An update to my last post (Dec 12) entitled: "The official line on HP support for Linux?"

HP sent me an online questionnaire to fill out, although I suspect they do this all the time. It WAS fairly intelligent though, as it detected my answers being slightly negative and asked if they could contact me as a result.

Here are a few of my answers, that one might hope will further the Linux cause - every little bit helps:

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Q: Why do you say you were Somewhat Dissatisfied with the HP real-time chat support?

A: Well, for starters, they indicated that they did not have "any information regarding Linux". They also indicated "HP does not recommend using Linux". I can't imagine that this is HP's official line, but if it is, then it does not lend itself well to customer satisfaction.

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Q: Why do you feel you were not able to solve your problem or inquiry? Please provide as much detail as possible about what it was you were looking for.

A: I was looking for information on how to get 3d rendering working on Linux for my integrated video chipset. While I did suspect that HP would tell me there are no drivers available for this model, it would have been helpful if they'd indicated which HP models would work.

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Q: Your responses indicate that you were not satisfied with the HP agent who assisted you during your recent support experience. Please describe why you were not satisfied.

A: As I have already indicated, the agent did not even attempt to point me in the right direction by offering information about other HP products that would work with Linux. For example, using Google I found this concerning HP and Linux support: "According to a news report by Heise Online, HP will officially support models nx6110, nc6120, nc6220, nc6230 and nc6000. We hear that every component in the aforementioned models including LAN, WAN, Modem, Sound, Infrared Link, Firewire, Bluetooth, Graphics Adapter, Battery Usage Meter, Suspend to Disk Function, Hotkeys and numerous other features will work right out of the box. Apparently, HP is determined to make certain models work 100 percent with Ubuntu" (Linux).

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Q: Thinking specifically about your recent real-time chat support experience, what could HP have done to improve the support you received?

A: Considering that Linux users make up about 5 - 10% of all PC users now (no official numbers because people replace their built-in Windows OS), I think HP should have more (or at least SOME) Linux related information on hand. Also, please provide better support for "open standards". 10% of all PC users use Mozilla Firefox as a default web browser, yet your "real-time chat" only supports MSIE.

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Thank you for taking the time to respond to HP's customer satisfaction survey. Your opinions and feedback are extremely valuable to us and will be used to improve the support website. Your feedback does make a difference!

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Note: Let us hope the last sentence is the truth!

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