new product rumors

[John Mashey]

mcvax!ethz!marti at uunet.uu.net (Robert Marti) writes:
>Well, let me add my $0.02's worth:

>I also agree that people who get information under terms of non-disclosure
>should keep their mouths shut.  HOWEVER, I always get the impression that
>vendors usually don't mind at all if you pass on the information revealed
>under non-disclosure.  By having you sign an agreement, they are basically
>just covering their asses in case they don't/can't ship as planned so that
>no customer or competitor can sue them on the basis of whatever
>information was revealed.

No.  Maybe there are such vendors, and maybe some vendors protect trivial
information with nondisclosures, but people who ask for nondisclosures are
usually pretty serious about it.  I don't know which vendors "usually
don't mind...".  There are certainly different levels of concern,
depending on how far away the product is, and how much damage will be done
by having the information available.  Competitors are hardly likely to
sue; they're much more likely to be delighted if such information is
floating around.  In a business that moves as fast as this does, a few
months' warning is sometimes like gold.

I don't care if there are vendors out there who don't mind; most vendors
mind a whole bunch; at the very least, if they catch you violating
nondisclosure, you'll never get advance information again (if you're an
end user, this may not matter much, but there are plenty of places in this
business where you must get timely advanced information under
nondisclosure to stay competitive); this business is surprisingly
well-connected, and you'd be astonished how fast word spreads if you
become viewed as untrustworthy; at worst, somebody will sue you, and if
they can prove it, you won't be happy.

Anyway, please don't take nondisclosure lightly.
-- 
-john mashey	DISCLAIMER: <generic disclaimer, I speak for me only, etc>
UUCP: 	{ames,decwrl,prls,pyramid}!mips!mash  OR  mash at mips.com
DDD:  	408-991-0253 or 408-720-1700, x253
USPS: 	MIPS Computer Systems, 930 E. Arques, Sunnyvale, CA 94086