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Date: 30 Sep 2006 20:35:33
From: Tom Brown
Subject: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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I recently read a few posts here where people complained that their concerns
about their Chessbase software were either not being answered or the answer
they received was something to the effect "We know about the problem, but,
so what? We don't think it is worth fixing." If they have this attitude
towards their customers, why should I buy anything from them? How do I
know that if I purchase a program from Chessbase, that a part of the program
may have a bug or other issue and they treat me the same way? I noticed
that Convekta has a database program, Chess Assistant 9, that is half the
price of the Chessbase database program, and has at least the same
functionality if not more. So why shouldn't I go get the Chess Assistant?
Anyone else have the same experience with Chessbase? Do you share my
opinion?
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Date:
From: Martin Brown
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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Date: 03 Oct 2006 16:56:49
From: mike
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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"Tom Brown" <thor1[email protected] > wrote in message
news:[email protected]
>I recently read a few posts here where people complained that their
>concerns about their Chessbase software were either not being answered or
>the answer they received was something to the effect "We know about the
>problem, but, so what? We don't think it is worth fixing." If they have
>this attitude towards their customers, why should I buy anything from them?
Some of their products are quite good, and de facto standards in the
industry. But it is a commonly held opinion that their support sucks. You
should buy a product from them if you cannot get a similar product from
another vendor, or if you are willing to take the risk that there will not
be any serious problems with it.
How do I
> know that if I purchase a program from Chessbase, that a part of the
> program may have a bug or other issue and they treat me the same way? I
> noticed that Convekta has a database program, Chess Assistant 9, that is
> half the price of the Chessbase database program, and has at least the
> same functionality if not more. So why shouldn't I go get the Chess
> Assistant?
The Chess Assistant database is very good, in my opionion. A much better
value than CB.
> Anyone else have the same experience with Chessbase? Do you share my
> opinion?
My experience with Chessbase is that some of their products are good, some
are okay, and their support sucks. I encourage you NOT to buy, because that
is the only way they will ever get the message about the improtance of
customer service. However, I recognize that they do have some products that
no one else offers, and they only way to get them is through Chessbase.
I think the electric company is charging me too much, and they don't respond
to outages as quickly as I'd like, but I'm pretty much stuck with them, too.
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Date: 04 Oct 2006 10:58:33
From: David Richerby
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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mike <[email protected] > wrote:
> I encourage you NOT to buy, because that is the only way [ChessBase]
> will ever get the message about the improtance of customer service.
Only if you tell them that you're doing this, of course.
Dave.
--
David Richerby Nuclear Peanut (TM): it's like a
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ roasted nut that's made of atoms!
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Date:
From: Martin Brown
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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Date: 04 Oct 2006 05:18:40
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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Deep Fritz 8 crashes when in a game infinite analysis is on and I use the
mouse to move back or forth in moves and then I get this error message:
bust sometimes it crashes during infinite analysis without mouse
interaction.
Mike.
"tin Brown" <
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Date: 04 Oct 2006 05:21:40
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_0013_01C6E742.A3F77840
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
OOPS! Error message is:
"The instruction at 0x73dd11c7 referenced memory at 0x00000004 the =
memory could not be read."
"Mike" <[email protected] > wrote in message =
news:[email protected]
> Deep Fritz 8 crashes when in a game infinite analysis is on and I use =
the=20
> mouse to move back or forth in moves and then I get this error =
message:
>=20
> bust sometimes it crashes during infinite analysis without mouse=20
> interaction.
>=20
> Mike.
>=20
> "tin Brown" <
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Date:
From: Martin Brown
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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Date: 02 Oct 2006 22:30:49
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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Actually, Deep Fritz 8 crashes the same way on my second single CPU computer
as well. I have the latest version of May-2006 patch.
Mike.
"tin Brown" <
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Date: 03 Oct 2006 10:47:01
From: David Richerby
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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Mike <[email protected] > wrote:
> Actually, Deep Fritz 8 crashes the same way on my second single CPU
> computer as well. I have the latest version of May-2006 patch.
Crashes the same way as on your other computer? That's significant
extra information.
Are both computers in the same room? It could be that both are
overheating. Is there any pattern to the crashes? Are there
positions that always crash the program or crash it more than others?
Dave.
--
David Richerby Gigantic Broken Book (TM): it's like
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ a romantic novel but it doesn't work
and it's huge!
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Date: 01 Oct 2006 23:17:47
From: EZoto
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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I still use Chessbase 6.0 and Fritz 5.16 in Windows 3.1. Never had a
reason to change.
EZoto
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Date: 01 Oct 2006 07:40:27
From: Dave (from the UK)
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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Tom Brown wrote:
> I recently read a few posts here where people complained that their concerns
> about their Chessbase software were either not being answered or the answer
> they received was something to the effect "We know about the problem, but,
> so what? We don't think it is worth fixing."
I'm in that group - more than a little irritated by their attitude to
fixing their online database so the software they sold actually works
with it.
I find it inexplicable that they had something that worked (Pocket Fritz
2 connecting to their database), made changes that break the combination
and simply don't go back to the older code which worked.
> If they have this attitude
> towards their customers, why should I buy anything from them? How do I
> know that if I purchase a program from Chessbase, that a part of the program
> may have a bug or other issue and they treat me the same way?
You don't.
> I noticed
> that Convekta has a database program, Chess Assistant 9, that is half the
> price of the Chessbase database program, and has at least the same
> functionality if not more. So why shouldn't I go get the Chess Assistant?
I don't know Chess Assistant.
'scid' is free and has the advantage that the source code is open, so a
bug could be fixed by anyone else with sufficient knowledge. Scid is
licensed under the GNU General Public License, which allows anyone to
make changes and even charge for making those changes. So if you don't
like a feature of it, you have the option of fixing it yourself, or
paying someone else to fix it.
> Anyone else have the same experience with Chessbase?
Yes,
> Do you share my opinion?
Yes.
--
Dave (from the UK)
Please note my email address changes periodically to avoid spam.
It is always of the form: [email protected]
Hitting reply will work for a few months only - later set it manually.
http://witm.sourceforge.net/ (Web based Mathematica front end)
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Date: 02 Oct 2006 11:24:44
From: David Richerby
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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Dave (from the UK) <[email protected] > wrote:
> I find it inexplicable that they had something that worked (Pocket
> Fritz 2 connecting to their database), made changes that break the
> combination and simply don't go back to the older code which worked.
Presumably the old software didn't work in some other way. I doubt
they'd have changed it purely on a whim.
Dave.
--
David Richerby Expensive Confusing Monk (TM): it's
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ like a man of God but you can't
understand it and it'll break the
bank!
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Date: 30 Sep 2006 19:12:13
From:
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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Mike wrote:
> My Fritz constantly crashes complaining that a memory address could not be
> addressed which means a memory leak in the program, but the stupid tech
> support at Chessbase says it is due to processor heating up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> while no other program on my same computer crashes at all. Very arrogant
> dumb asses there.
They claimed your processor was overheating?! Gee, that wouldn't be my
first, or second, or fifth guess. SCID has never crashed on me.
---
Become a Chess Expert
http://likesforests.blogspot.com/
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Date: 30 Sep 2006 17:27:34
From:
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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Ange1o DePa1ma wrote:
> I can speak for myself only on this point. The reason I keep going back to
> ChessBase despite very serious problems with the company and their software
> is that I already have a big investment in their stuff. I'm very familiar
> with the look and feel of their products. But if I had begun with Convekta
> or even the free database, Scid, I would probably be laughing at all the CB
> addicts in the world.
I have SCID. The interface was confusing at first, but I'm impressed at
the searches I can do on both my openings and endgames. I learned I'm
better at pawn endgames than rook endgames, for example, and I have a
free 85,000 game database for 1.c4 openings.
The shortcoming is, my databases stop at 2001. chessgames.com lets me
look up more recent games, but it's a relatively small database. I
suppose that would be a weakness if I were a Class A player, but I'm a
long way from there at this point. :-)
---
Become a Chess Expert
http://likesforests.blogspot.com/
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Date: 01 Oct 2006 01:33:24
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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My Fritz constantly crashes complaining that a memory address could not be
addressed which means a memory leak in the program, but the stupid tech
support at Chessbase says it is due to processor heating up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
while no other program on my same computer crashes at all. Very arrogant
dumb asses there.
<[email protected] > wrote in message
news:[email protected]
> Ange1o DePa1ma wrote:
>> I can speak for myself only on this point. The reason I keep going back
>> to
>> ChessBase despite very serious problems with the company and their
>> software
>> is that I already have a big investment in their stuff. I'm very familiar
>> with the look and feel of their products. But if I had begun with
>> Convekta
>> or even the free database, Scid, I would probably be laughing at all the
>> CB
>> addicts in the world.
>
> I have SCID. The interface was confusing at first, but I'm impressed at
> the searches I can do on both my openings and endgames. I learned I'm
> better at pawn endgames than rook endgames, for example, and I have a
> free 85,000 game database for 1.c4 openings.
>
> The shortcoming is, my databases stop at 2001. chessgames.com lets me
> look up more recent games, but it's a relatively small database. I
> suppose that would be a weakness if I were a Class A player, but I'm a
> long way from there at this point. :-)
>
> ---
> Become a Chess Expert
> http://likesforests.blogspot.com/
>
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Date: 02 Oct 2006 10:32:50
From: David Richerby
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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Mike <[email protected] > wrote:
> My Fritz constantly crashes complaining that a memory address could
> not be addressed which means a memory leak in the program, but the
> stupid tech support at Chessbase says it is due to processor heating
> up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! while no other program on my same computer
> crashes at all. Very arrogant dumb asses there.
It could be a memory problem: chess programs use a lot of memory and
use it hard so, if you do have slightly dodgy RAM, it wouldn't be too
surprising if a chess program had more problems with that than other
programs. Processor overheating sounds unlikely but note that chess
programs hit the CPU hard, too.
I've had no such problems with Fritz 8; I can't vouch for version 9 as
I have no reason to upgrade.
Dave.
--
David Richerby Swiss Carnivorous Bulb (TM): it's like
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ a light bulb but it's full of teeth
and made in Switzerland!
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Date: 08 Oct 2006 21:16:19
From: JRoberts
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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"David Richerby" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:ghs*[email protected]
> Mike <[email protected]> wrote:
>> My Fritz constantly crashes complaining that a memory address could
>> not be addressed which means a memory leak in the program, but the
>> stupid tech support at Chessbase says it is due to processor heating
>> up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! while no other program on my same computer
>> crashes at all. Very arrogant dumb asses there.
>
> It could be a memory problem: chess programs use a lot of memory and
> use it hard so, if you do have slightly dodgy RAM, it wouldn't be too
> surprising if a chess program had more problems with that than other
> programs. Processor overheating sounds unlikely but note that chess
> programs hit the CPU hard, too.
>
> I've had no such problems with Fritz 8; I can't vouch for version 9 as
> I have no reason to upgrade.
>
>
> Dave.
My main desktop came with 1 GB of ram which was enough for most of my needs.
I like to let CB9 run for long periods of time analyzing some positions from
my tournament games and wanted to make the hash tables very large for this
purpose so I bought another gig and I allocate 1024 MB of ram just to the
hash table. This results in excellent analysis and the program never crashes
now. Despite the poor customer service, occassional bug, and stupid admin
that like to bar me from the playchess server for no good reason, they still
have the best product on the ket by far, not to mention the best
real-time chess server by far. If anyone thinks SCID or Chess Assistant
(there is a reason it's only half the price) are even close to having the
funtionality of Chessbase 9, then they don't know how to use Chessbase 9.
Even the designers of the UCI engine Rybka, which I generally use for my
analysis, know this and design both their engines and opening books
specifically for compatibility with Chessbase products. In fact, the Rybka
opening book will ONLY work with a Chessbase GUI.
People like to bitch and whine no matter what the quality. I'm sure there
are some crybaby idiots complaining about Porsche cars somewhere. Well,
Chessbase is the Porsche of chess programs and if you aren't broke, get it.
Otherwise use CB light or SCID.
J.R.
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Date: 16 Oct 2006 19:31:48
From: David Richerby
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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JRoberts <[email protected] > wrote:
> stupid admin that like to bar me from the playchess server for no
> good reason
Strangely, nobody ever puts their hand up and says, ``Yeah, you were
perfectly justified in banning me.''
Dave.
--
David Richerby Erotic Surprise Windows (TM): it's
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ like a graphical user interface
but not like you'd expect and it's
genuinely erotic!
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Date: 02 Oct 2006 16:40:24
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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Crashing prog is Deep Fritz 8.
"David Richerby" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:ghs*[email protected]
> Mike <[email protected]> wrote:
>> My Fritz constantly crashes complaining that a memory address could
>> not be addressed which means a memory leak in the program, but the
>> stupid tech support at Chessbase says it is due to processor heating
>> up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! while no other program on my same computer
>> crashes at all. Very arrogant dumb asses there.
>
> It could be a memory problem: chess programs use a lot of memory and
> use it hard so, if you do have slightly dodgy RAM, it wouldn't be too
> surprising if a chess program had more problems with that than other
> programs. Processor overheating sounds unlikely but note that chess
> programs hit the CPU hard, too.
>
> I've had no such problems with Fritz 8; I can't vouch for version 9 as
> I have no reason to upgrade.
>
>
> Dave.
>
> --
> David Richerby Swiss Carnivorous Bulb (TM): it's
> like
> www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ a light bulb but it's full of
> teeth
> and made in Switzerland!
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Date: 30 Sep 2006 19:28:04
From: Ange1o DePa1ma
Subject: Re: Chessbase think they are better than us????
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"Tom Brown" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:[email protected]
>I recently read a few posts here where people complained that their
>concerns about their Chessbase software were either not being answered or
>the answer they received was something to the effect "We know about the
>problem, but, so what? We don't think it is worth fixing." If they have
>this attitude towards their customers, why should I buy anything from them?
>How do I know that if I purchase a program from Chessbase, that a part of
>the program may have a bug or other issue and they treat me the same way?
>I noticed that Convekta has a database program, Chess Assistant 9, that is
>half the price of the Chessbase database program, and has at least the same
>functionality if not more. So why shouldn't I go get the Chess Assistant?
>Anyone else have the same experience with Chessbase? Do you share my
>opinion?
I can speak for myself only on this point. The reason I keep going back to
ChessBase despite very serious problems with the company and their software
is that I already have a big investment in their stuff. I'm very familiar
with the look and feel of their products. But if I had begun with Convekta
or even the free database, Scid, I would probably be laughing at all the CB
addicts in the world.
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