I have just heard a TERRIBLE rumor about Active Storage

[Ian Liuzzi-fedun]

What is this innovative feature set?

[Alex Gerulaitis]

[Peder Morgenthaler] “They’re engineered in America, they own all their own IP, and the performance is amazing. “

[Peder Morgenthaler] “They are rock-solid. I wouldn’t work with them if I didn’t believe in their products. So I’m not a shill.”

[Peder Morgenthaler] “The boxes … perform like crazy, are price-competitive, and include a very innovative feature set.”

[Peder Morgenthaler] “So I’m not a shill.”

DEFINE SHILL:

shill /SHil/
Noun
An accomplice of a hawker, gambler, or swindler who acts as an enthusiastic customer to entice or encourage others.
Verb
Act or work as such a person: “your husband in the crowd could shill for you”.

(I didn’t know what “shill” meant until now.)

[Brendan Stark]

I just received this email:

Greetings,

We are excited to report that Active Storage Support will be back online shortly, and apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may have caused with your Support request during our recent hiatus.
We will be at NAB in April, so please look for us there, and we can reconnect and answer any questions or concerns you may have.
If your service request has been resolved, please let us know, and we will update our records.
We will continue our commitment to deliver first class service, and we will work tirelessly to touch base with you in a timely manner to restore your faith in Active Storage

Best Regards,

The Active Storage Support Team

It looks like skytech.tv bought them out. This should be some good news for those of us with new Active SANs in production.

[Eric Savage-ott]

Save the Date – 05/01/2013

“The report of my death was an exaggeration.” – Mark Twain

[Ruy Fajardo]

I have also received the same information, i hope they come back soon. by the way, would any of you keep buying from AS?

[Phil Smith]

Here in Las Vegas, on the NAB floor, there are some folks talking about Active coming back. Apparently, a few of their customers got together along with some XSAN guys in LA, and are acquiring everything.

If they do, my answer to that question (would I buy them again?) would be “Hell yes!”

Active products are good. Arguably the best box in the market. Plus, I have invested heavily in the tech already. Why would I want to go through the pain of migrating my stuff?

Sure, there is the argument that they could go under again, but so could ANY company these days. This is a ridiculously volatile market, and Wall Street calls the shots, not the folks who are actually in the know at the company level.

If Active were brought back as a PRIVATE company, that would actually encourage me to buy. But, we will have to wait and see of course. I’m optimistic. 🙂

—
Phil Smith
There are no technical solutions to creative problems. Only creative solutions to technical problems.

[Ruy Fajardo]

Hi Phil, keep us updated if you get any other related info there @NAB

[Phil Smith]

So, apparently the “unofficial” official date for Active is May 1st. Which makes me think that Mr. “Eric Savage-Ott” (above me in this thread) knows something.

My sources (which are made up of various resellers and fiber hardware folks, etc.), all tell me that the process is done but in the hands of attorneys, and that’s likely why the long silence from the folks who are doing this. Apparently while these large deals are being made, no one can talk about anything.

But, all signs (that I have heard) point to Active coming back in one way or another, along with warranties being honored, upgrades and updates flowing again, etc. etc…

This could end up having a happy ending after all!

—
Phil Smith
There are no technical solutions to creative problems. Only creative solutions to technical problems.

[Ian Liuzzi-fedun]

Still that they didn’t make their customers aware is problematic – bad taste in one’s mouth.

[Phil Smith]

I’m glad that you brought that up Ian because I have been wanting to say something to everyone that keeps saying things like that:

You all seem to think that the folks at Active had that choice. They wouldn’t have had that option.

I have been through the shutdown of a company that was owned by a board of directors (aka Wall Street). It’s a pretty horrible experience. Not only from the standpoint of everyone losing their jobs, shutting down, etc… but also from a communication perspective.

In my case, in order for me to be able to collect my severance package: I had to sign documents stating that I would not “under any circumstances, divulge any information pertaining to (the company’s) progress to cease operations”.

The reason that this is done is so that the a$$h0les on Wall Street can gut the company’s bank accounts, bonus the hell out of themselves and the C-level execs, sell off any subsidiaries that are worth anything, and quietly get rid of any outstanding liquid assets… so that they can claim bankruptcy easily.

It’s not that the company was TRULY bankrupt, it’s that the execs figured out that the company was worth more to them dead (in the next 12 months) than it is alive. These guys are about quicker money, not long-term growth and longevity. Being able to claim bankruptcy gives them the ability to walk out on the employees, creditors, and ALL of the money that they owed to manufacturers who supported them.

Stop blaming Active Storage and their employees for not telling you what was going on. They didn’t have a choice. I can guarantee you that it was as much of a surprise to them as it was to us, and in order for them to collect their last paychecks, they likely were sworn to silence.

Even the guys that went to Quantum from Active Storage haven’t said jack about what really happened.

It’s because they can’t.

—
Phil Smith
There are no technical solutions to creative problems. Only creative solutions to technical problems.