Thank you for choosing the OCI distribution of ACE and TAO. This README
file provides information about the purpose of this release and
the resources available to support your ACE and TAO projects.

The OCI distribution is based on ACE and TAO as distributed by the
Center for Distributed Object Computing (the DOC group.) For
additional information about the DOC group release, please refer to
the file DOC_README in the directory that contains this file.

IMPORTANT: Please do not submit support requests for the OCI ACE and
TAO distribution to the DOC group.  If you need support follow the
procedures below, or start with the web site at
http://www.theaceorb.com/support/index.html.

Because the DOC group focuses primarily on research the DOC group
distribution contains ongoing experimental work and cutting-edge
technology which may not provide sufficient version control and
support for backwards compatibility needed for commercial use. The DOC
group provides a very high level of support through the ACE users and
TAO users mailing lists; however, this support is on a volunteer basis
and is provided only as time is available.

DOC group support is also limited to the most recent releases of ACE and
TAO so the response to questions about older versions is often simply,
"upgrade to the latest release." Also the DOC group does not provide
support for derived works such as the OCI distribution so if you ask
them for support for this OCI distribution they will simply refer you
back to OCI.

At OCI we understand that predictable support is important, and that
upgrading infrastructure software may not be an option if it risks
destabilizing a project at a critical point in its life cycle. To meet
the needs of customers for predictable support and a distribution that
focuses on stability and reliability rather than rapid evolution, OCI
provides this distribution and offers support for this and previous
OCI distributions of ACE and TAO.

For help with any OCI distribution of ACE and TAO, please fill out the
problem report form (PRF) which can be found in the file
ACE_wrappers/TAO/PROBLEM-REPORT-FORM (for TAO problems) or
ACE_wrappers/PROBLEM-REPORT-FORM for ACE problems. Submit this form and
any additional information which will help diagnose the problem to
support@ociweb.com. If you do not have an existing support account
with OCI, you will be asked to set one up. Because providing commercial
support for ACE and TAO is a primary source of revenue for OCI, we can
provide only very limited help until a support account is established.

To avoid delays getting support, we strongly recommend that you set up
an account before you actually need help. There is no cost to establish
a normal account.  Support charges only apply to work actually delivered.
However, we do offer premium level accounts for customers with
extraordinary support needs, and there may be ongoing charges for such
premium service.  To set up a support account or to find out more about
the support options available, please contact sales@ociweb.com.

In addition to supporting stable versions of ACE and TAO, OCI often
works with sponsoring companies and organizations to add additional
features to TAO (and occasionally ACE.) Assuming the sponsor agrees,
these additional features are also incorporated into the DOC group's
current beta release so that they can become part of the ongoing
evolution of ACE and TAO. This lets the sponsor influence the direction
in which ACE and TAO evolve to ensure that this evolution meets the
sponsor's current and future needs.  It also lets the sponsor
participate in the Open Source process without excessive load on their
own technical resources.  The sponsor of any new features added to
ACE and/or TAO by OCI will be given full credit for their contribution
if they so choose.

If there are features you would like to see added to TAO, please let us
know at sales@ociweb.com so we can provide an estimate of the amount of
work involved in implementing the feature and incorporating it into the
OCI and the DOC group distributions.

OCI also offers training and consulting services to organizations that
use ACE and TAO.  Our training can help developers get up-to-speed
quickly.  For more information about our training and consulting services
check our web site at http://www.ociweb.com.
