Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ulowell!m2c!wpi!tron From: tron@wpi.wpi.edu (Richard G Brewer) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac Subject: Re: 6.0.2 and Word Message-ID: <804@wpi.wpi.edu> Date: 14 Feb 89 16:41:16 GMT References: <35727@bbn.COM> <730@wpi.WPI.EDU> <330@bridge2.3Com.Com> Reply-To: tron@wpi.wpi.edu (Richard G Brewer) Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA. USA Lines: 51 In article js9b+@andrew.cmu.edu (Jon C. Slenk) writes: >Excerpts from ext.nn.comp.sys.mac: 10-Feb-89 Re: 6.0.2 and Word Norman >Goodger@bridge2.3 (536) > >Losing 8 hours of work sounds like something he deserved if you aks me. >Anyone foolish enough to trust a computer not to destroy his work by >NOT SAVING FREQUENTLY deserves what he gets...and it appears to me that >this person who is blaming Microsoft for the problem he created...needs >to learn how to use Command-S a little more often... > >Just _my_ opinion: If software has been advertised to work, it should do so as >defined by the company. I doubt that Word's packaging says "This product may >erase all your work while saving" because if it did, no one would buy it. They >never said it, so it really shouldn't happen (ie the idea of saving a file does >not include destroying it irretrievably (sp?)). > >Thus: while the dude should have saved a lot more, perhaps, and not have used >the Save As... selection, it is still microsoft who screwed him up in the end. Jon - That person DID [cmd]-[s] VERY frequently. The problem is that MS's saving routines and .tmp files aren't doing what they are supposed to. TEMP files SHOULD CARRY A *COMPLETE* BACKUP OF THE DOCUMENT BEING WORKED ON. SAVES OVER EXISTING FILES SHOULD WORK IN THIS FASHON: 1. WRITE NEW VERSION UNDER A DIFFERENT NAME 2. ERASE OLD VERSION IF NEW VERSION SAVE WAS SUCCESSFUL ELSE ERASE THE CORRUPTED NEW SAVE 3. RENAME THE NEW FILE WITH THE NAME OF THE OLD VERSION These procedures for file saving are taught in BASIC LEVEL CS courses. Perhaps Microsoft should invest in them... Bad programming and incompatability with system software (i.e. MultiFinder) IS MS's fault, also. It is there responsibility to warn their users of this. Richard G. Brewer Systems Consultant Worcester Polytechnic Institute +----------------------------+--------------+--------------------------+ | Richard G. Brewer (TRON) | Worcester | rbrewer@wpi.bitnet | | WPI Box 149 | Polytechnic | tron@wpi.wpi.edu | | 100 Institute Rd. | Institute +--------------------------+ | Worcester, Ma 01609-2280 +--------------+ "Power through better | | (508) 792-3231 | VaNdaLs Sack | design and engineering" | +----------------------------+--------------+--------------------------+