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Forum Discussion
Open Question to Netgear - What are Your Intentions?
I have been a forum member and ReadyNAS owner since December of 2009. Certainly not as long a many of the add-on developers such as super-poussin and whocares, not as long as some of the more experienced users like claykin, mdgm, dbott76, TeknoJnky, sphardy, Papabear, fbmachines and stephenb and obviously not as long as the jedi - Yodah, Chirpa, Chewbacca, Jedi Knight, Han Solo and Oom-9. There are many others in each group I have unintentionally omitted but I write now because I am concerned for the future of the ReadyNAS line.
I don't post much anymore but have never stopped reading (daily) the ReadyNAS forum. I've committed my own money, that of the company I work for and that of my friends and collegeues that listened to the purchase of a ReadyNAS. From the Duo to the Pro - I use daily and depend on quite a few to do their job and I will say they have done that and done it well. What concerns me is that direction the forum has taken since the departure of Yodah and Chirpa. While both continue to provide support (and while other Jedi also do their best) it would seem judging from the comments of users and Jedi alike there has been a fundamental shift in Netgear's priorities. So fundamental I now question whether Netgear is the right choice moving forward. To wit:
As many have stated the forum was or is the reason to choose Netgear over the competition. I submit given Netgear's stance (the board itself is regularly unavailable) the forum can no longer be valued as it was in the past.
Existing issues are no longer being addressed, discussed or even acknowledged by Netgear staff as readily as in the past. I would submit this lessens the value of Netgear support further decreasing the value of the ReadyNAS line.
Existing web features such as the web simulator have been removed by Netgear without official communication and without remediation. This affects future purchases, reducing the user base therefore reducing the need to spend money on existing users.
Problems we have lived with - (iTunes server / forked daapd, ReadyDLNA, USB3 operation, Photos I and II, ARM add-ons (or the lack thereof), loss of Bittorrent, RAIDiator v5 for x86, lack of a directory / LDAP server, requiring workaround, registry hack or command-line fixes for common issues) - the list goes on - have not been properly addressed. I don't care about most and the ones I do don't bother me that much but there is an expectation when you purchase a product that it live up to the marketing and your own expectations and I would submit that may no longer be the case.
ReadyDATA hardware and software (what some existing programmers might be spending their time on) might be great - I will never know. For one, it is somewhat more expensive than a ReadyNAS but more importantly why would I give my money to a company that has begun to abandon an entire group of product enthusiasts that have have helped make the ReadyNAS line what it is today?
You can search the board to find support for any point I referenced but I think for most just a reminder is enough. Note I am in no way unhappy with the performance of any of the many ReadyNAS units I own and work with on a daily basis. I strongly feel like I am witnessing a protracted death of a product I feel has value and it is for this reason I'm asking Netgear -
What are your intentions?
I don't post much anymore but have never stopped reading (daily) the ReadyNAS forum. I've committed my own money, that of the company I work for and that of my friends and collegeues that listened to the purchase of a ReadyNAS. From the Duo to the Pro - I use daily and depend on quite a few to do their job and I will say they have done that and done it well. What concerns me is that direction the forum has taken since the departure of Yodah and Chirpa. While both continue to provide support (and while other Jedi also do their best) it would seem judging from the comments of users and Jedi alike there has been a fundamental shift in Netgear's priorities. So fundamental I now question whether Netgear is the right choice moving forward. To wit:
As many have stated the forum was or is the reason to choose Netgear over the competition. I submit given Netgear's stance (the board itself is regularly unavailable) the forum can no longer be valued as it was in the past.
Existing issues are no longer being addressed, discussed or even acknowledged by Netgear staff as readily as in the past. I would submit this lessens the value of Netgear support further decreasing the value of the ReadyNAS line.
Existing web features such as the web simulator have been removed by Netgear without official communication and without remediation. This affects future purchases, reducing the user base therefore reducing the need to spend money on existing users.
Problems we have lived with - (iTunes server / forked daapd, ReadyDLNA, USB3 operation, Photos I and II, ARM add-ons (or the lack thereof), loss of Bittorrent, RAIDiator v5 for x86, lack of a directory / LDAP server, requiring workaround, registry hack or command-line fixes for common issues) - the list goes on - have not been properly addressed. I don't care about most and the ones I do don't bother me that much but there is an expectation when you purchase a product that it live up to the marketing and your own expectations and I would submit that may no longer be the case.
ReadyDATA hardware and software (what some existing programmers might be spending their time on) might be great - I will never know. For one, it is somewhat more expensive than a ReadyNAS but more importantly why would I give my money to a company that has begun to abandon an entire group of product enthusiasts that have have helped make the ReadyNAS line what it is today?
You can search the board to find support for any point I referenced but I think for most just a reminder is enough. Note I am in no way unhappy with the performance of any of the many ReadyNAS units I own and work with on a daily basis. I strongly feel like I am witnessing a protracted death of a product I feel has value and it is for this reason I'm asking Netgear -
What are your intentions?
66 Replies
Replies have been turned off for this discussion
- Appears that there's not much leadership here anymore......
Funny thing is, I still see the Ex-ReadyNAS employees answering questions on the Forums. Now that's what I call dedication to a brand! - To the previous speakers,
I am a Junior Tech support contractor. To comment mainly on @ahpsi's initial post.
(a) Employees like Yohdah and Chirpa, who may have left the company for their own reasons, simply
are not replaceable.
(b) Netgear management do want increased involvement of staff on the Forums. But it is about getting
time and resources.
(c) The company has been focused on new Products this year such as the ARM Duo & v2, ReadyData, ReadyDrop etc.
(d) Finally, as a Junior contractor, there are a large proportion of posts here, that are specific to particular
individual users, with variations in Disk manufacturers, add-on's,etc, that Tech support would not be able to
replicate in a lab situation. So, I do give credit to the Voluntary Community activists on the forum who contribute their time, and expertees.
Thank you,
Marto,
L2 Tech Support - Thanks, Marto.
At least someone from Netgear did respond.
Someones gotta do it. I feel bad for the ignored users, which is why I still come here. It's clear NTGR has given up on the forums here. While it is nice some L2's come and go on here, the 'Jedi' team has vanished. I've been holding out on this thread, waiting for someone with authority there to step up and comment, but clearly that isn't going to happen.Gurutek wrote: Funny thing is, I still see the Ex-ReadyNAS employees answering questions on the Forums. Now that's what I call dedication to a brand! - Agreed. I had hopes if I were blunt enough in my post perhaps somebody 'in charge' would find the time to respond. The lack of response (except by Marto, thank you by the way) tells me either:
No one in charge reads the forum.
No one in charge cares about what is said on the forum.
No one in charge is permitted to respond on the forum.
I don't need to spell it out for you - each is equally bad. I wonder which one is most correct? - I'm sure a few have read it in passing. I know some of the complaint threads have gone to management there. Obviously it doesn't warrant their response, which is a response in itself.
I would go with #2 of your list, they don't care. - I guess NETGEAR is following Oracle... hit rock bottom, then try and repair what you fscked up.
After silence on Java flaws, Oracle now says it cares
A sudden outreach effort promises to fix Java and communicate better about future security issues
http://podcasts.infoworld.com/t/java-pr ... res-211610
Is their silence coming back to them now?
$NTGR stock dropped 11% today. Downgraded by RBC.
http://www.gainerstoday.com/Gains-Stock-113214-NTGR chirpa wrote: $NTGR stock dropped 11% today. Downgraded by RBC.
http://www.gainerstoday.com/Gains-Stock-113214-NTGR
Well, even analysts will sooner or later recognize if a vendor fails in the discipline of customer relationship.- USB3 operation, Photos I and II, ARM add-ons (or the lack thereof), loss of Bittorrent, RAIDiator v5 for x86, lack of a directory / LDAP server, requiring workaround, registry hack or command-line fixes for common issues) - the list goes on - have not been properly addressed. I don't care about most and the ones I do don't bother me that much but there is an expectation when you purchase a product that it live up to the marketing and your own expectations and I would submit that may no longer be the case.
- It feels like Netgear has turned its back or lowered priority to the NAS business unit. Everything has gone quiet and I have not seen much activity since September/Nov 2012. It was quieting down well before that time. Its a shame because the products are good. My ReadyNas Ultra 2 Plus has been great but there is a lack of software available for a product with such potential. Seems like a waste really.
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