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From: briand@tekig4.TEK.COM (Brian Diehm)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Microsoft Word 3.01
Message-ID: <1667@tekig4.TEK.COM>
Date: Mon, 13-Jul-87 13:17:57 EDT
Article-I.D.: tekig4.1667
Posted: Mon Jul 13 13:17:57 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 15-Jul-87 01:53:21 EDT
References: <135@cc5.bbn.com.BBN.COM> <2519@husc6.UUCP>
Reply-To: briand@tekig4.UUCP (Brian Diehm)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton, OR.
Lines: 37

>I just got a MAC (SE, 2 floppies) and have been using Word 3.00 quite
>happily. I have heard that it has lots of bugs and that there is any
>upgrade to 3.01. (Harvard no longer sells 3.00.) What are all these
>bugs that caused MS to recall 3.00.

No big deal, really. I've found it to be pretty reliable, and have NEVER lost a
file to it, though others haven't been so lucky. Considering the complexity of
the product, and the pressure users put on Microsoft to put it out, it runs
better than indicated by the heaps of abuse laid on so thick by so many people.
A few "journalists" got egg on their face by playing with it for 30 seconds and
writing a "review" indicating it was the hottest thing since sex. They obvious-
ly were embarassed over their failure to spot some inevitable bugs, as their
later vicious attacks show. Other people on this net have indicated problems,
and I take their input as more considered and representative of real use.

The product is VERY good, and useful work is being done on it by about 10
people in this department. Day in, day out. No crashes. We are not ninny users,
either, but are regularly using many of the power features of the program.

It has not been recalled, it is still selling, and I understand the "fixed"
version will be provided free.

There is NO excuse for their "human interface," however. I understand Microsoft
fired their implementor over this one. I think they fired the wrong guy, and
should've fired their interface designer. But he is one of their golden-haired
boys, and can do no wrong --- even copying the WordStar interface on a Mac
wasn't a sin in their book! The implementor did a pretty good job, I think.
And of course, their interface made the product that much harder to implement,
too, as well as to use.

But I must emphasize, it IS a useful product, and it IS a powerhouse of a word
processor. Even as it stands now.

-- 
-Brian Diehm     (SDA - Standard Disclaimers Apply)
Tektronix, Inc.
briand@tekig4.TEK.COM   or  {decvax,cae780,uw-beaver}!tektronix!tekig4!briand