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Vendor Web sites: good reading or fluff?

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3 replies

by jimtlange

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For a technical school project, I'm looking for examples of
vendor or distributor Web sites that provide the best overall
product, technical and/or sales-oriented information. Some
sites I've visited are more fluff than substance, and some
companies pat their own backs a little too much.

I need to know who has the best Web sites in terms of
information that has helped your businesses.

Thanks

3 replies

by xxx123

Well of course a vendor will use his website to promote his company, but that doesn't mean there's nothing of value there.

There's rarely a day I don't consult some part of the Microsoft website (msdn.microsoft.com). Microsoft and other software vendors (like Seagate Software http://www.crystaldecisions.com) post the contents of their knowledge bases on their websites so whenever I run into a problem, I check the vendor's website for more up-to-date info on existing bugs, work-arounds, etc. That doesn't mean I don't search vendor-independent sites as well, but most software vendors do rely on their websites to distribute a good deal of their documentation.

by ebob

Microsoft - Lots of fluff, but go to the KB (search.support.microsoft.com/kb/c.asp) and there's plenty of substance, some of it very useful.

Cisco - Same here with the fluff. But the support site (cco.cisco.com) is double-plus good, especially with a login which opens up extra value.

A lot of sites have their value-add hiding behind a login. Sometimes the login is "free", sometimes it's a paid subscription.

A good example of a "free" subscription is Network World's site (www.nwc.com) which has extracts of the current issue, access to back issues, and extras available only on-line.

by loraine

I read a lot of sites -- both vendor and other types -- when I'm doing research for TR articles. I've found that many vendors offer affiliate sites that aim to educate you about the technology in general. These are usually good resources, but shouldbe scrutinized for information that's vendor-specific. I've found they're usually very upfront about promoting their product's features as opposed to when they're giving cross-vendor info.

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