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From: nelson_p@apollo.HP.COM (Peter Nelson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.windows.ms
Subject: RE problems with Windows/Disk Manager....
Message-ID: <4b0a52b6.20b6d@apollo.HP.COM>
Date: 16 Jun 90 19:15:00 GMT
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Organization: Hewlett-Packard Apollo Division - Chelmsford, MA
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I posted...

>  One of the big problems that many companies, including Microsoft,
>  have is inconsistency in the training and knowledge of their tech
>  support staff.  On some questions I have literally called several 

  Later that day I had an illuminating conversation with *another* MS
  tech support person for Windows.  I commented that the included
  apps (Write, Terminal, Paintbrush) appeared to be hobbled versions
  of real, useful apps.  In other words they seemed toylike and
  incomplete to me.   

  She said that they *were designed to be*.  She said that they
  were not meant to be used as practical applications but rather 
  to just demonstrate how a Windows interface would look, sort of
  like the little demo's which came with the Asymetrix product.

  This struck me as odd and I suspect she is not really representing
  Microsoft, which is why I'm not giving out here name on the Net.

  But on the other hand it IS interesting to ask WHY Microsoft bothered
  to include them at all.   They take up valuable documentation and
  tech support resources and no doubt they cost something non-trivial
  to port to Windows.   But if you really NEED a paint, word-processing,
  or communications program to do anything serious you would almost 
  certainly opt for some commercial package like PC Paintbrush IV, 
  XYWrite, or Crosstalk.  

    [ speaking of which:  Does anyone here know if Crosstalk for 
      Windows is  A.)  compatible with 3.0   and    B.) comparable
      in features and functionality with "regular" Crosstalk-- I
      think it's called version 16 ?  ]

  I would have preferred that Microsoft not bothered with ANY included
  apps (like QD Desqview), and instead devote the resources into a more
  robust basic product, better documentation, and better tech support.

  Alternatively I wouldn't have minded if they had charged another $20
  or $30 for Windows and used the extra revenues to make better apps. 
  If they sell a million copies of Windows that comes out to another 
  $20-30 million (assuming the price increment doesn't kill their sales
  volume).  That should buy enough software engineers to really 
  come up with some serious versions of those apps.   But because of
  the huge volume of Windows sales, compared with the sales volume of
  many 3rd-party products, the incremental cost to the user is small.

  Another approach would have been: instead of having a whole bunch
  of "eh" apps, they could have just included ONE real killer app.

                                                    ---Peter