> however, the kicker for me has
> always been Who Returns My Phone
> Calls? Some compiler companies
> have great sales teams and
> terrific technology but
> non-existant technical support.

Obviously technical support is necessary. However, my point of view is that if the product and "technology" is so terrific, one shouldn't even have the opportunity to realize whether the tech support is excellent or mediocre because it'll never be necessary to call them.

In other words, I'd rather the product and documentation be so excellent and so bug-free that it isn't NECESSARY to call tech support. My questions will be answered in the documentation and the product won't have bugs that require calling tech support for patches or work-arounds (i.e. Microsoft).

What I DO like is having on-line knowledge bases. Despite my personal anti-Microsoft bias, I do have to give Microsoft credit for starting the idea of having a thorough online knowledge base, complete with known bugs and workarounds. When push comes to shove, I'd rather get the information off the Internet than call even the largest support department. It's more efficient and cost-effective for all concerned and is available 24 hours a day for free.

Personally, most of my development happens at hours when no support department is open anyway.

Just my point of view.

Take care,
Craig Steiner