Anyone else thinks HP's website needs a major overhaul?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

Hello,

I've spent nearly three days searching for all tools and drivers for my HP
systems which are lacking recovery CDs and thus, important tools such as
DiagTools and TopTools.

Drivers are quite easy to find once you find your product (which isn't
always as trivial as you might expect, see Visualize X550 for example). But
add-on utilities are nearly unidentifiable (e.g. search for TopTools for
Kayak XU6). Product specifications are hidden in some submenus most of
which are even unusable due to some JavaScript sending you to a generic
page). Many links are just orphaned.

Still better as MS or Sony, though... And a quite helpful support, I might
add (searching for the support matrix for TopTools, links are orphaned, but
HP support came up with the answer in two days).

Any thoughts?

As a sidenote: I understand that there is a need for consistancy in naming
conventions for companies but sometimes you might just stretch it too far:
TopTools, TopTools agents for servers, TopTools agents for Desktops (add
WMI or DMI respectively), DiagTools (dozens of different versions which may
or may not work in your workstation and all of which of course won't work
in your laptop - the P/N of the older DiagTools CD with support for
Omnibooks isn't downloadable anymore), e-DiagTools, Insight Manager (where
version 4.2 is newer than 7.1), dozens of versions of the Kayak XU and so
on...

--
mit freundlichen Grüßen/with kind regards
Christian Dürrhauer, Institute of Geography, FU Berlin

100,000 lemmings can't be wrong.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

You should write Carly! ;-)

HP's web site competes with Sun's for the
Great Prize for the most chaotic web site
in the entire Galaxy.

IBM's is indeed hors concours ;-)



dk


"Christian Dürrhauer" <cduerr@geog.fu-berlin.de> wrote in message
news:muqsldteoqim$.dlg@73137.user.dfncis.de...
> Hello,
>
> I've spent nearly three days searching for all tools and drivers for my HP
> systems which are lacking recovery CDs and thus, important tools such as
> DiagTools and TopTools.
>
> Drivers are quite easy to find once you find your product (which isn't
> always as trivial as you might expect, see Visualize X550 for example).
But
> add-on utilities are nearly unidentifiable (e.g. search for TopTools for
> Kayak XU6). Product specifications are hidden in some submenus most of
> which are even unusable due to some JavaScript sending you to a generic
> page). Many links are just orphaned.
>
> Still better as MS or Sony, though... And a quite helpful support, I might
> add (searching for the support matrix for TopTools, links are orphaned,
but
> HP support came up with the answer in two days).
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> As a sidenote: I understand that there is a need for consistancy in naming
> conventions for companies but sometimes you might just stretch it too far:
> TopTools, TopTools agents for servers, TopTools agents for Desktops (add
> WMI or DMI respectively), DiagTools (dozens of different versions which
may
> or may not work in your workstation and all of which of course won't work
> in your laptop - the P/N of the older DiagTools CD with support for
> Omnibooks isn't downloadable anymore), e-DiagTools, Insight Manager (where
> version 4.2 is newer than 7.1), dozens of versions of the Kayak XU and so
> on...
>
> --
> mit freundlichen Grüßen/with kind regards
> Christian Dürrhauer, Institute of Geography, FU Berlin
>
> 100,000 lemmings can't be wrong.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

I've been looking for some of the latest drivers for the video card in
a hp e-pc e-vectra... long story short, HP's site doesn't seem to help
me.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

Without a doubt, the HP web site is poorly organized and wanting in content in
many areas. The merger with Compaq did not help much. It was a merger of
equals. Equally difficult web sites missing much information essential to
customers. Two companies with a tradition of trying to lock customers into
their "way" of doing things, which meant their proprietary technology at prices
well above the rest of the market. The current HP web site is a reflection of
the HPaq business model, treating customers like mushrooms. Keep customers in
the dark and feed them a lot of manure.

IBM, Dell, and even Gateway have far better organized and far more complete web
sites. With IBM, you can STILL get detailed data about its lamentable
MicroChannel computers. With Dell, you can still get technical info about its
early 286 and 386 computers. Gateway, pre-eMachines anyway, had a decent
collection of technical data about computers going back to the 486 epoch.

Carly has a lot on her plate. This week's Fortune magazine presented the merged
HPaq in a very unfavorable light, essentially declaring the merger a bust for
stockholders in strictest financial terms, and asking what Carly intends to do
to improve profitability of the non-printer businesses. There's also been
speculation that the HP board will lose patience with the Carly regime's poor
strategic planning and lack of direction... Ben Myers

On Wed, 2 Feb 2005 06:14:26 -0500, "Dan Koren" <dankoren@yahoo.com> wrote:

>
>You should write Carly! ;-)
>
>HP's web site competes with Sun's for the
>Great Prize for the most chaotic web site
>in the entire Galaxy.
>
>IBM's is indeed hors concours ;-)
>
>
>
>dk
>
>

 

[craigm]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

richard el grande wrote:
> I've been looking for some of the latest drivers for the video card in
> a hp e-pc e-vectra... long story short, HP's site doesn't seem to help
> me.
>
Does this help?
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/DriverDownload.jsp?locale=en_US&pnameOID=20822&taskId=135&prodTypeId=12454&prodSeriesId=32384&submit.y=8&submit.x=8&lang=en&cc=us

craigm

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

Right. HP does not often have drivers for computers available on its web site,
a real sore spot as far as I am concerned. Your best bet is to read the
"Product Specifications" for the computer, then track down drivers at the
various web sites of the chipset manufacturers whose chips are inside the
computer. This has worked for me many times over, when I've rehabbed an HP
computer... Ben Myers

On 2 Feb 2005 13:38:07 -0800, "richard el grande" <rmaloleyii@gmail.com> wrote:

>I've been looking for some of the latest drivers for the video card in
>a hp e-pc e-vectra... long story short, HP's site doesn't seem to help
>me.
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

Ben Myers wrote:
> Without a doubt, the HP web site is poorly organized and wanting in content in
> many areas. The merger with Compaq did not help much. It was a merger of
> equals. Equally difficult web sites missing much information essential to
> customers. Two companies with a tradition of trying to lock customers into
> their "way" of doing things, which meant their proprietary technology at prices
> well above the rest of the market. The current HP web site is a reflection of
> the HPaq business model, treating customers like mushrooms. Keep customers in
> the dark and feed them a lot of manure.
>
> IBM, Dell, and even Gateway have far better organized and far more complete web
> sites. With IBM, you can STILL get detailed data about its lamentable
> MicroChannel computers. With Dell, you can still get technical info about its
> early 286 and 386 computers. Gateway, pre-eMachines anyway, had a decent
> collection of technical data about computers going back to the 486 epoch.
>
> Carly has a lot on her plate. This week's Fortune magazine presented the merged
> HPaq in a very unfavorable light,

You can say that again. They did a real hatchet job on her. Almost makes you
feel sorry for the poor girl. Just kidding. They even acknowledged right off
the bat that they were one of the publications that helped turn her into the
media darling she is today. After Fortune said that her "big bet is failing",
the WSJ, not to be outdone, said "Fiorina Fails at HP". For some reason, the
honeymoon with the press seems to be over.


> essentially declaring the merger a bust for stockholders in strictest financial
> terms,

Interestingly, an HP executive responded to that by saying the merger really
wasn't done for the benefit of stockholders, it actually was done for the
benefit of customers. Then I see where PC World surveyed their customers,
and found HP and Compaq branded computers came in dead last in satisfaction
with the products, and well as support. Apparently the customers didn't benefit
quite as much as this executive claimed. The employees didn't seem to benefit
either, as about 30,000 have been whacked as a result of the merger. Seems
like the only real beneficiaries were Carly and her top lieutenants, who helped
themselves to hundreds of millions in the process.



> and asking what Carly intends to do
> to improve profitability of the non-printer businesses.

Well, she paid Gwen Stefani, Vanessa Carlton, and Matt Damon big bucks for
cross-promotions at CES this year. That "Harajuku Lovers" camera that Gwen
designed ought to be dynamite. When the innovative HP iPod Photo hits the
street, it ought to really turn the company around, huh?

http://vnuuk.typepad.com/ces/2005/01/another_keynote.html


> There's also been
> speculation that the HP board will lose patience with the Carly regime's poor
> strategic planning and lack of direction... Ben Myers
>
> On Wed, 2 Feb 2005 06:14:26 -0500, "Dan Koren" <dankoren@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
>>You should write Carly! ;-)
>>
>>HP's web site competes with Sun's for the
>>Great Prize for the most chaotic web site
>>in the entire Galaxy.
>>
>>IBM's is indeed hors concours ;-)
>>
>>
>>
>>dk
>>
>>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

Christian Dürrhauer wrote:

> I've spent nearly three days searching for all tools and drivers for
> my HP systems which are lacking recovery CDs and thus, important
> tools such as DiagTools and TopTools.
>
> Drivers are quite easy to find once you find your product (which isn't
> always as trivial as you might expect, see Visualize X550 for
> example). But add-on utilities are nearly unidentifiable (e.g. search
> for TopTools for Kayak XU6).

No problem. Every HP product has a product number. If You use this one You
should find what You need...

> Product specifications are hidden in
> some submenus most of which are even unusable due to some JavaScript
> sending you to a generic page). Many links are just orphaned.

I had no problems with the HP pages, neither with IE or Firefox...

Benjamin

--
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