4 ms·

The records went from "special vaults inside permanent facilities, complete with foam fire retardant and other safeguards" to boxes on shelves in a modular buil

The records went from "special vaults inside permanent facilities, complete with foam fire retardant and other safeguards" to boxes on shelves in a modular building. I don't know anything about Keysight, but I think their actions tell me everything I need to know.

emh68 9y ago
"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much"
- mtremsal 9y ago
  Is this a common adage? I'm not sure I understand its meaning in this context.
  - LeifCarrotson 9y ago
    It's a reference to the biblical parable of a shrewd/dishonest steward from Luke 16 [1]. It looks a little more like ancient corruption to modern readers, or an admonition to escort disgruntled employees out the door the day they are fired or give notice, rather than maintaining their privileges for two weeks: the guy buys friends on the outside by mismanaging his employer's funds when he realizes that he's going to be fired. I believe the parent is saying that if Keysight was lazy, shortsighted, or irresponsible with these historical documents, they probably won't treat the design, construction, and your purchase of an expensive oscilloscope with a different attitude. So, ostensibly, buy Tektronix (or, for hackers, buy a Rigol - more value for less money; I love my $900 MSO1074Z-S and the closest Keysight device is a $8000 oscilloscope that doesn't include most of the software decoders you want, and doesn't include the $3000 function generator). [1] https://www.bible.com/bible/111/LUK.16.niv https://www.bible.com/bible/111/LUK.16.niv
    - HeyLaughingBoy 9y ago
      I don't know how different the culture at Keysight is from the original Hewlett-Packard. But I do remember in 1994 or thereabouts, calling the h-p customer service number with questions about the old hp 'scope I had just picked up for $50 that came without a manual. The lady who answered the phone put me on hold to go digging through file cabinets and then came back with the documentation to politely answer all my questions. I have never been anything but completely impressed by all of Hewlett-Packard's instruments or any interaction I've ever had with them. And BTW, IIRC that Rigol made some of HP's low end DSO's back in the early 00's.
      - throw2849834 9y ago
        A lot of us believe in the old HP Quality. But certainly things are not the same as they used to be.
Aloha 9y ago
HP Test and Measurement > Agilent > Keysight Keysight in essence is the spiritual (if not literal) inheritor of the original Hewlett-Packard. They still make fantastic well designed, long lived hardware. But all of those mergers and spinoffs, and whatnot had a less than ideal effect on the capital available to preserve it's (honestly) awe inspiring legacy. For all we know, this was a temporary storage location, pending to something more permanent being built, or they were located there due to renovations. Heck, for all we know they were placed there while under the care of Agilent Technologies, before the spin-off. I'd hesitate to judge them based on this however.
- mannykannot 9y ago
  Well, if there were extenuating circumstances, Keysight neglected to mention them in its statement, which is the sort of self-serving denial that we have come to expect in these circumstances. TL;DR: We did not make any mistakes and you should not be asking about it.
  - Aloha 9y ago
    Those kind of statements almost never mention extenuating circumstances - to do so is often looked upon as making excuses.
    - shepardrtc 9y ago
      "Keysight took appropriate and responsible steps to protect the company archives" "This is a time to begin healing, not assigning blame.” -Keysight Technologies spokesman Jeff Weber

emh68 9y ago

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much"

mtremsal 9y ago
Is this a common adage? I'm not sure I understand its meaning in this context.
- LeifCarrotson 9y ago
  It's a reference to the biblical parable of a shrewd/dishonest steward from Luke 16 [1]. It looks a little more like ancient corruption to modern readers, or an admonition to escort disgruntled employees out the door the day they are fired or give notice, rather than maintaining their privileges for two weeks: the guy buys friends on the outside by mismanaging his employer's funds when he realizes that he's going to be fired. I believe the parent is saying that if Keysight was lazy, shortsighted, or irresponsible with these historical documents, they probably won't treat the design, construction, and your purchase of an expensive oscilloscope with a different attitude. So, ostensibly, buy Tektronix (or, for hackers, buy a Rigol - more value for less money; I love my $900 MSO1074Z-S and the closest Keysight device is a $8000 oscilloscope that doesn't include most of the software decoders you want, and doesn't include the $3000 function generator). [1] https://www.bible.com/bible/111/LUK.16.niv https://www.bible.com/bible/111/LUK.16.niv
  - HeyLaughingBoy 9y ago
    I don't know how different the culture at Keysight is from the original Hewlett-Packard. But I do remember in 1994 or thereabouts, calling the h-p customer service number with questions about the old hp 'scope I had just picked up for $50 that came without a manual. The lady who answered the phone put me on hold to go digging through file cabinets and then came back with the documentation to politely answer all my questions. I have never been anything but completely impressed by all of Hewlett-Packard's instruments or any interaction I've ever had with them. And BTW, IIRC that Rigol made some of HP's low end DSO's back in the early 00's.
    - throw2849834 9y ago
      A lot of us believe in the old HP Quality. But certainly things are not the same as they used to be.

Aloha 9y ago

HP Test and Measurement > Agilent > Keysight Keysight in essence is the spiritual (if not literal) inheritor of the original Hewlett-Packard. They still make fantastic well designed, long lived hardware. But all of those mergers and spinoffs, and whatnot had a less than ideal effect on the capital available to preserve it's (honestly) awe inspiring legacy. For all we know, this was a temporary storage location, pending to something more permanent being built, or they were located there due to renovations. Heck, for all we know they were placed there while under the care of Agilent Technologies, before the spin-off. I'd hesitate to judge them based on this however.

mannykannot 9y ago
Well, if there were extenuating circumstances, Keysight neglected to mention them in its statement, which is the sort of self-serving denial that we have come to expect in these circumstances. TL;DR: We did not make any mistakes and you should not be asking about it.
- Aloha 9y ago
  Those kind of statements almost never mention extenuating circumstances - to do so is often looked upon as making excuses.
  - shepardrtc 9y ago
    "Keysight took appropriate and responsible steps to protect the company archives" "This is a time to begin healing, not assigning blame.” -Keysight Technologies spokesman Jeff Weber