Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!uw-june!uw-entropy!dataio!pilchuck!ssc!fyl
From: fyl@ssc.UUCP (Phil Hughes)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Publishing Partner Professional
Summary: They should have told me ...
Keywords: groan
Message-ID: <1386@ssc.UUCP>
Date: 26 Jul 88 19:01:36 GMT
References: <1376@ssc.UUCP> <1385@ssc.UUCP>
Organization: Slugland, USA
Lines: 55


I already received E-mail pointing out that PPP doesn't do everything
because it is the beta version and Softlogik released the beta version
because people kept asking for it.  Here are the facts behind the rumors
:-) :-)

I never requested a beta version of anything.  Softlogik made me an
offer to upgrade for $50.  It sounded good and I called them to make
sure it would do downloadable fonts on PostScript printers.  I was
told that it would and was asked if I wanted to place the order over
the phone.  I asked, "Is it ready to ship?"  I was told, no, it
wouldn't be ready until the end of June (this was mid-May).  Even
though the $50 deal was supposedly good only through May, I elected
to wait and order when the software existed.

When I called in mid-July and asked if it was ready to ship, I was
told, "Yes, we started shipping it last week."  I was also told that
I could still upgrade for $50.  So, I did.

The program I received did not say "beta version".  There was a list
of bugs (some bad enough to make the program almost useless) and
a card to return that stated this wasn't the final version and if
I returned this I would get upgrades.  

To me, the final version of software is the one you archive when
you have stopped using the software.  To me, this didn't imply that
I have received a beta version and someday they would ship the
real version.  Nor would I have ordered a beta version.  I want
to use this product, not test it.  I can survive with the old PP until
a stable version is produced.

Further, lots of things that worked perfectly in PP don't work
in PPP.  For example, keyboard sequences for commands in the drop-down
menus.  I would have prefered to pay $50 for a version of PP with
the bugs fixed rather than $50 to get a program that isn't compatible
with PP and doesn't work.

I'm sorry if this sounds like ranting but I have been in the software
racket for 20 years.  I worked on testing an operating system for
Computer Sciences Corporation.  There were 20 people in the test
group.  Our product worked.  I now work for a company that, among
other things, sells software for UNIX systems.  Sure, it isn't perfect
software but it works, we support it and generally it is supplied
with source code so you can fix a bug.  Prices are fair, features
are reasonable.  We don't offer binaries of programs that supposed
to do everything but have so many bugs they can't be used.

If we, as ST users, want to see people accept the ST as more than
a toy, we have to expect both Atari to produce hardware that doesn't
break and the software vendors to produce software that works.
Otherwise, people will buy Macs.  They may be a dog but the software
for them runs.
and 
-- 
Phil    uunet!pilchuck!ssc!fyl