Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!rutgers!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!tektronix!tekig!tekig4!briand From: briand@tekig4.TEK.COM (Brian Diehm) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac Subject: Re: MS Word 3.0 and LaserWriter 4.1 Message-ID: <1590@tekig4.TEK.COM> Date: Thu, 18-Jun-87 14:14:22 EDT Article-I.D.: tekig4.1590 Posted: Thu Jun 18 14:14:22 1987 Date-Received: Sun, 21-Jun-87 17:30:31 EDT References: Reply-To: briand@tekig4.UUCP (Brian Diehm) Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton, OR. Lines: 36 >I used MS Word 3.0 today, and found much to my disgust. . . > >Isn't the phrase "Consistent User Interface" in their dictionary??? > >Harrumph. Of course the phrase "Consistent User Interface" is in their dictionary! They are trying very hard to be consistent with the IBM PC! Remember WordStar? Now, why do you think that they have so many key-click "equivalents," some that are "equivalent" to features addressable in no other way? From day one, Microsoft has "freely" interpreted the Mac's user interface guidelines in their own way. Unfortunately their commercial success has made them insufferable on many fronts, this being only one. Try to get the details of their DCA format implementation on Word 3.0, for example. The trouble is, they'll keep doing it as long as they are commercially suc- cessful. And that means, folks, that WE are the ones making them too big for their britches. Well, IBM isn't helping, either, but that's to be expected, isn't it? Don't buy from them if you don't like them. As for me, I'm going off to investigate WriteNow! As a (perhaps negatively) mitigating factor, Human Interface design is a VERY tricky business, and is made worse by the fact that EVERYONE, and I mean EVERY- ONE, considers themselves an expert in how their users should approach their product. The less they have studied the nuances of the discipline, the more convinced people are of their expertise in this area. It would seem to me that MicroSoft's vaunted expert who designed the Word 3.0 should probably have had a bit less self-assurance and a bit more information on what a Mac is. It's too bad he got between the users and the truly wonderful capabilities that Word 3.0 has! -- -Brian Diehm (SDA - Standard Disclaimers Apply) Tektronix, Inc. briand@tekig4.TEK.COM or {decvax,cae780,uw-beaver}!tektronix!tekig4!briand