out as the result of the work that they have done.

The fact that you don't have enough money to buy all of the documentation that
you might need to use the P21 is beside the point. Neither do I. But I
wouldn't in 1,000 years expect Jeff or Ting to give me gratis what I can't
afford to buy, given that sale of documentation is one of the few revenue
sources they have to continue their efforts. In fact, in my view, from a
business point of view, they are far too generous with their information. But
I much appreciate the fact that they are and understand that is in the spirit
collaborative exchange among peers exploring uncharted territories.

Best wishes,

Lloyd R. Prentice