My Discussion with Kim Stowe - DisplayLink Public Relations
 

to Kimberly Stowe kim@stoweconsulting.com
date Mon, Jul 19, 2010 at 2:50 PM
subject Re: DisplayLink Mac Support

Hi Kim -- I hate to bother you again, I just don't know where else to go with this and you have been the only helpful person at DisplayLink I have met. Once again, the Mac forum has been abandoned and no one has been able to get a response from the Mac Team for at least the last month. No updates on working drivers, no responses to technical support issues.... nothing period. Anything you can do would be GREATLY APPRECIATED.

Thanks again for all your help!

MCV

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from Kimberly Stowe kim@stoweconsulting.com
date Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 12:28 PM
subject Re: DisplayLink Mac Support

Mike:

I spoke with DisplayLink and they are suggesting you send your complaints about Mac driver support and issues directly to the manufacturer of your device.

Kim

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to Kimberly Stowe kim@stoweconsulting.com
date Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 12:43 PM
subject Re: DisplayLink Mac Support

So does that mean DisplayLink has given up on driver support and will no longer be responding to issues posted on the Mac driver forum? Again, they are responding to Windows related issues so I'm not sure why Mac users have been abandoned like this. It is very, very disheartening.

Thanks again, Kim.

MCV

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from Kimberly Stowe kim@stoweconsulting.com
date Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 12:50 PM
subject Re: DisplayLink Mac Support

No Mike, that is not the case. And in fact I was on a call today where we are discussing this concern. DisplayLink does not want to be perceived as abandoning anyone!

That said, it is important the product vendors to hear from end users the problems they are experiencing. At the end of the day, the responsibility lies with the device manufacturer. That said, we have not abandoned the Mac community and there are things in the works to improve our drivers and support for Mac. I do not have any other specifics than that at this time, unfortunately.

We realize that the Mac community wants more support and we are addressing it as best we can at this time.

Is there a specific issue or problem I can try and delve into for you?

Kim

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to Kimberly Stowe kim@stoweconsulting.com
date Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 1:12 PM
subject Re: DisplayLink Mac Support

I think I understand and I will definitely forward my problems and concerns on to the manufacturer of my device. Again, since DisplayLink is actively responding to questions and issues on the Windows side, it would have at least expected to have seen this sort of information posted in the forum. That is, after all, where everyone seems to be going to get answers and it's causing quite a stir when everyone sees Windows questions being answered but nothing for Mac. I realize that DisplayLink does not want to be perceived as abandoning their customers but unfortunately, that is precisely the feeling with Mac users. DisplayLink would know this if they had anyone reading through the Mac forum in the last few months. Realistically, all it would take is for Mac users receive the same level of support that Windows users are receiving. After all, we all purchased the same products and we all paid the same prices so it's reasonable to expect to receive the same support.

I hope this helps to clarify the situation and leads to some better support on our end.

Thanks again.

MCV

Contact Product Vendors
 

Good post.
I use a ViBook+. I have sent a message to Harmonic Inversions, the distributor for Village Tronics, with a link to your post. Hopefully, customers and potential customers will contact the vendors to enlist their help with DisplayLink. These issues are bad news for DisplayLink and its customers (the product vendors). Both will suffer diminished sales unless the issue is addressed. An unfortunate situation for all involved.

OK, I've done my part
 

OK, as requested, I've logged a tech support ticket with IOGear, now can DisplayLink do their part and fix the drivers?

I sent an email to Mimo support about the issue...c'mon Displaylink, make with the update already. OS X 10.6.5 is being seeded and I can't even upgrade to 10.6.4

Please fix the driver
 

Informed Win-Star about the problem and sent a link to this Thread. Please update the MAC drivers for Snow Leopard. Thanks.

Passing the Buck
 

I agree that contacting the manufacturer regarding problems is necessary, however, it seems like DisplayLink is simply passing the buck and avoiding the main issues, which in my opinion are:

1. Fixing the driver properly
2. Providing adequate customer support by responding to their forums

Clearly, they are currently failing at both.

Until that day comes, I would also recommend letting their PR department know how you feel. Until they know the scope of the problem, I doubt they will change the way they are handing this situation. Here are a few email addresses to send to:
pr@displaylink.com
kim@stoweconsulting.com

Another thing to consider would be to search out other forums, blogs, etc. that discuss / review DisplayLink products and be open and honest about your experience with your device and the lack of support you have received from DisplayLink. One way or another, we should be vocal about our problems, alert others to them, and demand that DisplayLink address and resolve these problems instead of ignoring them.

why not email the execs?
 

I'm sure we could figure out valid contact info for the executives for DisplayLink. I would suggest we email those folks and express our concerns for Mac Support.

The only reason why I might disagree with that is because DisplayLink seems to be completely ignoring this problem already. Emailing their executive team my not be any different. The one thing I know for sure is that they do NOT want negative publicity -- their PR person told me that much in her email. That seems to be the real button to push. It's been weeks since my last contact with her and still there hasn't been one response on the forum from anyone at DisplayLink. I think if anyone is going to do anything more, it should be to take it to the next level and start talking about this publicly -- in other forums, blogs, etc. The goal should be to make it as difficult as possible for them to sell another unit to a new customer until they have addressed the problems their existing customer base is experiencing.

displaylinksucks.com & displaylinksux.com are registered.:rolleyes: Could make it into a blog for all the comments and link to it in the forums.

Update
 

I received this email from Kim Stowe back on July 28th:

Mike:

I wanted to add a point to our below discussion regarding DisplayLink supporting Apple technology. Apple has been blocking full development of a Windows competitive DisplayLink driver, not DisplayLink.

I hope this sheds some more light on the situation for you.

Kim