RE: Fast400 support for current contracts ?

>From an article at 

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Whatever happened behind the scenes to bring the Fast400 matter to a close
is not known. IBM refused to comment on the matter, as did Stracka's lawyer
in the case, Ron Krist of the Krist Law Firm in Houston. I attempted to
reach Stracka himself on the matter, and got his answering machine several
times. I tried to reach Ron Lerma, who runs Fast400 North American
distributor California Sales Company, and Colin Wells, who runs European
Fast400 distributor Storage Solutions Group; neither was available, either.
What I do know is what Fast400 posted on its Web site: 


November 16, 2005

Dear Valued Customers and Interested Persons:

As you may or may not be aware, the makers of Fast400 have been involved in
litigation with IBM during the recent months. That litigation has recently
been resolved and all parties have accepted and agreed to the resolution.

As part of the resolution, Fast400 will no longer be available for purchase
and/or distribution. While we will continue to service those contracts we
currently have with our valued customers; those contracts will not be
renewed.

In short, at the conclusion of your current customer contract, Fast400 will
no longer be available.

We regret any inconvenience this may occasion.

If you need technical support, please email Leif Svalgaard at
support@xxxxxxxxxxx

Thank you, for your past support and confidence.

Best Regards,

Jim Stracka


Exactly how this case got settled is a mystery, and there is almost
certainly a gag order relating to the settlement. It is hard to say who got
what out of the settlement, but I think one thing is almost certainly the
case. IBM probably has control of the Fast400 code now. If I were Big Blue,
that is the only way I would settle. If there is one thing IBM doesn't want,
it is for this TigerTools cat to get out of the bag again. 

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Eric DeLong
Sally Beauty Company
MIS-Project Manager (BSG)
940-297-2863 or ext. 1863