Re: Let's have a look at Microsoft on QuickTime bug, will you?

["Joseph F. Moore" <joemoore@cs.uky.edu>]

I agree that it is unacceptable to have such poor documentation.  However,
from a business perspective, it doesn't make sense for M$ to publish books
on its OS, since the Pre-release copies of the OS go to IDG, Que, etc. 
and they have "Using Windows 2000" (Win2K) on the shelves before the OS is
officially released.  Why should M$ pay people to write manuals if another
company is going to write the manual anyway?  

I think this mentality has seeped into tech support too.  First, why
should M$ pay someone to answer questions when there are "for dummies"
books that have all the answers in them?  Second, why should M$ pay
someone to answer questions when all the really big, important companies
can hire someone who knows everything anyway?  Finally, why should M$ have
someone who knows what they're doing answer the phone, when that person
could be "integrating" the next "feature" in the OS.  It's better to get
someone who can look in the For Dummies index and read the paragraph on
"Registry Editing".

Ummm.... Does anyone see a problem with this computing model?

By the way, I recall a humorous comparison of M$ Tech support to the
Psychic Friends Hotline...the result was pretty much a tie. I'll see if I
can find it again.

--Joe

On Tue, 10 Nov 1998, Steve Cohen wrote:  
> Consider for a moment what "proper documentation" might mean:  
> 
> "If
you want to make sure that
your program is executed instead of the one we recommend, here's what 
>
you must do:  
> .  
> .  
> ."  
> 
> While I'd like to think that some
software houses would release documentation such as this, I've given 
> up
expecting this from Microsoft.  Their whole monopoly mindset cannot begin
to comprehend that anyone 
> would want to do that, and to the extent they
recognize the possibility, they consider any such person 
> an enemy not
deserving of help.  Microsoft cannot accept that there are good software
developers who >
 don't work for them.  
> 
> The simple truth is that
Microsoft doesn't document ANYTHING sufficiently anymore.  The fact
remains 
> that these outside companies have to take Microsoft to Federal
court in order to get Tech Support.  I 
> doubt that one in ten Microsoft Tech Support reps could have solved
> these problems had they been asked 
> about them.  > > >