DRF Still Not Functioning

[Tom]

In spite of what they say, many tracks are still not availabe at DRF.com.
Does anyone have a subscription package and if so, have you heard anything about extending it due their inability to provide products?
Email to c-servive is also returned unanswered.
Tom

[ceejay]

Tom:

I'm a monthly subscriber. Formulator files are still incomplete!

Customer service told me that DRF will be "taking care" of subscribers, but the exact manner hasn't been decided because they are not fully operational yet. They said that this will most likely be either in the form of extended subscriptions or a free period. I'm taking them at their word, but won't re-up untill the site is fully operational and a decision has been made. I think that most subscribers will be understanding as long as DRF treats us fairly.

Personally, if I had a data base that I sold like DRF, I would have had a redundant system in place (or available) for both the data and the T1 connection (and perhhaps the DBA's wanted to). I'm not in their business, but I'd guess that one of the disaster recovery firms (like SDS or CDO) could have handled this.

[Tom]

Whatever is fair, I'm ok with, but like you say, now renews at this time. It is just good business sense to have contingincy plans in place-DRF has a lot of business 101 learning to do. In my business, we are audited twice a year on our plans. No big deal, like I say, business 101.
Tom

[Marc At DRF]

Hi All-

Just got internet access from work for the first time today.

Brief updates-

1) Formulator Files will be up in the next couple days, hopefully.

2) The way the servers are set up right now are a little dicey. Problems arise. We were fully functional on PDF for most of last week, but there were problems again yesterday. It's actually mostly pretty good, but it's not perfect yet.

3) As for our disaster plans, the big issue for us on the redundancy front was we closed down our back up server in Phoenix in '99 and are in the midst of a reengineering project that included restoring it. In other words, we got caught at a horribly bad time. I suspect we were not alone, in terms of not being fully backed up as much as we should have been.

4) Customers are going to get "make-goods" that exceed the time/cards they lost, or at least match them. I have a 2:00 meeting that will address this issue, and I've talked to Steve Crist about it a bunch already. We're very concerned about doing the right thing here.

5) Make goods will come only when the system is fully functional-- or at least as good as it was before 9/11. So I wouldn't be surprised if that actually occurs Nov. 1, and not earlier. Regardless, when we have it figured out, all customers will get e-mails.

Marc at DRF

[GR1@HTR]

Tom,

Just curious. Why do you pay for DRF PP when you get a solid PP from HTR Windows Version? Just curious...

[Tom]

Marc...thanks for the update. Good luck.

GR1 - I can't break the habit of actually seeing the past performances in a familiar format-I am not a db handicapper and will not blindly bet until I think the hore is a contender. It is going to be a very hard transformation for me-I have been handicapping with DRF style pp's since about 1962....hard to leave the nest. (more cash than brains)

Tom

[takeout]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Tom
I can't break the habit of actually seeing the past performances in a familiar format
***************

Me either! I've just got to see that basic stuff in the traditional format. Even the little differences drive me crazy when I look at one reseller's PPs versus another's. You look at that stuff for twenty years and you get used to it. Maybe even more importantly, we get fast at it. Everyone has their own way of approaching the game and over time our eyes zoom in to what we deem important and pass up what we don't think will apply to today's race and/or situation.

The slightest change of format will screw me up for quite some time. The latest thing that I'm still trying to get used to (even though it's been in there for some time now) is the addition of the beaten lengths margins at the start call. I keep confusing it for the first-quarter call. (Duh)

Also, with the basic data you can kind of check on the integrity of the stuff if you have to. When you get into numbers and stats exclusively, then I'm not sure how you would do that.

I'd be curious as to how many are using something other than traditional PPs these days. I have a friend that uses the TSN Ultimates (along with some of his own numbers concoctions) and doesn't look at the traditional part very much but I would have a hard time making that leap of faith.

[NoDayJob]

Try ITS! They were the original on line Form. I don't use them anymore because my program will now use any comma delimited files. The ITS printout is excellent. DRF will never get their act together. They need more than Business 101. They need a complete change of management. Their stupidity and arrogance is beyond belief. http://www.ITSdata.com -NDJ

[Tom]

I like ITs, and their form program is much better than Formulator as far as filters go, but I can't use thier PP's in HTR. I do use it sometime when I go the track and want to have a good set of pace figures with me. I do this more for tracks I don't normally follow but can bet at simulcasting for a day. Also, it gives me something to read on airplanes (back before I found a new trip hobby-
keeping an eye on everyone else flying with me - it's amazing how many "terrorists" you can pick out a crowd of perfectly normal people at an airport nowadays-getting paranoid I guess)

Tom